House - early medieval

The National Monuments Service's description

National Monument No. 59. Rectangular Stone House (KE079-032013-): Located at the NE edge of the island, this house measures 8.3m x 6.7m externally; NW-SE. Evidence demonstrated that it was built some time after the construction of the circular stone house at the centre of the island. Its walls are faced both internally and externally and have a rubble and earth core. They vary from 1.5m to 1.8m thick, survive to a maximum height of 1m, and feature rounded external angles. Each of the end-walls contains a doorway, .95m in average width.

The house measures 5.15m x 3.8m internally. It had a timber-framed roof, supported on fifteen posts, thirteen set around the edge of the floor area and two in central positions. The posts positioned at the sides of the doorways probably also served as door frames. The floor surface was a trampled organic deposit, mainly composed of shells and bone, and it featured a hearth containing peat ash. At the base of the S wall was a slab-lined water-collecting pit which was furnished with an overflow drain.

The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 927. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 29 July 2013