Large Oratory, Skellig Michael

Description

 

SMR No.: KE104A001039-

Monument Type: Church

This oratory is of the usual inverted-boat shape, with the door in the west wall (Ill. 1.5). It is built of stones of moderate size laid in horizontal courses. Internally it is rectangular (measuring 3.45m by 2.35m) up to a height of 2.3m and then develops into an elongated dome. The internal walls show signs of later limewashing. There is a small rectangular window in the east wall. On either side of the door, which has inclined jambs, the wall is faced inside with two large vertical slabs. The walls of the oratory are about 1.2m thick. Externally, there is a cross of white quartz inserted into the stones of the wall above the doorway, but this is a later addition.

SKELLIG MICHAEL, CO. KERRY: THE MONASTERY AND SOUTH PEAK, Archaeological stratigraphic report: excavations 1986–2010 Edward Bourke, Alan R. Hayden, Ann Lynch