Fulacht fia

The National Monuments Service's description

In flat wet pasture 190m W of the townland boundary with Grange and 290m N of a ring-barrow cemetery (LI031-176001/8- and LI031-177001/2-). The site is not depicted on OSi historic maps nor is it visible on either the OSi orthoimages taken 2005-12 or on the Digital Globe orthoimage taken 2011-2013. Discovered in 2005 during archaeological monitoring of the excavation of tree mounds and field drains in advance of afforestation (O’Mahony 2005, recorded at National Grid Ref: 161972/141713). Deposits of burnt heat shattered stone and dark black charcoal were uncovered immediately below a thin layer of sod (D. 0.03-0.04m, c. 55m OD). Field inspection identified a mound (10m N-S; 6m E-W; H 0.7m) with a slight depression at the centre, presumably the location of a fulacht fia trough. The site is located 3m E of a linear field drain. Further potential fulacht fia sites are located to the W of the drain and their location is indefinable as low field mounds with a similar physical morphology to the site identified during afforestation works. Once the site was identified the drains within an exclusion zone (dims. 55m N-S and 40m E-W) were backflled, this area remains unplanted and is visible on Google Earth orthoimage taken 05/04/2006; 28/06/2018 and 20/09/2020.

See attached Google Earth orthoimages and location map taken from O'Mahony 2005

Compiled by: Edmond O’Donovan

Date of upload: 28 October 2020

References

O’Mahony, E 2005 Unpublished Archaeological Report prior to the Commencement of Ground Works in Ballycullen, Co. Limerick on behalf of South Western Forestry Services Ltd. (CN38457) prepared for the Forest Service Inspectorate.