Fulacht fia

The National Monuments Service's description

Fulacht Fia excavated prior to the construction of the N20/21 road improvement scheme. Enclosure (LI013-121----) c.55m to the west, fulacht fia (LI013-180----) c.45m to the north. Archaeological material initially identified during monitoring of topsoil stripping carried out by Audrey Gahan under Licence No. 97E0289 (Gahan 1997). The results of the testing recorded the remains of fulacht fia material in two of the three trenches monitored (www.excavations.ie 1997:338; Gahan 1997). Excavations in 1997 by Cia McConway under an extension to Licence No. 97E0289 revealed one fulacht fia and the results were summarised as following; ‘As the site had been used as a rugby pitch, it had been scarped and levelled. As a result the archaeological deposits had been severely truncated and compressed. Excavation located a burnt mound, in the form of two kidney-shaped ‘arms’ oriented roughly north–south. The western ‘arm’ measured 14.5m x 7m x 0.15m deep and was composed of blackened and heat-shattered stone. The eastern ‘arm’ measured 22.5m x 9m x 0.5m deep, the stone having been compressed into the underlying soft natural clay. This was composed of heat-shattered, blackened stone and red burnt stony soil.
The ‘arms’ enclosed a central clay-lined trough, 2.58m x 2m x 0.54m, cutting through the subsoil. There was a shallower ‘basin’-type feature located along the western edge of the trough. A second subsoil-cut trough was located to the east of the burnt mound, measuring 1.96m x 1.42m x 0.36m. This pit had not been lined though there was a small post-hole in each corner, suggesting that they had held a small wooden frame, probably a spit. There was a cluster of stake-holes around the eastern edge of this trough and, though their function is unclear— they possibly held a windbreak—they undoubtedly have an association with the process of cooking. Both troughs were subrectangular in shape and filled with a black, greasy clay, packed with blackened and heat-shattered stone’ (www.excavations.ie 1997:339, McConway 1997).

Compiled by: Fiona Rooney

Date of upload: 29 June 2020

References

McConway, C 1997 Report of Archaeological Excavations at AR39 N20/21 Road Route, Dooradoyle td, Co. Limerick. Unpublished report (Licence No. 97E0289), submitted by Archaeological Development Services Ltd. on behalf of Limerick Co. Co. to the National Monuments Service, Dúchas.

Gahan, A 1997 Excavations at Dooradoyle Townland, Co. Limerick, N20/21 Road Improvement Scheme. Unpublished report (Licence No. 97E0289), submitted by Archaeological Development Services Ltd. on behalf of Limerick Co. Co. to the National Monuments Service, Dúchas