Field system in Kealduff Upper

The head of the Glenbeigh horseshoe range of mountains is characterised by an extensive cover of blanket peat. Extending NE from the middle of three lakes, at the Upper reaches of the Behy river, is a network of pre-bog Walls and associated sites in an area measuring c. 1.1km x c. 750m. The exposed walls consist of up to fifty separate stretches, which vary in length from 20m to 100m; they average .9m wide and are between .6m and .9m high. Most run intermittently beneath the bog. Five rectangular fields are identifiable, in addition to a number of isolated intersections. Located near the W limits of the complex are three huts, largely overlain by peat. That at N (KE071-044----) is very ruined and measures 1.9m x 1.7m internally; its wall averages .5m thick. The second (KE071-045----) is located 270m to S and is almost completely buried. It measures 1.5m in internal diameter; a 1m wide gap at E may be an entrance. The third hut site (KE071-046----), located 370m to S, is defined by the tops of nine upright stones which form a roughly circular area, 2.1m in diameter. A radiocarbon date of 2430±110 BP for the onset of peat formation at Kealduff has been obtained by Mannion (1983, 93). 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. 54. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 9 August 2013