County: Down Site name: KILLINURE
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/01/14
Author: Chris Long, ADS
Site type: Fulacht fia
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 737991m, N 864498m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.510093, -5.869015
During topsoil-stripping as part of the Mourne Conduit Replacement Scheme (Aquarius Project) the remains of a fulacht fiadh were recorded at the base of the east-facing slope of a small drumlin.
The burnt mound material extended downslope in an east–west direction. It consisted of a single layer of black, charcoal-rich, silty clay with moderate quantities of heat-fractured stone. The spread was truncated to both the north and south by plough-furrows, and the cut of a modern field drain extended north–south across the eastern end of the spread. A second spread was recorded approximately 10m to the north of Spread 1. This measured 6m north–south by 2.5m before extending beyond the limit of excavation to the west. It consisted of a charcoal-rich silty clay with moderate quantities of heat-fractured stone and with a maximum depth of 0.15m.
The remains of two troughs were recorded. Trough 1 was roughly circular in plan and had a diameter of 1.75m. It was cut almost vertically into subsoil to a depth of 0.35m and contained a single fill, which consisted of a black, charcoal-rich sandy silt with large heat-fractured stones. Trough 2 was approximately 7m east of Trough 1. Roughly subrectangular in plan, it measured 2.6m north–south by 1m and was cut into subsoil to a depth of 0.28m. It contained a single fill, which consisted of a compact black silty clay with frequent heat-fractured stones.
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