Fulacht fia

The National Monuments Service's description

On the S slopes of a gentle U-shaped valley. Excavated in advance of the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford road improvement scheme (Licence no. E3540). A mound of burnt material (14.35m by 13.8m; D 0.57m) covering two troughs, a large pit, a small structure and c. 30 small pits. The large pit (2.75m by 1.8m by 0.75m) was filled with burnt mound material with a dump of limestone blocks at its base. A small structure made up of two rows of four post-holes was 5m E of the large pit. A waterhole (4m x 4m; D 2m) filled with grey silts and frequent stone blocks lay immediately N of the mound. Two phases of activity were present - one in the Bronze Age and one in the Iron Age. Radiocarbon samples returned dates of 2464-2214 cal BC (UBA-12186) for Trough 1, 2116-1893 (UBA-15553) cal BC for the waterhole and 744-407 cal BC (UBA-11000) for Trough 2. It is possible that these remains represent a bathing place. (Jennings 2010, 237-8, no. 897; Jennings and Coughlan 2012)

Compiled by: Mary Tunney

Date of upload: 13 November 2013

References

Jennings, R. 2010 AR078, Danesfort. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2007: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 237-8, no. 897. Bray. Wordwell.

Jennings, R. and Coughlan, T. 2012 N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford scheme, Phase 4 – Knocktopher to Powerstown. Final report. E3540. Danesfort. Unpublished report submitted to the National Monuments Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Dublin.