Field system in Knockaneyouloo

This complex of pre-bog field boundaries is located on the gentle W facing slope of the broad ridge which joins Been Hill to Mount Foley. A mantle of blanket peat almost completely covers this ridge, where ongoing peat-cutting has exposed a range of stone walls and associated features, including two huts, two rectangular structures and a cairn. The remains extend over an area measuring c. 320m N-S x c. 540m E-W; in the SE portion a number of modern walls also occur. The older walls appear to have been built on the pre-peat ground surface. The peat rarely exceeds 1.25m in depth, and the walls vary from .5m to 1.15m high. The majority are formed with intermittently spaced uprights or boulders, between which are loose tumbles of stone; others survive as broad, turf-covered, stony banks. Many of the longer walls run roughly parallel to one another along the E-W slope of the ridge, and a number of N-S cross-walls occur. The two subcircular huts occur within the upper limits of the complex at E and are located c. 115m apart. Of similar construction, the huts have an average internal diameter of 5.5m. A number of uprights flank the inner faces of their turf-covered, stony banks. The hut at SSE has a clearly defined entrance, marked by two rows of upright slabs. Two rectangular structures occur, 40m apart, towards the centre of the exposed system. They average 4.7m x 3.8m in overall dimensions and are constructed of upright slabs measuring up to .5m high. Towards the SW end of the complex is a well-constructed circular cairn (KE070-005002-), just over 5m in diameter. It is mainly composed of large stones and is retained at base by a number of upright slabs. 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. 56. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 28 July 2013