Souterrain in Dromavally (corkaguiny By.)

On the lower S facing slopes of the central mountain range, a little E of Lough Anscaul, a large, irregular mound of stone and earth, 18m long E-W and 10m wide, overlies an extensive souterrain. It consists of 2 passages, T-shaped in plan, and a now inaccessible oval chamber linked to the N side of the E passage by a short alcove or ante-chamber. The present entrance lies at the base of the SW edge of the mound. Here there is a .3m high gap beneath the S roof slab of a passage which extends NNW for at least 9.5m and which averages c. 1.1m in width; both ends are reduced in height by an accumulation of earth and stones, the N end being completely blocked. The side walls are constructed of upright slabs, up to .8m high, overlain by drystone walling which inclines slightly inwards reducing the passage width, at roof level, to c. 0.8m on average. An upright slab, immediately N of the entrance to passage 2, extends the full height of the passage and is set inside the general line of the wall. The roof slabs step gradually upwards towards the N end, and a backfilled pit on the surface immediately beyond may mark the location of an entrance or of portion of a collapsed passage or chamber. The greatest passage height, 1.45m, occurs opposite the undifferentiated entrance to passage 2 which opens from the E wall of passage 1 at roughly its mid-point. Of similar construction to the latter, passage 2 is 1.2m wide, 1.2m high and 6m long E-W; the E end wall is formed by a single, large slab. 0.25m from the E end of the N wall an alcove or ante-chamber, 1.2m long N-S, .85m wide and 1m high, is reached by a step up of .45m from the passage. At this point the N half of the passage roof is raised by c. 0.5m to the same level as that in the alcove; the final roof slab again reduces the passage height to its normal level. The alcove, constructed of a combination of drystone walling and upright slabs, is roofed by 2 slabs. The single slab forming the N end wall has a neatly-cut arch, .33m wide and .43m high, at ground level which provides access to an oval chamber, 2.3m long N-S, 1m wide and a maximum of 1.35m high. The floor of this latter is considerably raised by earth and stone fill. Immediately inside the entrance, resting against the debris in an almost upright position, is a slab, .6m high and .4m wide, which may formerly have been used as a closing stone and which now effectively prevents access. The outline of the chamber, roofed by 5 flat slabs resting on the corbelled drystone walls, is only sketched in on the accompanying plan. In the NE corner, just below the roof, is what may be an air-vent. In passage 2 the upright slab immediately W of the ante-chamber has a centrally positioned hour-glass perforation 4.5cm in diameter. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 760. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 7 August 2013