If the Stones Could Talk
Tackling the mystery of beehives and ringforts
It was simple curiosity that drew me into the unassuming farmhouse and driveway just off Slea Head Drive on Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula. The sign said Beehive Huts Fahan Group. Beehive huts? What are beehive huts? And then I saw them, a group of stone huts in the shape of beehives in the middle of a rocky sheep enclosure.
I consulted Google. It said beehive huts were cultural relics of great historic importance. Even the sheep recognized the sanctity of the place. Stooping to get my six-foot frame through the small doorway, I didn’t detect any animals, sheep or otherwise, inside the dark and dank structure. Outside, the sheep ambled about oblivious to tourists like myself.
Like Newgrange, the Stone Age burial site 250 miles away on the eastern side of Ireland, these huts were carefully assembled without the sticking power of mortar. The process is called corbelling, an ancient building technique pioneered by the Egyptians and Babylonians. The Irish are pretty good at it too. Flat-faced stones are stacked in rings one on top of the other with each layer jutting a little further inward. Tension keeps…
