What is recorded here

The most southerly of two conjoined enclosures in Ballycarty holds a low bank, a shallow bowl of earth on a limestone spur that rises above marshy ground. It sits at the eastern end of a causeway, facing the river bend and mountain passes, as if marking the edge of a place people could enter but not forget. The stone beneath is old enough to carry fossils in its flesh, and the earth above is young enough to have been shaped by hands. Together they suggest a boundary drawn twice, once by life and once by memory.

The 'most southerly of the two conjoined enclosures' was described by Connolly (1999, 4-6) as follows; 'As part of the preparations for the construction of the new link road (N22) between Ballycarty Cross and the Killarney road, the Office of Public Works requested trial excavations on a portion of the proposed route through the townland of Ballycarty, 4km east of Tralee. The lands in question were situated on the west-facing slope of a limestone (Waulsortian) reef which runs for approximately 200m from the east, westward toward Tralee. The spur is one of the highest points on the floor of the broad, flat valley formed by the Stacks Mountains to the north-north-east and the Slieve Mish to the south-southwest. The River Lee rises in the Stacks Mountains and flows southward to the valley floor before curving sharply to the west on its course to the sea at Blennerville. The river is fed by streams from both mountain ranges. The central location of the spur, close to the broad bend of the river, affords expansive views in al directions, including the most accessible passes through the flanking mountains and two fording-points on the River Lee. The low-lying land around the spur is recorded on early maps as being marshy and this would have given the spur all the appearance of a promontory, the only dry approach being from the east. The spur itself is composed of Carboniferous limestone with a minimal soil cover and contains an extraordinary wealth of fossil evidence. The maximum height of the spur is 32m above sea-level (OD), while the maximum height of the area under investigation is 29.5m. The features on the reef consist of six main elements: (1) the ramparts [KE038-076----], (2) the causeway [KE038-077----], (3) smaller enclosures [KE038-078----], (4) the hilltop enclosure or henge [KE038-022----], (5) quarry ditches, and (6) the cairns. The area of excavation will be described separately as the seventh element of the site. (3) The smaller enclosures The final two features on the eastern end of the spur lie directly outside the eastern end of the causeway [KE038-077----] and take the form of two conjoined subcircular enclosures [KE038-079001-]. The more southerly enclosure is less clearly defined but appears to be subcircular. Again the bank is very low. The feature measures 10.2m north-south by 12m east-west externally and 6.2m north-south by 5.9m east-west internally. The average width of the bank is 3.5m'. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on information supplied by Michael Connolly, County Archaeologist, Kerry Co. Co. Date of upload: 18 May 2022

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