Hilltop enclosure in Ballycarty

'The lands in question were situated on the west facing slope of a limestone spur which runs for approximately 200m from the East, westward toward Tralee. The spur is one of the highest points on the floor of the broad, flat valley, formed by the Stacks Mountains to the north - north-east and the Slieve Mish to the south - south-west. The River Lee rises in the Stacks mountains and flows southward to the valley floor before curving sharply to the west on its course to the sea at Blennerville. The river is fed by streams from both mountain ranges as it flows toward the sea. The central location of the spur, close to the broad bend of the river, affords expansive views of all directions, including the most accessible passes through the flanking mountains , as well as two fording points on the River Lee. The low lying land around the spur is recorded, on early edition maps, as being marshy and this would have given the spur all the appearance of a promontory, the only dry shod approach being from the East. Aerial photography would appear to indicate that the area around the spur was reclaimed and this is substantiated by the current landowner and the O.S. 1st Edition map. The spur itself is composed of carboniferous limestone with a minimal soil cover and contains an extraordinary wealth of fossil evidence. The maximum height of the spur is 32m above sea level (O.D.), while the maximum height of the area under investigation is 29.5m . The O.S. 6" and 25" Ist Edition maps for the area, as well as the Sites and Monuments Record for County Kerry, recorded the presence of an enclosure centrally placed on the limestone spur (KE038-022----). However, a survey of the spur indicated a far more complex site than previously recorded. The northern side of the spur is enclosed by two collapsed stone and earth ramparts, the inner clearly visible at ground level, while the outer is very hard to see except in good light. Only a single rampart can be seen on the southern side. The ramparts are continuous along the western half of the spur but become intermittent and difficult to identify from the mid-point of the spur to its eastern extent. Over most of their length the ramparts have been built on the natural breaks in the slope and scarped back into the spur, however , toward the eastern end of the spur the rampart, on the northern side, takes the form of a bank , while the southern side alternates between the scarped construction and that of a bank feature. Initially, no trace of these ramparts could be seen on the western or eastern ends of the spur, however sod stripping later revealed the rampart at the western end and a similar undertaking may well expose a rampart cutting off the eastern end of the spur and fill in the gaps in the more intermittent stretches. It also appears likely that some of the many structures at the eastern end of the spur are utilising the rampart line and possibly the rampart itself, as part of their construction. • The maximum external height of the rampart where it takes the form of an enhanced scarp is 0.8m with a maximum width of 3.8m. Where this scarp changes to a conventional bank it has a maximum external height of 0.57m, internal height of 0.44m and width of 3.3m. • The maximum length of the conventional bank , on the northern side, is 39.5m, while the distance between the double rampart, where it can be defined on the ground, is 5.3m. There is no indication of a ditch associated with the ramparts. • These meandering ramparts enclose an area measuring 88m N-S and 200m E-W with an approximate area of 1.76 hectares. The eastern end of the spur is the most complicated area of the site. Here the rampart that encloses the rest of the site is not visible on the surface but a number of other features at this end may be utilising or obscuring it's line. The main feature at the eastern end is an embanked causeway like structure which runs east west from the level land at the eastern end of the spur right up to the enclosing wall of the centrally placed enclosure, originally recorded at the site. The north side of the causeway is formed by a bank of earth and stone, utilising the plane of the existing bedrock outcrops, while the southern side is formed predominantly of bedrock outcrop, again augmented by stone and earth. The average dimensions of these banks are 0.7m high internally, 1.3m high externally and 4m wide. Internally the causeway has a U - shaped profile and is 4.5m in maximum width. The banks on either side are parallel sided and the total length of the structure is 23m. This feature shows up very well on aerial photographs and, while it has the appearance of some form of causeway or entrance through the enclosing rampart, further investigation would be needed to confirm its exact function. Immediately abutting the northern bank of this causeway like feature is a sub-circular depression, which seems to have been formed by the convergence of the main rampart, the central enclosure and the northern bank of the causeway feature. The depression measures 7.2m N-S, 11.5m E-W and has an average depth of 0.55m. Immediately to the south of the causeway feature is the most easterly feature on the spur. This small sub-circular enclosure shows up very clearly on aerial photography but is much harder to define at ground level. The enclosing bank is most clearly defined to the south where it is 3.7m wide and has an average height of 0.30m. The northern side of this enclosure is formed by the convergence of this horse-shoe shaped bank with the southern side of causeway like feature and the natural scarp of the spur. Given the fact that the causeway bank is built on a higher terrace of the spur, the northern side of this small enclosure is very steep and has an average height of 0.6m. The feature measures 20m N-S and 21.3m E-W externally and 12.5m N-S and 13.5m E-W internally.' Compiled by Michael Connolly for the Archaeological Survey of Ireland as part of a survey of the Lee Valley area in 1996-97. Date of upload: 30 April 2012