Hut site, Inchincoosh, Co. Kerry

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Settlement Sites

Hut site, Inchincoosh, Co. Kerry

On a west-facing slope at Inchincoosh in County Kerry, a low oval outline of drystone walling protrudes just above the surface of the bog.

It is easy to overlook: the structure measures only 1.8 metres north to south and 1.1 metres east to west, its wall standing no more than 0.4 metres above ground and reaching 0.8 metres thick at the base. A narrow gap of around 0.2 metres at the north-east may mark an original entrance. The bog, which has slowly accumulated around and over the site across the centuries, has in a strange way preserved what might otherwise have vanished entirely.

Drystone hut sites of this kind, built without mortar by laying stone upon stone, are scattered across the upland and coastal margins of Kerry, and are generally associated with seasonal pastoral activity, though some may represent more permanent small-scale settlement. What makes the Inchincoosh site particularly interesting is its context: two further hut sites lie to the west, one roughly 8 metres away and another approximately 60 metres distant. Together they suggest not a solitary refuge but a small cluster of structures, a modest grouping of human occupation set into a hollow on rough hill pasture, positioned perhaps to take some shelter from the prevailing weather while remaining within reach of grazing land.

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Pete F
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