Souterrain in Ballyledder

Almost centrally located within the interior of the rath is an exposed section of a souterrain (KE065-032001-) which is part of a labyrinth of earth-tunnelled passages extending to a point outside the enclosing bank at E. The souterrain is about 58m in total extent. The exposed section consists of the entrance, two drystone-built passageways from which some of the stone, including the lintels, has been removed, and a portion of a collapsed, tunnelled passageway. The first stone-built passageway is aligned NE-SW and opens off a short, 1.5m deep, entrance area. The passageway is 4.3m long, up to 1m wide and its side-walls measure 1.2m high. The lintels, when in situ, would have lain at an average depth of .6m below the level of the rath's interior. The NE end of the passageway is of earth. A short, poorly preserved creepway, .5m wide, located at the end of the SE side-wall, gives access to the second stone-built passageway. This is 4.6m long and is aligned NW-SE. It increases in width from an average of 1m to 1.3m at its SE end, where it is largely earth-cut. Near the base of its SE end-wall is an earth-tunnelled creepway, .4m in diameter, through which access is gained to the N angle of the first earth-tunnelled chamber, while at a slightly higher level in its NE side-wall are the remains of a similar creepway, .5m wide. The latter communicates with the S side of a short, angled, downward sloping, earth-tunnelled passageway which also leads to the first of the earth-tunnelled chambers. The roof of the rounded N end of this passageway has collapsed, but traces of drystone walling at a high level on its NW side may indicate that another entrance to the souterrain existed here. The first chamber in the earth-tunnelled section of the souterrain is aligned NW-SE; it measures 4m long and 1.75m wide. Its arched roof is 1.5m high and occurs at a depth of about 1.75m below the level of the rath's interior. The floor of the chamber slopes down towards the ESE end-wall, at the base of which is a 1m wide area of drystone facing. A 1.1m long creepway, .45m high and up to .6m wide, leads from the S angle of this chamber to the N end of the second chamber. The latter is aligned N-S and measures 5m long and 1.7m in maximum width. Its arched roof is 1.6m high. At the NNE end of the chamber is a .7m wide area of drystone facing, and .5m S of this, in the E wall of the chamber, is a 1m long creepway, .5m high and .4m wide, through which access is gained to the third chamber. The third chamber is aligned NW-SE and measures 6.1m long and 1.8m in maximum width. Its arched roof is 1.8m high. Its SE end underlies the position of the enclosing bank of the rath, which is disturbed in this sector. A 2m long sloping passageway, 1.2m high and .65m wide, extends up from this end of the chamber and terminates in a ground opening in a modern turf-shed just outside the rath. This opening appears to be an original feature. Two creepways communicate from the NE end of the third chamber with the W end of the fourth through its S side-wall; the creepway at W is 1.3m long and .55m wide, while that at E, up to .7m wide, features a 1.3m wide curved area of drystone facing on its E side. This, and the similarly faced areas at the SE end of the first chamber and the NE end of the second chamber, presumably represent blockings of the points from where these chambers were tunnelled from the base of an adjoining construction shaft. The fourth chamber is aligned E-W and measures 7.1m long and 1.65m in maximum width. Its arched roof is 1.7m high. At the E end of its N side-wall is a creepway, .3m x .4m x .7m long, through which access is gained to the small antechamber of the fifth chamber. This is rectangular in plan, measuring 1.15m NW-SE x 1m NE-SW, and features a domed roof. Its NE end opens onto the SW side of the fifth chamber, which is irregular in plan. Its maximum dimensions are 2.8m NW-SE x 1.25m NE-SW. At the W end of its NE side-wall is a 1.2m wide area of drystone facing, while close to its E end is a creepway, .35m wide x .3m high, which gives access to the sixth and last chamber in the souterrain. This is aligned NW-SE and measures 7.2m long. Its NW half averages 1.3m wide and a .8m wide area of drystone facing occurs at the end-wall. Both the floor and roof level of the SE half of the chamber slope downwards sharply, and the width of the chamber tapers to .6m. This portion of the chamber is frequently flooded. The drystone-faced areas at the NW end of this chamber and at the N angle of the fifth chamber presumably represent blockings of the points from which these chambers were tunnelled from the base of an adjoining construction shaft. The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 459. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 28 July 2013