Fulacht fia

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a fairly level landscape. Archaeological centre-line testing (04E0415) by J. Dempsey of Testing Area 1, Contract 2, prior to the construction of the M3 motorway (excavations.ie: 2004:1336) identified burnt mound material, which was completely excavated (E003054) by L. Cagney as Roestown 1 in October-November 2005. A mound (dims 7m x 6m; H c. 0.1-0.15m) of broken and burnt stones in a black matrix had NE-SW and NW-SE ploughmarks of post-medieval date cut across its upper surface. The mound is probably associated with a N-S linear spread (Wth c. 1.8m; T 0.08m) of similar material c. 2m to its W. The linear spread was cut on its W side by a N-S drainage ditch (Wth 2.2m; D 0.7m). The ditch had two stony fills and produced flint debitage, a hollow scraper and a water-rolled stone that may have been used in polishing. A bone from the primary layer of the ditch yielded a C14 date of 1530-1950 cal. AD (BETA 214638) showing that the ditch is modern. The topsoil also produced a large amount of flint debitage and a hollow-based arrowhead, while a perforated bone bead came from a layer of redeposited material.

The mound was just N of two flat-bottomed troughs, one circular (diam. 1.13-1.32m; D 0.13m) with a single fill of black silty clay that has burnt stone and charcoal inclusions, the other subcircular (dims 1.59m x 1.3m; D 0.3m) with two fills of silty clay that had varying amounts of charcoal flecking but no burnt stone. The smaller trough produced a C14 date of 2340-2260 cal. BC BETA 241302), while the larger yielded a date of 2460-2140 cal. BC (BETA 241303) from alder charcoal in its primary fill where a flint flake and core were also recovered. This places its use firmly at the beginning of the Early Bronze Age. There was also a round-bottomed pit (diam. 1.74m; D 0.54m) with a clay lining and a fill of black silty clay that may have been designed to retain water, and there was also a short, slightly curved, N-S gully (L 1.75m; Wth 0.55m; D 0.1m). There were 15 stake-holes beneath the mound, but no pattern was discernible amongst them. (Cagney and Ginn 2009)

See the attached plan from Cagney and Ginn (2009, fig. 7)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 21 April, 2022

References

Dempsey, J. 2004 M3 Clonee – North of Kells, Contract 2 Dunshaughlin - Navan, Report on the Archaeological Assessment of Testing Area 1, Roestown, Cooksland, County Meath. Licence: 04E0415. Unpublished report, Archaeological Consultancy Services

Cagney, L. & V. Ginn 2009 M3 Clonee - North of Kells, Contract 2 Dunshaughlin - Navan. Final Report on the Archaeological Excavation of Roestown 1, Co. Meath. Licence: E003054. Unpublished report, Archaeological Consultancy Services