Fulacht fia

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a slight S-facing slope with a small NW-SE canalised stream just to the NE. Archaeological testing (04E0915) by S. Delaney (2005) at Testing Area 12 of Contract 4 of the M3 motorway identified (excavations.ie 2004:1355) archaeological material that was completely excavated (E003152) in December 2006 by Y. Whitty (2010) as Town Parks 6 when an area of 580 square metres was opened and a fulacht fia was recorded (excavations.ie 2007:1400). A spread of broken and burnt stone (dims 10.8m E-W; 4.5m N-S; T 0.15m) was c. 3m W of a rectangular trough (dims 2.48m x 1.5m; D 0.14m) that had postholes in three of its angles. It was filled with a brown/black sandy clay with frequent heat-affected stone inclusions. A fragment of oak charcoal from a twig in one of the post-holes provided a C14 date of 3749-3640 cal. BC (UBA 11101) placing it firmly in the early Neolithic. A gully (L 9m; Wth 1.15m; D 0.33m) filled with a black silty sand and heat-shattered stones extended from the S edge of the mound ESE and cut the S edge of the rectangular trough. A second circular trough (diam. 1.25m; D 0.28m), c. 8m N of the mound was filled with burnt mound material and is probably contemporary. No artefacts were recovered. (Whitty 2010, 5-7)

See the attached plan from Whitty (2010, fig. 5)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 11 March 2022

References

Delaney, S. 2005 M3 Clonee-North of Kells; Contract 4, Navan - Kells and Kells Bypass. Report on Archaeological Assessment at Testing Area 12 in Rockfield and Town Parks, County Meath. Licence: 04E0915. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy

Whitty, Y. 2010 M3 Clonee – North of Kells, Contract 4, Navan to Kells and Kells Bypass. Final Report on Town Parks 6, Co. Meath. Licence: E003152. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy