Beehive huts can be found in various parts of Ireland, especially in Dingle.  Resembling….wait for it….beehives! in shape, and oft times clustered together in groupings. www.celticquill.com has a great article on these amazing structures: “Clocháns are dry-stone buildings dating from c.2000 BC. They are usually round in shape, but rectangular huts are known as well. What gives these huts their distinctive appearance is a building technique known as corbelling, i.e. the layering of stones, with each layer bending slightly closer and narrower towards the peak. Stones were laid with an outward and downward tilt to shed water, making these huts watertight.”

Photo courtesy of http://www.celticquill.com
People lived in them, such as visitors or monks, and later on, they were used for farm animals or storage. When we visited some in Dingle, we were amazed by two things: how low the door entrances were (my husband whacked his poor head on one), and how amazingly perfect and dry and intact they still were after all these hundreds of years. Talk about well-built to stand the test of time. To quote many a time-traveled elder: “They don’t make ’em like they used to.”  🙂 Slainte, Lisa
Does not only apply to buildings does it. But – still standing! Wonder how the time line compares to the Roman structures?
Good question…I just looked up the Roman Coliseum dates. It was built between 70-80 AD. Which puts these beehives much older… The Parthenon in Athens, Greece was built between 447-438 BC. Which still puts these older. Wow!
Love It! This was one of my favorite of your blogs…..i love beehive huts 😀
Thank you so much! They are cool. 🙂