Enclosure in Cnoc Na Ngabhar

The circular enclosure shown here on the OS maps has been severely modified. It is situated on level, poorly drained pastureland less than 100m W of the Scorid river and about a half-mile S of Brandon Bay. The monument survives as an irregular oval mound of earth and stones measuring 17.3m NW-SE and 12m NE-SW across its upper surface. The perimeter rises slightly above the interior and in the W sector a short stretch of stony bank is preserved; this is up to .6m high. From a surface inspection alone it is not possible to determine whether the site was enclosed by a clay bank, a stone wall or a stone-faced clay bank. A depression, 4m in diameter, which abuts the bank at W may mark the position of a hut-site, but other irregularities on the surface of the mound do not form any recognisable pattern. A series of small depressions in the SE quadrant mark the location of a souterrain. A roof slab is visible at the side of one of these, and a small opening beneath this provides a view of the drystone-built passage which extends at least 2m to S. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 715. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 7 August 2013