Souterrain, Caherdaniel, Co. Kerry
Co. Kerry |
Settlement Sites
Ordnance Survey maps of the Caherdaniel area mark a feature near this mound simply as "Cave", which is a curiously modest label for something that is, in fact, a souterrain, an underground stone-lined passage constructed during the early medieval period, typically used for storage, refuge, or both.
The entrance is easy to miss: a low opening on the north-eastern side of the mound, framed by a single roofing lintel, beyond which the passage appears to run westward into the earth.
The archaeological record for the site was drawn together by A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan in their 1996 survey of the Iveragh Peninsula, published by Cork University Press, which catalogued the remarkable density of early medieval and prehistoric remains across south Kerry. Souterrains of this kind were built by cutting a trench, lining it with drystone walls, roofing it with large flat lintels, and then covering the whole structure over, leaving it invisible from above except for the entrance. This one, however, has not fared particularly well in recent centuries. The passage is currently blocked by an accumulation of modern domestic debris, meaning that whatever the full extent or internal arrangement of the structure might be, it remains inaccessible and largely unknown.
Visitor Notes
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