Water mill

In 1885 two oak 'paddles' and the remains of a 'wooden hut', the timbers of which were morticed, were found at a depth of about four feet (c. 1.2m) on the bank of the Tahilla river (NMI; Minute Book of the Committee of Polite Literature and Antiquities, 1885, 465). The 'paddles' are now in NMI (1885:433–434) and measure .39m long, .07m in maximum width and .035m in average thickness. They are probably to be identified as vanes from the waterwheel of a horizontal mill. The 'wooden hut' associated with them may have been the remains of the wheelhouse or undercroft of such a mill. The precise location of the site was not recorded. 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. 1485. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 1 August 2013