Fulacht fia

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated in a hollow at the bottom of the NE-facing slope of the Hill of Lloyd. Archaeological testing (04E0913) by J. Roynane (2005) at Testing Area 14 of Contract 4 of the M3 motorway identified three spreads of burnt mound material on the route of the N52 Kells link road. The material was on either side of the NW-SE field bank and townland boundary between Commons of Lloyd to the SW and Town Parks to the NE (excavations.ie 2004:1345). These were completely resolved (E003156) by D. Bayley (2010) as Town Parks/Commons of Lloyd 1 in February – March 2007 (excavations.ie 2007:1401) when just over 3700 square metres were opened and three burnt mounds were recorded.

This monument was cut by the NW-SE field bank and townland boundary, leaving two troughs in Commons of Lloyd and three pits (dims 1.86m x 1.8m; D 0.2m to 2.3m x 2.14m; D 0.53m) filled with burnt mound material and the largest remnant of the mound (dims 13.5m x 9m; T 0.47m) in Town Parks. Three smaller spreads of burnt and broken stone (dims 3.2m x 1m to 7.5m x 4.5m; max. T 0.1m) were SW of the field bank. The oval, flat-bottomed (dims 2.02m x 1.42m; D 0.42m) and the rectangular (dims 2.1m plus x 1.5m; D 0.4m) troughs were both lined with grey silty clays, and the impressions of wood were in the base of the rectangular trough, which was slightly truncated by a NW-SE field drain at NE. Both troughs were filled with silty clays that had some heat-shattered stones. A sample of alder charcoal from the largest fragment of the mound produced a C14 date of 2109-1892 cal. BC (UBA 11123). (Bayley 2010, 4-6)

Site the attached site plan and monument plan from Bayley (2010, figs 5, 6)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 11 March 2022

References

Roynane, J. 2005 M3 Clonee-North of Kells; Contract 4, Navan-Kells and Kells Bypass. Report on Archaeological Assessment at Testing Area 14, in Town Parks, Commons of Lloyd, Whitecommons, Archdeaconry Glebe and Cakestown Glebe townlands, County Meath. Licence: 04E0913. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy

Bayley, D. 2010 M3 Clonee – North of Kells, Contract 4, Navan to Kells and Kells Bypass. Final Report on Town Parks / Commons of Lloyd 1, Co. Meath. Licence: E003156. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy