Souterrain in Glanlough South

Situated near the head of the glaciated valley which extends NNE from Glan Lough, in rough, open moorland c. 15m from the W bank of a small river. This is an L-shaped, drystone-built souterrain comprised of 2 rectangular chambers linked by a short creepway. Chamber 1, aligned roughly N-S, measures 3.27m long and 1.2m wide at base, decreasing to as little as .5m wide at roof level, the corbelling being particularly pronounced in the upper 2 to 3 courses. The slabs roofing the N half have collapsed inwards as have the upper wall courses; the debris fill this end of the chamber to within .4m of the roof and spread back to the S end where the maximum chamber height is now 1.4m. As no other entrance has been identified, access must originally have been either through the roof or the E wall in the now collapsed N section. At the S end of the E wall a low creep, .39m wide, .58m high and .7m long, leads ESE to the W end wall of the well-preserved 2nd chamber. The W portion is simply roofed by the drystone walling of chamber 1, the E portion by a single lintel; the side walls are each formed by a single upright slab. Chamber 2 is aligned E-W but its W end veers a few degrees N in line with the orientation of the creepway. It measures 4m long, 1.08m wide at base and 1.37m high. A slight incline of the drystone-built walls reduces the width, at the level of the 9 roofing slabs, to c. 0.65m. Upright slabs, up to .47m high, occur at the base of the E end wall. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 767. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 7 August 2013