Hut site, Na Gleannta Thuaidh, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Settlement Sites

Hut site, Na Gleannta Thuaidh, Co. Kerry

Two circular stone structures sit in the uplands of Na Gleannta Thuaidh, the northern glens of the Dingle Peninsula, joined together and heavily reworked over time, with a crudely-built sheep-pen tacked onto the northern one as a kind of afterthought.

That combination, ancient habitation structure converted or cannibalised into a practical agricultural enclosure, is part of what makes the site quietly telling. The original builders are long gone, and whoever kept sheep here later clearly had no great reverence for what they were working with.

The two structures are modest in scale: diameters of roughly 3.9 metres and 4 metres, walls standing around 1.3 metres high and about 1.4 metres thick. These proportions are consistent with the corbelled or dry-stone circular huts found across the Corca Dhuibhne peninsula, a landscape extraordinarily dense with early settlement remains. Such huts, sometimes called clocháns, were built without mortar, the stones carefully layered to shed rain and hold their shape over centuries. The site lies approximately 200 metres south of a related recorded monument, suggesting it was not an isolated dwelling but part of a broader pattern of human activity in these hills. It was documented by J. Cuppage in the 1986 Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey, a foundational study of one of Ireland's most archaeologically complex regions, though the structures themselves had clearly been altered long before anyone thought to record them formally.

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, Na Gleannta Thuaidh, 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