Burial Ground — Sceilg Mhichíl

KE104A001011- Oratory Terrace: 'The ledge on which this is built is located above the previous terrace [KE104A001010-] and is disposed at right angles to it. The principal area, which may have been paved, measures 11m NE-SW x a maximum of 6.7m NW-SE; its NW and SW sides are formed by steep rock-faces. On it stand the oratory [KE104A001001-] and other structures [KE104A001003-, KE104A001004-, KE104A001005-, KE104A001006-] noted below. It was retained by a drystone wall at S which may have been up to 2.5m high originally at its E angle; only slight traces of it remain. A small extension to the terrace was constructed at NE. Triangular in plan, it measures 7m x 3m and also retains traces of its drystone revetment wall. On it are the remains of a possible shrine [KE104A001002-]. It is likely that this terrace is the feature on the S peak marked 'Burial Ground' on the OS maps' (O'Sullivan and Sheehan 1996, 288, No. 26). The oratory terrace was described in 1990 as follows; 'The second and most important of the three eremitic stations of the South Peak, the oratory terrace, lies at right angles to the garden terrace [KE104A001010-] four meters above it, with a rock barrier separating the two terraces both physically and visually. There are two ways to travel from the garden to the oratory terrace. The most obvious and safest way is to continue the climb to the summit from the northwestern end of the terrace, on a series of steps cut into the rock. The steps lead to the top of the long rock ridge separating the garden and oratory terraces. At the top of the ridge a left turn (to the northwest) leads to the final ascent to the summit, and a right turn leads down to the oratory terrace. Originally another connection led from the southeastern end of the garden to the oratory terrace, up steps that are now barely discernible in the rock face and along the outer edge of the ridge between the two terraces. The existence of this outer passage is further evidenced by the dry-stone masonry buttressing a large slab on this ledge. Fragments of the masonry can be seen only from the air or through binoculars from lower levels of the island. At the far end of the ledge, precipitous steps cut into the ridge led down to the retaining wall of the oratory terrace. The passage, a shortcut between the two terraces, is dangerous in windy or wet weather, particularly at the narrow juncture with the oratory terrace, where the retaining wall no longer exists. This station, lying about two hundred meters above the ocean and some fifteen meters below the summit, offers a magnificent view of the seascape east of the island' (Horn et. al. 1990, 37-40). See attached figures 29 30, and 31 taken from Horn, W., White Marshall, J. and Rourke, G. 1990 The forgotten hermitage of Skellig Michael. Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 2 March 2022