Staigue Fort
Encyclopedia
Staigue stone fort is a partly ruined round stone fort, located three miles west of Sneem
, on the Iveragh peninsula
, County Kerry
, Ireland
. The fort is thought to have been built during the late Iron Age
, probably somewhere between 300 and 400 AD, as a defensive stronghold for a local lord or king.
It is situated at the head of a valley opening south to the sea, surrounded by a ditch over 8m wide and at present 1.8m deep. The fort's walls are up to 5.5 m (18 ft) high in places, 4 m (13 ft) thick at the base and 27.4 m (90 ft) in diameter. The interior is reached through a 1.8m passage roofed with double lintels
. Staigue Fort represents a considerable feat in engineering and construction. It was built without use of mortar
, using undressed stones. vertical joints visible in the wall show that gaps were left during the building of the wall to allow access and were filled in later. there is also a tapered, lintelled doorway. Inside is an elaborate system of stairways leading to terraces and corbelled cells in the wall reached by passages.
There is evidence that copper
was excavated in the surrounding area and appears to be a place of worship, an observatory and a place of defence.
Sneem
Sneem is a town situated on the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry in the southwest of Ireland. It lies on the estuary of the River Sneem. National route N70 runs through the town....
, on the Iveragh peninsula
Iveragh Peninsula
The Iveragh Peninsula is located in County Kerry in Ireland. It is the largest peninsula in southwestern Ireland. A mountain range, the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, lies in the centre of the peninsula...
, 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...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. The fort is thought to have been built during the late Iron Age
British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
, probably somewhere between 300 and 400 AD, as a defensive stronghold for a local lord or king.
It is situated at the head of a valley opening south to the sea, surrounded by a ditch over 8m wide and at present 1.8m deep. The fort's walls are up to 5.5 m (18 ft) high in places, 4 m (13 ft) thick at the base and 27.4 m (90 ft) in diameter. The interior is reached through a 1.8m passage roofed with double lintels
Post and lintel
Post and lintel, or in contemporary usage Post and beam, is a simple construction method using a lintel, header, or architrave as the horizontal member over a building void supported at its ends by two vertical columns, pillars, or posts...
. Staigue Fort represents a considerable feat in engineering and construction. It was built without use of mortar
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
, using undressed stones. vertical joints visible in the wall show that gaps were left during the building of the wall to allow access and were filled in later. there is also a tapered, lintelled doorway. Inside is an elaborate system of stairways leading to terraces and corbelled cells in the wall reached by passages.
There is evidence that copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
was excavated in the surrounding area and appears to be a place of worship, an observatory and a place of defence.