Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Carhan Upper

Internal diam. 24m N-S, 28m E-W One of a group of four raths situated in close proximity to one another on the E side of Bentee mountain, this univallate site is situated on a large level terrace. A series of old field boundaries skirt its enclosing element at E, S and W. The external fosse ranges from 1m to 2m wide and falls to an average depth of .6m below external ground level. Dense vegetation obscures its base, and the fosse is poorly preserved at SE. The earthen bank rises 1.4m high externally, falls 1m to the interior and has a basal width of 3.5m. A 3m wide gap at W, and a corresponding causeway across the fosse, represent the original entrance to the site. Donaldson recorded that the rath's interior was disturbed in the 1950s and that traces of ash and charcoal were apparent beneath the sod (1956). A possible conjoined hut (KE079-052003-), represented by two curving sections of wall, is located in the interior of the site at E. The arc at N indicates a hut (KE079-052001-) with an internal diameter c. 3m, and that at S, c. 5.5m. The exposed inner wall-faces are preserved up to .3m high and are horizontally coursed. The walls vary from .6m to .9m thick. Centrally located in the interior of the rath are the poorly preserved remains of a drystone-built souterrain (KE079-052002-), marked by a 7.5m long depression, aligned N-S. Only one lintel remains in situ and the accessible portion of the passage measures 1.65m long and 1.08m wide. Two quern-stones, located in an adjacent farmyard, are reputed to have come from this site (local information). 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. 479. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 28 July 2013