Souterrain

The National Monuments Service's description

Souterrain excavated by Julianna O'Donoghue under licence No. 10E0318, the results of which were summarised as; 'Following the discovery of a souterrain in Keeas, Co. Kerry, a survey and minor excavation was undertaken at the site on behalf of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The souterrain is c. 18m in length. It contains four passages and one chamber. It is predominantly a drystone structure but displays earth- and rock-cut features in places. It also features two air vents, steps and a drop-hole. Following the natural contours, the souterrain slopes from north to south. The site was discovered when Passage 1, the uppermost passage, was disturbed by a mechanical excavator. The landowner found Passage 1 in an unroofed state, completely backfilled with small stones. He subsequently excavated the passage, shovelling most of the backfill out by hand and casting it to either side of the passage and revealing the entrance to Passage 2. Excavation of the backfill material was completed by the survey team in order to expose the extent of the passage. The passage measured 4.9m in length and an average of 0.7m in width. The back wall comprised vertically cut bedrock and was flanked by sidewalls curving slightly to the south-south-east. The entrance to Passage 2 marks the beginning of the roofed section of the souterrain. An accumulation of soil resulting from the land clearance at the entrance to this passage was not removed as this section of the structure was unstable. Thus it could not be determined whether the original entrance to the passage was sloped, stepped or a drop-hole feature. Seven lintels cap this passage. It is 1.45m in height and 0.9m in width. Passage 3 is accessed through an opening close to the southern end of the western wall. An extended constriction is located at the conjunction of the passages. It is orientated on a north–south axis and measures 4.2m in length including the constriction. Eleven lintels provide roofing for this passage. At the end of this passage there is an expanded terminal extending in a westward direction facilitating a drop-hole into Passage 4. An air vent is set into the back wall directly over the drop-hole.
Passage 4 and the chamber constitute the best-preserved section of the souterrain as well as the most skilfully constructed elements. However, these proved difficult to access and survey as during periods of heavy rainfall they completely fill with water, which slowly dissipates making the lower section of the souterrain frequently inaccessible. Passage 4 is capped with seven lintels. An air vent occurs on the back wall of the passage just below roof level. The chamber is located at a distance of 2.2m from the drop-hole on the eastern wall. A gap in the drystone wall of 0.5m provides an entrance to the chamber which is cut out of the bedrock though the very top of the ceiling is earth-cut. The chamber is irregular in plan. It measures 1.6m in length by 1.2m in width' (O'Donoghue 2013, 123-4).

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 17 October 2022

References

O'Donoghue, J. 2013 Keeas: Souterrain. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2010: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 123-4, No. 383. Dublin. Wordwell.