Tag Archives: Dingle Peninsula

One of the most remarkable buildings I’ve ever been in was this small ancient church on Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula, said to be the best preserved early Christian church on the Emerald Isle.

The Gallarus Oratory was built between the seventh and eight century A.D and is exclusively made of layered angled stone — no mortar was used.  The process is known as dry-stone corbelling and is based on a building technique used in Ireland for thousands of years.  The angled stones allow water to run off and to keep the interior dry.  The technique results in thick heavy walls and a building shaped like an upside down boat; it’s obviously effective because over 1200 years later …

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