Man-made underground passage in Cill Chúile

A Man-made underground passage passage opens onto the face of a steep N facing hillslope much broken with rock outcrop and scree. The site commands an extensive view over the wide plain drained by the Feohanagh River. Advantage may have been taken of a natural rock fissure to construct the level passage, roofed by a series of flat slabs, which runs into the hill for c. 2m in a S direction and then veers slightly SW for the remainder of its length. The side walls, formed by upright slabs, some overlain by 1 or 2 courses of dry-masonry, define an area 5m in length, .82m in maximum width and .7m in maximum height. The passage decreases in height and width towards the S and the innermost section is inaccessible due to its small dimensions. The entrance is formed simply by the northernmost sidestones and roofing slab; this latter is overlain externally by 4 or 5 courses of very loosely-positioned stones which appear to have no structural function. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 776. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 7 August 2013