House - early medieval

The National Monuments Service's description

On the SE-facing slopes of Bray Head on Valencia Island. This area was excavated in 1999 (Hayden 1999) revealing the remains of an oval house (diam. c. 5m x c. 6m), defined by a slot trench (Wth 0.2-0.4m; D c. 0.3m) along the NE arc and by traces of a shorter and shallower trench along the W arc. The S half of the house did not survive to any great extent due to later cultivation activity. A stone-lintelled drain extended out from the E arc, suggesting (Hayden 1999) that the doorway lay along this section of the wall. Thick deposits of charcoal and ash covered the floor which itself was a layer of redeposited subsoil. In places the burnt material consisted largely of straw or reeds and may have been burnt thatch. Two hearths (diams c. 1m) were uncovered during the excavation, one at the NE and the other in the SE portion of the interior. Two post-holes in the NE part of the house may have formed portion of a support structure for the roof. This replaced another house (KE087-025016-) which lay immediately to the E, and also post-dates the enclosure (KE087-025014-). The excavation of this and another house (KE087-025008-) showed that they belonged to Phase III in a successive sequence of at least six phases of construction in this particular area of Bray Head. (Hayden 1999)

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