What is recorded here

Killelton holds a calluragh burial ground where a tall stone displays a deep Latin cross beside ancient hut sites and a narrow underground passage. The mound sits on a gentle slope near Tralee Bay, close enough for the oratory to feel like a nearby shadow rather than a distant landmark. People may have walked this place for centuries, marking death, memory and prayer without warning others away.

A calluragh burial ground (KE037-024001-) with cross-inscribed stone (KE037-024002-) and hut sites (KE037-024003-), situated beside the main Tralee to Camp road on a gentle N facing slope, c. 450m from Tralee Bay. Killelton oratory lies 300m to SE. Dense vegetation prevented a detailed examination of the site but it appears to consist of a large, flat-topped mound of stones now less extensive than indicated on the 2nd edition of the OS map where it appears as an irregular area c. 75m long N-S and c. 30m wide at its centre but tapering towards the ends. It is c. 1.5m high. Abutting the NW edge of the mound is a circular hut of drystone corbelled construction, its interior now occupied by a corrugated-iron shed. Its floor lies 2m below the top of the mound and .8m below the external ground level, and no portion of the outer face is now visible. The interior measures 3.6m in diameter and the entrance probably faced N. Two other hut sites (KE037-024006- and KE037-024007-), a Man-made underground passage (KE037-024004-) and a number of quern stones have also been recorded at the site (Hickson 1889, 116; CKFC; Hayward 1976, 273). Clochnacrusha/Cloch na Croise (KE037-024002-): Set into a modern base near the centre of the mound, this stone is 1.25m high and .35m wide and its E face bears a large deeply-carved Latin cross. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage (compiler) 'Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey.' Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne (1986), no. 853. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 30 May 2013

This cross-inscribed stone, located in a calluragh burial ground, likely dates to the Early Christian period (5th–9th centuries AD) and may have served as a memorial or waymark. The presence of a cross suggests Christian influence, possibly associated with early monastic or burial practices in the region.

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