House - early medieval

The National Monuments Service's description

On the SE-facing slopes of Bray Head on Valencia Island. The remains of the W half of this house was excavated in 1997 (Hayden 1997). This rectangular house (ext. min. 4.6m E-W; c. 4.3m) was defined by drystone walls (T 0.6-0.8m) along the W side and at the SW corner and by the remains of trenches which marked the line of the N wall. The walls were internally faced at the base by large slabs set upright. Horizontal-laid masonry formed the outer face of the walls and the upper part of the internal face. The trench along the N wall cut through the demolished rubble sealing of an earlier house (KE087-025013-). An internal dividing wall (on a N-S axis) was defined by two parallel-sided trenches which held the remnants of a slab-lined drystone wall. An underfloor drain extended (L c. 3.6m) in a SE direction from the internal NW corner to a possible sump in the E section of the house. The drain, which was excavated in 1999, retained a number of its capstones but was otherwise unlined. Another drain and a pit containing a quernstone were located to the W and SW of the house, respectively. Samples of seeds and charcoal were recovered from this house. The excavation of this and another hut site (KE087-025009-) showed that they belonged to Phase V in a successive sequence of at least six phases of construction in this particular area of Bray Head. (Hayden 1997; Hayden 1998; Hayden 1999; Mitchell et al. n.d.)

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Kerry. Volume I: South-West Kerry' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 30 May 2011