Souterrain

The National Monuments Service's description

Calluragh burial ground (KE034-112003-): This site lies on the fairly steep NE slopes of Reenconnell, on the E side of the 'Saint's Road' which leads to the pilgrimage site on the summit of Brandon mountain (KE034-112001-). It consists of a roughly oval, stone-walled enclosure, within which are a clochaun, 2 leachts, a cross-slab and some graves which probably relate to the reuse of the site as a calluragh burial ground. Two clochauns, one of which contains a souterrain, lie directly outside the enclosure at NE, utilising the enclosure wall as part of their structure.

A rough attempt was made to create a terrace for the 2 huts (KE034-112007 & KE034-112008-) outside the cashel wall and the E edge of this terrace is faced with rough dry stone masonry, up to .7m high, for a length of c. 11m. The best preserved of these huts measures 7 to 8m in diameter externally and its corbelled drystone wall stands to a maximum height of 1.75m. A lintelled opening in the SW part of the wall leads to a drystone-built souterrain (KE034-112009-) which is now inaccessible but which can be seen to run NW along the line of the cashel wall. The wall of the 2nd hut is now largely reduced to mounds of stone collapse, but in the vicinity of the .7m wide entrance at SE it is still preserved to a height of c. 0.4m. This hut measures at least 3.3m in diameter internally.

The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 832. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 8 August 2013