Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Fulacht fia
Town Parks (Kells Upper By.), County Meath, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Town Parks (Kells Upper By.)
- County
- Meath
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Latest-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Coordinates
- 53.71294, -6.87190
- SMR number
- ME017-081001-
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1790 map "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
Historical maps covering this location
- 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1799 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1869 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
Situated on a fairly level landscape. Archaeological testing (04E0916) by S. Delaney (2005) at Testing Area 11 of Contract 4 of the M3 motorway identified (excavations.ie 2004:1271) archaeological material that was partially excavated (E003147) in January 2007 by G. McLoughlin (2010) as Town Parks 1 when an area of 1800 square metres was opened and two fulachta fia were recorded (excavations.ie 2007:1395), but both features survive partially outside the excavated area to the SW.
Mound B is a large D-shaped mound of loose black sandy silt with heat-shattered stones (dims 11m NW-SE; 10m plus NE-SW; T 0.15m) extending off to the SW and only about half the mound was excavated. It overlay a grey silty clay with less broken and burnt stones, and both layers seal a large pit or water-hole (dims 1.7m NW-SE; 1.4m plus NE-SW; D 0.6m) that extends off to the SW. This was filled with a single deposit of charcoal-rich soil with heat-affected stones. A sample of Pomoideae charcoal from the water-hole provided a C14 date of 1005-855 cal. BC (UBA 11081). Two small pits (diam. 0.57m; D 0.34m: 0.85m; D 0.08m) with similar fills including heat-affected stones were cut in the subsoil, but no artefacts were recorded anywhere. The top of the mound was cut by NNE-SSW furrows. The fulacht fia (ME017-081002-) is c. 30m to the SE and although this monument has no identifiable trough it can be regarded as a fulacht fia, half of which survives outside the road corridor. (McLoughlin 2010, 6-9)
See the attached site plan from McLoughlin (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 11 in Gardenrath, Grangegoddan Glebe and Kilmainham, County Meath. Licence: 04E0916. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy
McLoughlin, G. 2010 M3 Clonee – North of Kells, Contract 4, Navan to Kells and Kells Bypass. Final Report on Town Parks 1, Co. Meath. Licence: E003147. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy
Nearby in the register
- Fulacht fiaunder 1 mi
- Structureunder 1 mi
- Hearthunder 1 mi
- Hearthunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.