Fulacht fia

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a gentle SW-facing slope. Archaeological testing (E004943) of an area of about 6 ha (c. 15 acres) required for the construction phase of the M11 motorway identified three archaeological areas, two of which being simple pit features were preserved in situ, but a burnt mound was fully excavated (E004974) as Ballydawmore 9 (excavations.ie 2018:677). It consisted of a rectangular trough (dims 3.55m x 3.15m; D 0.65m) with sloping sides and a subcircular trough (dims 2.7m x 1.8m; D 0.58m) linked to the former by a channel (L 1.8m; Wth 1.25m; D 0.3m) that was badly damaged by a later drain. There were also 68 stake-holes, two post-holes and two pits, beneath the spread of burnt and broken stones. The rectangular trough had five stakeholes at the corners and numerous others on the sloping SE side and extending SE in two lines (L 2m). This trough was filled with a charcoal flecked clayey silt beneath yellow clays that represent slumping of the sides or redeposited subsoil beneath the burnt mound material (dims 13m x 7.5m; max. T 0.36m). The subcircular trough was c. 1m to the N and it was filled with four deposits, largely of silt with varying amounts of burnt stone, including the main spread of the burnt mound. A polished stone axehead was the only artefact recovered from the burnt mound over the rectangular trough. Two small pits (diam. 1.3-1.4m; D 0.15m: 0.73m x 0.46m; D 0.37m) were cut into the subsoil but outside the extent of the burnt mound. (Kavanagh 2018; 2019)

See the attached plan from Kavanagh (2018, fig. 5)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload; 18 November 2020

References

Kavanagh, L. 2018 Archaeological test trenching of Proposed Permanent Fill Area 8, M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy PPP Scheme, Co. Wexford. Licence: E004943. Townland: Ballydawmore. Unpublished report, IAC Archaeology

Kavanagh, L. 2019 Preliminary Stratigraphic Report and Post-excavation Design for Ballydawmore 9, Co. Wexford. M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy PPP Scheme, Co. Wexford. Licence: E004974. Townland: Ballydawmore. Unpublished report, IAC Archaeology