Souterrain

The National Monuments Service's description

This souterrain, not marked on the OS maps, is located on top of an oval-shaped hillock whose flat upper surface measures 30m NW-SE x 17.5m NE-SW. The hillock is bounded on its N side by a field wall while it is defined by a low earthen bank at W; its sides are covered in a layer of dense vegetation. This site may be the 'Liosachán' referred to by Ó Cíobháin (1984b, 64). The E facing lintelled entrance to the souterrain, .75m x .75m, leads into a passage which is aligned N-S and measures at least 3.9m long. Its N end is blocked with collapse and it is not clear if it originally continued further in this direction. The passage is .9m wide and 1.35m in height. The W side-wall is constructed of large slabs overlain by crude drystone masonry, while the E side is of earth. Roofed with lintels, the floor of the passageway is strewn with a large quantity of small stone. A creepway, .45m x .45m x .5m long, opens off the S end of the passage but access beyond this is blocked by clay fill.

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

Date of upload: 29 July 2013