Fulacht fia

The National Monuments Service's description

Identified during archaeological monitoring associated with the N20/N21 Limerick Bypass road scheme. Excavated under licence no. 99E0067 by Ciara MacManus (MacManus 1999) the results were summarised as following; ‘The fulacht fiadh survived as a mound of burnt stones and charcoal-rich soil, 18.94m long, 14m wide and 0.5m at its highest, under which a number of subsoil-cut features survived. Excavation and removal of the mound revealed three phases of activity on the site. The first phase was the initial use of the site as a cooking area, with the construction of at least one trough, and associated build-up of mound material. The trough was elongated, 2.12m long, 1.48m wide and 0.43m deep, and was filled with a charcoal-rich, peaty deposit. Another possible trough lay to the north-east of the first one. Again, it was elongated (1.8m x 0.86m x 0.45m deep) and filled with a charcoal-rich material and numerous burnt stones. The resultant mound material then covered these earlier features.
The second phase of activity included the building of a substantial stone hearth structure over part of the earlier trough and the excavation of a secondary trough. The stone hearth was 2.6m long and 1.86m wide and consisted of two large stones, slabs of limestone, bounded by a ring of upright limestone blocks and divided in the middle by elongated slabs of limestone set on their sides. The two main slabs of stone were burnt and heat-shattered, along with many of the other stones that made up the hearth. The secondary trough was uncovered along the west edge of the mound and survived as a large, elongated pit (4.85m long, 3.18m wide and 0.99m deep) with a north-west/south-east orientation. The trough was filled by a number of deposits, ranging from soft, peaty layers to soft clays, and appeared to be lined by a layer of small stones set into the edge. During this phase, the build-up of the rest of the mound material occurred. At this stage it was possible to identify an area within the mound where the rake material from the hearth had been dumped to the north-east of the hearth.
The last phase of activity on the site resulted in the construction of a beehive-shaped well, which was sunk into the north-east end of the mound. The well was of drystone construction, comprising roughly hewn blocks of limestone’ (www.excavations.ie 1999, No. 490).

Compiled by: Martin Fitzpatrick

Date upload: 3 July 2020

References

MacManus, C. 1999 Excavations of a Bronze Age Fulacht Fia in Barnakyle Td., Co. Limerick. Unpublished report (Licence No. 99E0067), submitted by Archaeological Development Services Ltd. on behalf of Limerick County Council to the National Monuments Service, Dúchas.