Souterrain in Illauntannig

National Monument No. 67. Illauntannig is the largest of the Magharee Islands which lie off the N tip of the peninsula that separates Brandon Bay and Tralee Bay. The Early Christian settlement KE019-002001- is enclosed by a strong cashel wall and is comprised of 2 small oratories, 3 bee-hive huts, a souterrain and wall-chamber, 3 leachts, a burial ground and a stone cross. Three cross-slabs, a bullaun stone, a hand-bell and fragments of 5 quern-stones have also been discovered within the enclosure and a 2nd bullaun stone lies at the edge of the sea about 100m to S. The hut-site, old field walls and reputed cross-inscribed boulder on Reennafardarrig may also be related to this early settlement. Wall-chamber and Souterrain (KE019-002004-): The wall-chamber contained within the thickness of the wall at W is linked to clochaun B by a straight souterrain passage. The chamber is 11m long, c. 1.7m wide and 1.1m high but now lacks its roof. An inward projection of the E wall houses the lintelled entrance to the souterrain. There is a step down of .5m from the chamber floor to that of the passage and the latter continues to slope gently downwards towards its mid-point and then gradually rises again towards the entrance at the base of the clochaun wall. The passage is 1.4m high at its W end but the first 5 roof-slabs step downwards and the remainder of the passage averages .8m in height. The last couple of roof-slabs at the E end also step downwards from the entrance. The passage is of drystone construction and measures c. 10.75m in length and c. 0.85m in width. The chamber also appears to have been accessible from the interior of the enclosure through an entrance directly S of the souterrain. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 843. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 8 August 2013