Hut site, Lounaghan, Co. Kerry

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Settlement Sites

Hut site, Lounaghan, Co. Kerry

Tucked into the south-east corner of a larger enclosure in Lounaghan, County Kerry, a small oval structure survives in a state of partial collapse, its drystone walls still rising to roughly 0.9 metres.

The hut itself measures just 3.85 metres east to west and 2.15 metres north to south, making it a compact space by any measure. Drystone construction, which uses no mortar and relies entirely on the careful fitting of stones, was a technique employed across Ireland from prehistory well into the early medieval period, and structures like this one were typically used as domestic shelters or as ancillary buildings within a farmstead.

What gives this site a particular quiet interest is its relationship to the enclosure around it. Rather than standing freely, the hut is built so that its south-eastern arc runs directly against the interior face of the enclosure wall, sharing that boundary and using it as part of its own structure. Entry to the hut would have come through the south-east entrance of the enclosure itself, suggesting the two were conceived and used together. A survey recorded on the Ordnance Survey six-inch map of 1895 noted the footprint as roughly square with dimensions of around four metres, a small discrepancy from the oval shape recorded on the ground, which likely reflects the limits of mapping precision at that scale rather than any significant change to the structure.

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Pete F
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