Souterrain, Caher, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Settlement Sites

Souterrain, Caher, Co. Kerry

Most archaeological sites announce themselves in some way, a wall line, a raised mound, a scatter of stone.

This one in Caher, County Kerry, offers nothing visible at all. What is suspected to lie beneath a patch of poorly drained pasture, settled in a slight hollow in the ground, is a souterrain, an underground stone-lined passage or chamber typically built in early medieval Ireland for storage or refuge. The site exists largely as a rumour confirmed by a spade.

The only real evidence came to light during drainage works, when the landowner uncovered a flagged floor of well-selected small stones roughly one metre below ground level. The careful choice of material suggests deliberate construction rather than a natural deposit, lending weight to the identification as a souterrain, though the classification remains tentative. What was exposed during those works has since been reburied or disturbed enough that no surface trace remains. Approximately one hundred metres to the south-east lies another site of interest, a possible fulacht fia, a type of prehistoric cooking place typically identified by a horseshoe-shaped mound of burnt and fire-cracked stone beside a trough. The proximity of the two features, if both are genuine, hints at a landscape that saw repeated use across different periods, though drawing firm conclusions from two unexcavated and only partially identified sites would be overreaching.

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 Souterrain, Caher, 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