A Clochán is a dry-stone hut with a corbel

Corbel

In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...

led roof, dating from the early Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 or earlier. Most archaeologists think these structures were built on the southwestern coast of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 since the Bronze Age

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

. They are most commonly round beehive huts, but rectangular plans are known as well. Most experts think that the rectangular footprints date to a later era. Some Clochans are not completely built of stone, but may have possessed a thatched roof. The walls are very thick, up to 1.5 metres. Sometimes several clochans are joined together by their walls.

Clochans are mainly found in the Southwest of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, for example at Skellig Michael

Skellig Michael

Skellig Michael , also known as Great Skellig, is a steep rocky island in the Atlantic Ocean about 9 miles from the coast of County Kerry, Ireland. It is the larger of the two Skellig Islands...

, Church Island off Beginish Island

Beginish

Beginish is one of the Blasket Islands of County Kerry, Ireland. It is a low-lying island in Blasket Sound, between Great Blasket Island and the mainland. It has a large colony of Arctic Terns...

 and Reask

Reask

Reask is a ruined early Monastic site located 1 km east of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, County Kerry, Ireland. Although nothing remains of the buildings but low walls and a cross-slab standing stone which sits in the middle of the compound, this site gives a very good idea of the layout of a...

 (County Kerry

County Kerry

Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...

, Dingle Peninsula

Dingle Peninsula

The Dingle Peninsula is the northernmost of the major peninsulae in County Kerry. Its ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point of Ireland.-Name:...

). Many occur in religious contexts such as used by the monks following Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....

; moreover, his successors carried on the architectural tradition in the Scottish Isle of Iona

Iona

Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...

 and eventually via Aidan

Aidan of Lindisfarne

Known as Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, Aidan the Apostle of Northumbria , was the founder and first bishop of the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne in England. A Christian missionary, he is credited with restoring Christianity to Northumbria. Aidan is the Anglicised form of the original Old...

 to the eastern English Islands of Farne and Holy Island

Lindisfarne

Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is also known as Holy Island and constitutes a civil parish in Northumberland...

. There are others in ringfort

Ringfort

Ringforts are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Iron Age , although some were built as late as the Early Middle Ages . They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland...

s (such as Leacanbuaile, County Kerry

County Kerry

Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...

) that are commonly interpreted as secular dwellings. Elaborate dry walled stone churches like the Gallarus Oratory

Gallarus Oratory

The Gallarus Oratory is believed to be an early Christian church located on the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland...

may derive from Clochans. The clochan has been described in the 7th to 8th century law Críth Gablach.