What is recorded here

Half-buried in grass and shadow, the ringfort holds its shape like a breath caught mid-sentence. Its bank rises two metres above a shallow ditch, encloses a little oval chamber, and faces two harbour mouths where boats still cut the water. People may have lived there, kept animals there, or simply marked the edge of the world with stone and soil.

Internal diam. 19.5m N-S, 12.5m E-W This circular univallate rath is located on a N facing slope with good views of Coonanna Harbour to NW and Valencia Harbour to W. A fosse, 1.5m deep below external ground level and 3m wide, is only apparent around the E sector of the site. The bank, composed of earth with a core of small stone, rises 2m above the fosse and falls 1.25m to the rath's interior. Overlain by a field boundary at NW, three breaks in the bank at NNE, SE and W appear to be secondary. The location of the original entrance is unclear. An oval-shaped structure (KE080-005001-) of stone occupies the centre of the rath's interior and rests on top of a low mound, 1m high. It features an entrance, .6m wide, at W, and has internal dimensions of 8.2m N-S and 4.2m E-W. Of relatively modern date, it may have been used as an animal pen. The mound on which it is constructed may be the remains of a hut site. 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. 548. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 29 July 2013

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