Fulacht fia

The National Monuments Service's description

In flat wet pasture at the edge of former flood-plain, 300m E of the River Shannon. The site was excavated before the construction of the Limerick Southern Ring Road (Birmingham et al. 2013 and Reilly 2006). The site (dims. 36m x 23m) consisted of two burnt-stone deposits cut by a water flowing ditch. ‘Mound 1’ was identified on the higher ground in the centre of the site (dims. 6.7m x 4.5m x 0.26m D). A modern drain truncated it on its S side. In antiquity the W and N area of Mound 1 sloped down steeply into a water channel. ‘Mound 2’ (dims. 10.2m x 9.5m x 0.02–0.55m D) was found on a second area of relatively higher ground to the NW of Mound 1 and on the opposing stream bank. The contemporary ground level fell to the N, E and W. The second stone spread was located on a second island of higher, drier ground. A wooden trough made from alder was centrally located within the burnt mound of stone and close to the edge of the stream. The trough was located within a trapezoidal cut orientated NW-SE (dims. 1.2m long, 0.7m NW x 1m SE). It was set in a depression (dims. 1.76m x 1.32m). The trough timbers were held in place by stakes in each corner and were well preserved, with toolmarks evident on many of them. Flat stones were placed on the base of the trough preserving grass or reeds beneath on the old ground surface. A large Y-shaped worked ash artefact was found among the burnt sandstones. It looked as if it had been discarded and may have been used to manoeuvre hot stones from the fire to the trough or as a tool for extracting objects from the hot water (Reilly 2008, 243-4).

Compiled by: Edmond O’Donovan

Date of upload: 14 July 2020

References

Reilly, F. 2008 Coonagh West: Possible Bronze Age fulacht fiadh. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2005: summary accounts of excavations in Ireland, 243-4, No. 977. Dublin. Wordwell.

Bermingham, N., Coyne, F., Hull, G., Reilly, F. and Taylor, K. 2013 River Road: The archaeology of the Limerick Southern Ring Road with contributions by Eoin Grogan, Penny Johnston, Linda Lynch, Stephen Mandal, Charles Mount, Joanna Nolan, Paul O’Keeffe, Helen Roche, Sara Pavía and Angela Wallace, NRA Scheme Monographs 14.