Ringfort - cashel

The National Monuments Service's description

Internal diam. 22m N-S, 18m E-W
This circular caher, marked 'Killeen Burial Ground' on the OS maps, is located in pasture at the NE foot of Trusk mountain. A tributary of the Finglas river runs adjacent at E, and the site overlooks Ballinskelligs Bay to NW. The poorly preserved enclosing stone wall survives .5m high and is 2.3m wide. It is faced internally and externally with flat slabs enclosing a rubble core. Slabs set on edge and occasional uprights intermittently flank both faces, and later walling abuts the N side of the enclosure. An imposing entrance, .95m wide and 2.1m long, is located at NE. Two orthostats form its S side and average 1.15m high and .5m wide. Its N side is composed of four orthostats, averaging 1m high, .35m wide and .2m thick. The entrance passage is filled with numerous small stones and a fallen orthostat.

A number of circular and rectangular structures occupy the N half of the caher's interior, and appear to be fairly modern features. They may overlie earlier features, however, as Henry referred to three round stone huts in the site which may have been located in this sector (1957, 138-9). There is a large quantity of loose stones, including quartz, and a number of upright slabs in the S half of the site. These presumably relate to the period when the caher was used as a children's burial ground (KE098-076001-). The OSNB noted that penances were performed here on Good Fridays (Kilcrohane, 5).

Abutting the external face of the site's enclosing wall at NNE are the foundations of a circular hut (KE098-076005-) with an internal diameter of 2.8m. Its largely collapsed and overgrown wall survives .55m high. Abutting its E side, and possibly conjoined with it, is a second hut (KE098-076006-). Measuring 2.7m square internally, its wall are .9m wide and are revetted internally by a series of uprights and slabs set on edge.

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. 595. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 29 July 2013