Hut site, Teamhair, Co. Kerry

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Settlement Sites

Hut site, Teamhair, Co. Kerry

On a natural terrace on the north-western slopes of Farraniaragh, in the Teamhair area of County Kerry, there sits a small circular hut that most people walking this part of the Iveragh Peninsula would pass without a second glance.

What makes it worth pausing over is the way it was built: not from mortared stone or cut blocks, but from a series of upright slabs and slabs set on edge, with intermittent traces of drystone walling still visible between them. Drystone construction, in which stones are carefully fitted together without any binding material, is one of the oldest building techniques in Ireland, and structures like this one represent a very long tradition of seasonal or permanent habitation in upland and coastal Kerry.

The hut measures roughly 5.6 metres by 4.6 metres, making it a modest but functional space, and immediately to the north of the main structure there are traces of a second, more poorly preserved feature that may have served as an animal shelter. The pairing of a small dwelling with an adjacent enclosure for livestock is a pattern found across early Irish settlement archaeology, and it speaks to a way of life organised closely around the land and the animals kept on it. The natural terrace on which the site sits would have offered some shelter from prevailing winds, as well as a clear view across the surrounding landscape, both practical considerations for whoever chose the spot.

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Pete F
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