Souterrain in Tinnies Upper

This souterrain, not marked on the OS maps, is located on a terrace on a gentle S facing slope on Valencia Island. Its entrance is enclosed by a semicircular bank, 4m in overall dimensions, on the inner side of which is a short stretch of well-built stone facing, now mostly concealed in dense vegetation. This may be the remnants of an associated hut or it may be related to the low cairn which overlay the souterrain up to the late 1930s (Kerry Champion, 28/8/1937). O'Connell recorded that iron-slag was found among the stones of the cairn, and also described a large heavily scored stone which was found over the entrance to the souterrain (OPW). Through a rectangular entrance, .8m x .6m, three stone steps descend to a lintelled opening through which access is gained to a N-S rectangular chamber. The first step occurs .45m below present ground level and the risers of the remaining two are each .4m high. A large amount of collapse and modern domestic debris has accumulated at the base of the steps. Through the lintelled opening the chamber extends N-S for a distance of 3.1m. Its average width is 1m and it is 1.2m high. It is roofed with slabs and the side-walls are built of regular courses of flat slabs. A thick layer of a sooty substance coats the walls of the chamber. The floor is usually flooded and it appears to descend towards its S end. 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. 906. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 29 July 2013 This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 64/1938).