Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Raheens

Internal diam. 29.3m N-S, 27.4m E-W This well-preserved bivallate rath is located in rough sloping pasture, about 160m E of the previous site. The roughly circular interior, featuring a circular hut (KE080-029001-) and the remains of a small rectangular structure (KE080-029003), is enclosed by two banks and an intervening fosse. The inner bank is best preserved along its upslope N sector, where it is faced internally with coursed drystone masonry, .8m high, and intermittent uprights. An unbonded construction join in the stone facing is visible at ENE. At N the bank has an internal height of 1.6m, is 3.5m in basal width, and falls 1.6m to the base of the fosse. It is only .2m high internally at S, where short stretches of drystone facing are preserved. A high content of stone may be seen in its composition at a number of points at S and W, where modern gaps occur. The flat-bottomed fosse is up to 2.5m wide at base and has been modified for use as a drain along its S sector, where it is poorly preserved. The low outer bank is preserved only in sections. Along the N sector its inner face is revetted with horizontal drystone coursing, and intermittent upright slabs line its external face. Here, it has an average width of 1.1m, an internal height of .9m, and is largely flush with external ground level, achieving a height of only .2m at N. A well-defined entrance is located at ESE. The gap through the inner bank, 2m wide, is revetted on either side by a row of upright slabs, both of which are flanked at their inner ends by a taller portal-like slab, c. 1m high. The slabs on the N side incline outwards markedly. A causeway crosses the fosse and two further upright slabs, set 2.4m apart, mark the gap through the outer bank, which is poorly preserved at this point. A slightly raised trackway runs for some distance to E from outside the rath's entrance. The interior of the rath slopes strongly down to SW and features four levels or terraces, only the uppermost of which retains evidence of a stone revetment. On the next lower level, which spans most of the N third of the interior, are the remnants of a rectangular structure. This is preserved as a stony rectangular area which is faced with coursed masonry at E and S; it measures 4.5m NW-SE x 2.6m NE-SW. The third level, .7m below the second, occupies a broad strip across the interior of the rath and contains the foundations of a circular hut, marked 'Cloghaun' on the first edition of the OS map. This has a maximum internal diameter of 3m, and its collapsed wall averages 1.5m thick. A possible entrance gap occurs at ENE. The fourth level, crescentric in plan, occurs 1.1m below the level of the third and is featureless. There is a local tradition of a souterrain (KE080-029002-) in this site, but no surface trace survives of it. 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. 540. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 30 July 2013