Hut site, Cool, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Settlement Sites

Hut site, Cool, Co. Kerry

In the townland of Cool in County Kerry, two small stone huts sit joined together, heavily overgrown and easy to miss.

What makes them worth pausing over is the construction: drystone walling, meaning the stones are fitted and stacked without mortar, relying entirely on the skill of whoever built them and the weight of the material itself. It is a technique found all across the Iveragh Peninsula, and it has kept structures like these standing for centuries, even as the vegetation slowly works to reclaim them.

The pair of huts are conjoined, sharing at least one wall between them. The more closely documented of the two, the eastern example, is roughly square in plan and measures 4.4 metres by 4 metres internally, a compact space by any standard. At the base of the inner wall-face, upright slabs have been set as revetment, a technique that reinforces the lower course of a wall by lining it with stones placed on their edge, helping to hold the structure together from the inside. That inner wall survives to a maximum height of 0.78 metres. The site lies approximately 33 metres northwest of what is recorded as an entrance, suggesting it sits within or near a broader enclosure or complex, though the overgrowth now makes the full extent difficult to read on the ground.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Hut site, Cool, Co. Kerry. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement