Fulacht fia

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a slight S-facing slope. A remote sensing survey (18R0012) by J. Nicholls (2018) identified numerous potential archaeological features and archaeological testing (18E0495) by L. Kavanagh (2012) confirmed the presence of three isolated pits, two burnt mounds and a ring-ditch (excavations.ie 2018:226). The features were subsequently excavated by M. Piera under the same licence (excavations.ie 2019:735).

This consists of the core of a burnt mound (diam. 2.5m; D 0.25m) consisting of a grey/black silty clay with burnt stone and charcoal, surrounded by a thinner spread of light grey clay with burnt stone (dims c. 10m x 3m; max. T 0.12m) around it E-S-W. There is a subrectangular trough (dims 1.1m x 1m; max. D 0.28m) with a second cut (dims 0.57m x 0.38m; D 0.17m) at its S edge just N of the mound. Both cuts were filled with different silty clays but both were sealed by the same grey/brown sandy clay. Two small pits just to the N may be related as might two other pits 3m and 6m to the S beneath the burnt mound. The burnt mound material was cut by modern furrows, and no artefacts were recovered. (Piera 2020, 5-7)

See the attached plan from Piera (2020, fig. 5)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 10 December 2021

References

Piera, M. 2020 Preliminary Excavation Report for The Willows, Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath. Licence: 18E0495. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy

Nicholls, J. 2018 Phases 1C, 1D, 2 &3, The Willows, Dublin Road, Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath. Licence: 18R0012. Unpublished report, Target Archaeological Geophysics (TAG1800IE2)

Kavanagh, L. and Tobin, M. 2018 Archaeological assessment at The Willows, Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath. Licence No. 18E0495. Unpublished excavation, IAC