Megalithic tomb - wedge tomb

The National Monuments Service's description

The precise location of a possible wedge tomb located on top of Ballyferriter Hill that was recorded as destroyed prior to 1852 (Hitchcock 1852, 137) was recently identified by local archaeologist Billy Mag Fhloinn.  Situated in upland area,  on top of high ridge running roughly NE-SW which forms the townland boundary with Ballyferriter.  Extensive views from W through N to E, overlooking the villahe of Ballyferriter and Ferriter’s Cove to NW and Smerwick Harbour to NE.  The hill of Cruach Mhárthain is visible 1.2km away at the SW end of the ridge with Cnoc an Phréacháin 350m away at the E end of the ridge.

The monument classification as a wedge-tomb (de Valera and Ó Nualláin 1982, 56) is based on an engraving published by Chatterton (1839, 201). In 1838 the monument was mentioned by Lady Chatterton in her Rambles in the South of Ireland, where it was described as located on Ballyferriter Hill, and being ‘a very curious piece of antiquity, once an altar supposed to have been used for offering sacrifices to the sun’.  In 1852 Hitchcock wrote the following account about the monument; 'I have found in lady Chatterton's very interesting Rambles in the South of Ireland, second edition, vol. i. p. 189, an engraving of a cromleac on Ballyferriter hill, which may probably be added to the number already mentioned; but I regret to say that this cromleac, or, as lady Chatterton calls it, "sun altar," does not now exist, the stones which composed it having been broken and carried away for building purposes, as if there were no others in the neighbourhood!'.  

Local archaeologist, Billy Mag Fhloinn recorded that the name; 'Altóir na Gréine, meaning Altar of the Sun, also appears in local tradition from the Schools Folklore Collection in 1939, where it was mentioned as a place where mass was said during Penal Times. It is included in a list of placenames and accounts relating priests celebrating clandestine masses at remote locations, offering a clue as to where the idea of it being an altar came from:  Tá Altóir na Gréine lastuas do Bhaile'n Fhirtéuraig Thiar. Bhíodh Aifreann á léigheamh annso leis. Sé fáth go dtugadh an ainm seo air, ná nuair a dh'eirigheadh an ghrian thoir thaithnigheadh sí ar seo (The Altar of the Sun is above Ballyferriter West. Mass was read here also. The reason it is so-called is when the sun rose in the east it would shine on this place). Another potential name for the monument may be Púicín Bhriain, which is mentioned in a local song as part of a series of placenames traced by a local farmer in pursuit of a lost cow.  Its location between Slighe-na-Naomh and Cathar Léith fits the current site, and would be passed on the track over the mountain from Márthain to Baile an Fheirtéaraigh. That a wedge tomb might be referred to as a púicín (meaning a poke for shutting in lambs) is evidenced from the example at Dún Meánach, 25 km east near Lispole, which was known as Púicín an Chairn'.  

Billy Mag Fhloinn recorded the presence of three slabs in close proximity to each other, one standing upright. The latter matches the general shape of one of the orthostats supporting the roof slab in Chatterton’s illustration. There is a large recumbent slab, partially obscured by vegetation, at the same location as the rightmost orthostat in the drawing, consistent with it haven fallen or being pushed over during the destruction of the monument. Furthermore, the upright shows some signs of having being dressed, which is consistent with wedge tomb construction techniques.   

 

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by local archaeologist Billy Mag Fhloinn.

References

Cuppage, J. 1986 Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne. Chatterton, Lady G. 1839 Rambles in the south of Ireland in the year 1838, 2 vols. London. Saunders and Otley. Herity, M. 1970 The prehistoric peoples of Kerry: a programme of investigation. Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society 3, 5-14. de Valera, R. and Ó Nualláin, S. 1982 Survey of the megalithic tombs of Ireland. Vol. IV, Counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary. Dublin. Stationery Office. Borlase, W.C. 1897 The Dolmens of Ireland, 3 vols. London. Chapman and Hall. O'Sullivan, T.F. 1931 Romantic hidden Kerry. Tralee. The Kerryman. Hitchcock, R. 1852 Dingle in the Sixteenth Century. With an Introduction and Notes.Transactions of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society 2, 133-143.