Field system in Keel (iveragh By.)

A number of pre-bog walls and associated features occur on the lower E and NE slopes of Beenreagh, which is part of the mountain range forming the E side of the Genbeigh Horseshoe. Large areas of blanket bog cover the slopes and are intermittently broken by areas of scree and rock outcrop. The mountain is drained on this side by tributaries of the Caragh river, which flows to E. The visible remains are widely scattered over an area which measure c. 1.2km NE-SW x c. 600m NW-SE. . The walls form a broken network of fields of both curvilinear and rectilinear plan. The exposed stretches vary between 10m and 100m long, with the longer sections running E-W. They mainly survive as low banks, constructed of rounded boulders, and they average 1m wide and .5m high. Within the same area as the field walls are two small enclosures, a hut and two fulachta fiadh. The smaller of the two enclosures is located near the N limits of the complex, close to the Coomavoon/Keel townland boundary, and is skirted by a pre-bog wall at S. Of subcircular plan, it measures 5.6m in internal diameter and is formed of a roughly constructed bank of rounded boulders and earth that is .85m wide and up to .55m high. An ill-defined entrance, 1.9m wide, occurs at N. The interior of the site is filled with loose stones. 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. 29. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 28 July 2013