What is recorded here

Childrens Burial Ground on Valencia Island held roughly one hundred upright markers in regular rows, witnessing local life until the early twentieth century. The site sat in a sloping pasture overlooking Portmagee Channel, bounded by a worn bank and marked at one corner by large edge-set slabs. Kids likely played near those stones before learning what they guarded, turning a ordinary field into a place where adulthood began with loss.

This site is located in pasture in a SE sloping field on Valencia Island, and overlooks the W end of Portmagee Channel. It consists of an approximately rectangular area that measures 26.5m N-S x 20.5m E-W. Its N and a portion of its E side are defined by a poorly preserved bank which averages 2m wide and .5m high. Its S edge is defined by a 1m high scarp, but no defining element is apparent at W. Two pairs of large slabs, set on edge 1.65m apart, may mark an entrance at the SE corner of the site. These slabs are .55m in average height and 2.7m in overall length. The interior of the site is rather uneven and is occupied by approximately 100 upright grave-markers. These average .3m high, and most occur in regular N-S rows. The ceallúnach was used until the early twentieth century (local information). 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. 988. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 30 July 2013

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