County: Limerick Site name: BARNAKYLE
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 99E0067
Author: Ciara MacManus, c/o ADS Ltd.
Site type: Fulacht fia and Well
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 552009m, N 650421m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.602930, -8.708459
The excavation of a fulacht fiadh within the townland of Barnakyle, Co. Limerick, was carried out over seven weeks from 10 February 1999. The site was discovered during monitoring of topsoil-stripping and drainage installation along the proposed route of the N20/N21 Limerick bypass and lay c. 5 miles to the south of Limerick City and c. 500m to the west of the N20 main road.
The fulacht fiadh survived as a mound of burnt stones and charcoal-rich soil, 18.94m long, 14m wide and 0.5m at its highest, under which a number of subsoil-cut features survived. Excavation and removal of the mound revealed three phases of activity on the site.
The first phase was the initial use of the site as a cooking area, with the construction of at least one trough, and associated build-up of mound material. The trough was elongated, 2.12m long, 1.48m wide and 0.43m deep, and was filled with a charcoal-rich, peaty deposit. Another possible trough lay to the north-east of the first one. Again, it was elongated (1.8m x 0.86m x 0.45m deep) and filled with a charcoal-rich material and numerous burnt stones. The resultant mound material then covered these earlier features.
The second phase of activity included the building of a substantial stone hearth structure over part of the earlier trough and the excavation of a secondary trough. The stone hearth was 2.6m long and 1.86m wide and consisted of two large stones, slabs of limestone, bounded by a ring of upright limestone blocks and divided in the middle by elongated slabs of limestone set on their sides. The two main slabs of stone were burnt and heat-shattered, along with many of the other stones that made up the hearth. The secondary trough was uncovered along the west edge of the mound and survived as a large, elongated pit (4.85m long, 3.18m wide and 0.99m deep) with a north-west/south-east orientation. The trough was filled by a number of deposits, ranging from soft, peaty layers to soft clays, and appeared to be lined by a layer of small stones set into the edge. During this phase, the build-up of the rest of the mound material occurred. At this stage it was possible to identify an area within the mound where the rake material from the hearth had been dumped to the north-east of the hearth.
The last phase of activity on the site resulted in the construction of a beehive-shaped well, which was sunk into the north-east end of the mound. The well was of drystone construction, comprising roughly hewn blocks of limestone.
Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Dublin 3
