Souterrain, Shanacashel, Co. Cork

Co. Cork |

Settlement Sites

Souterrain, Shanacashel, Co. Cork

At Shanacashel in County Cork, the ground itself carries the evidence of what lies beneath.

A hollow roughly 6.7 metres long, 4 metres wide, and half a metre deep marks the roof-fall of a souterrain, an underground stone-lined passage or chamber system typically built during the early medieval period, often as a place of refuge, food storage, or concealment. The depression sits at the centre of a ringfort, the circular earthen enclosure that once defined a farmstead, and the collapsed ground extends westward from the centre toward the enclosing bank, tracing something of the original layout underground.

Two stone lintels, the flat capstones that would have roofed the chambers, are exposed at the eastern end of the hollow. A third sits partially visible in a nearby animal burrow, dislodged from whatever position it once held. The spoil scattered around the site points to digging at some point in modern times, though the nature and purpose of that activity is not recorded. What remains is a structure in a state of quiet ruin, its roofline gone and its chambers open to the sky, the lintels serving less as a roof now and more as an indication of what the original construction looked like before the ground gave way.

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, Shanacashel, Co. Cork. 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