Mine in Ballydunlea

'Located close to sites [KE038-126001-, KE038-126002-], above, this feature is located on the western side of the Finglas River near the head of Scotia’s Glen and is known locally as a ‘mine’ where so called ‘Kerry Diamonds’ can be found in abundance. Collapse of rock from the steep western side of the glen at this point has exposed an 8.5m deep vertical vein of boulder clay, surrounded by red sandstone bedrock.This clay contains large quantities of quartz, rock crystal, feldspar and so called ‘Kerry Diamonds’ or amethyst. However, jasper, chert, pebble flint and greenstone also occur in this glacially derived stratum. The local tradition and occurrence of a wide variety of materials in this clay may suggest this as a location for the gathering/extraction of the large numbers of rock crystal artefacts from excavations in the Tralee area.' Description from ‘The Prehistoric Settlement of the Lee Valley, Tralee, Co. Kerry; A Landscape Perspective’ by Michael Connolly. PhD Thesis UCC 2008 Date of upload: 20 June 2012