Hut site in Gleann Fán

Clochán Mór: On S slopes of Mount Eagle overlooking Dingle Bay. A pair of circular conjoined huts of drystone corbelled construction. The SE hut measures 5m in diameter internally, and its wall stands to a maximum internal height of 2.7m. There are 2 lintelled entrances in the E sector, measuring 1.25m in height, 1.18m in width and 1.2m in length, and .94m in height, .57m in width and 1.27m in length respectively. The function of the low stones on edge in the interior is not known and there is now no trace of the 'so-called well' noted by Macalister (1899, 258-9). The lintelled passage at WNW, communicating with the NW hut, measures 1.7m high x .57 to 1m wide x 1.55m long. About midway along the passage, on each side, a break/join is clearly visible in the masonry, suggesting that the 2 huts were not built as a single unit. The NW hut measures 4.85 to 5m in diameter internally, and its wall stands to a maximum height of 3.35m. For most of its circumference, a buttress of earth and stone abuts the external wall face. Du Noyer (1858, 15-6) described a flight of steps ascending the outer wall face in the SW sector, but it is unlikely that such a feature ever existed, and he may have been referring to the 5 or so stones which protrude from the wall, stepping upwards to NW, and which were probably provided to facilitate the construction of the wall. The lintelled entrance at SSE is 1.5m high, .65 to .75m wide, and 1.6m long. Between the 2 entrances, 2.12m above the floor, are 2 wall niches, one above the other. Macalister noted 2 other wall niches in this hut, but they are no longer visible, and their disappearance suggests that the wall has been partly rebuilt. At NNE a lintelled opening, .4m wide x .4m high, gives access to an L-shaped lintelled passage, built with a combination of dry stone walling and upright slabs, contained within the thickness of the wall. The passage extends 1.85m in a NNE direction and then swings SE and continues for a length of 3.35m. The 1st section is .65m wide and .9m high, the 2nd section is c. 1.05m wide and 1m high. A possible vent, .3m wide and .25m high, opens off the N wall at ground level. Macalister noted the possible remains of a 3rd clochaun or forecourt beyond the entrance to the SE hut; there is no trace of this now. A fragment of a rotary disc quernstone was discovered lying loose at this site. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 1283. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 5 August 2013