Fulacht fia

The National Monuments Service's description

Identified in centre-line testing (E4110) in advance of the M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy road scheme and set aside for resolution as Ballycarrigeen Lower 6 (Hardy et al. 2010, 60-1). It is situated at the bottom of a NW-facing slope with a small NE-SW stream c. 200m to the N where it is beginning to turn NW. It was completely excavated (E4164) by M. McNamara as a rectangular trough (dims 1.34m x 1.15m; D 0.65m) that had a wooden plank base but was truncated at N by a WNW-ESE section of a drainage ditch. The trough was filled by burnt mound material and surrounded by stake-holes on the SE and SW sides, perhaps creating a wind-break. The trough was covered by a mound of burnt stone (dims c. 10m x c. 7m; T 0.13m) that was also truncated by the ditch. No artefacts were recovered but an oak plank from the trough produced a felling date of 1463 BC +- 9, while the fill produced a C14 date of Cal. BC 1392-1213. (Hardy and Taylor 2012; Gallagher 2013)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 26 November, 2013

References

McNamara, M. 2013 Ballycarrigeen Lower 6. Burnt-stone spread, wood-lined trough, stake-holes, fire-spot and post-medieval ditches. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2010: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 216, No. 687. Dublin. Wordwell.

Hardy, C., Nugent, L., Homan Reid, R; O'Liathain, N; Whitty, Y.; and Coleman, C. 2010 N11 Gorey to Enniscorthy scheme. Archaeological Consultancy Services, Stage (1)a. E4110. Testing report for Wexford County Council. Unpublished. TVAS (Ireland).

McNamara, M. 2012 M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy Scheme, Co. Wexford. E4164, Ballycarrigeen Lower 6. Stage (IV) Final Excavation Report for Wexford County Council. Unpublished report, TVAS (Ireland).