County: Leitrim Site name: DRUMSNA
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 94E0158
Author: Hilary Opie
Site type: Fulacht fiadh
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 600451m, N 798013m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.931464, -7.993130
Archaeological excavations were carried out here between September 27 and October 4, 1994. Topsoil stripping along the Drumsna-Jamestown by-pass scheme was being monitored when an area of burnt sandstone, charcoal and soil was uncovered. Prior to machine clearance there were no surface indications of a fulacht fiadh.
Upon excavation, evidence of an irregularly shaped, roughly flat-bottomed trough cut into the subsoil was uncovered, this measured 1.6 x 1.1m and varied between 0.25m–0.3m in depth. The upper fill consisted of burnt sandstone, soil and charcoal, representing later infilling. Beneath this was a thick layer of brown organic peat-like material and beneath this a thin charcoal-rich layer mixed with the peat. A final layer of pale grey sand and sandstone stained with charcoal was noted. An associated hearth lay directly to the north-east of the trough area and a small, thin spread of burnt sandstone was noted to the west of the trough. The site was in a naturally low-lying, boggy area, liable to flooding, and the trough tended to fill automatically through natural seepage. No finds were recovered in direct association with the fulacht fiadh and C14 dating from the trough area will be required to establish a date range for the site.
16 Ormond Sq., Dublin 7, for Valerie Keeley-Schmidt
