2002:0299 - CURRAHEEN 4, Cork

Two archaeological sites were exposed at Sites 1–2 during monitoring of topsoil-stripping in the townland of Curraheen for groundworks associated with the construction of the Ballincollig Bypass.

Site 1 contained the remains of a substantial fulacht fiadh. The burnt mound was 9.4m long, 6m wide and 0.84m deep and contained a single bronze disc-headed pin, indicating that the site was in use during the Late Bronze Age. The mound appeared to have been deposited in an area likely to be the edge of a natural pool or marshy area that eventually dried out and filled with a dark brown, peaty clay. Two wooden posts were exposed at the base of the burnt mound at the edge of the natural pool. Both displayed evidence of working and had been fire hardened to strengthen their tips before they were inserted in the ground. The function of these posts is unknown, but they may have formed a revetment or jetty, as they were clearly inserted in the ground before the burnt mound was deposited.

A number of pits, a rectangular trough, a deposit of burnt limestone and a number of linear features were also exposed to the north of the site. The trough may have been lined with wooden planks, although no fragments of wood were recovered. The pit to the west of the trough may have functioned as the hearth to heat stone, but no trace of oxidisation was exposed.

Three pits and one deposit were exposed at Site 2. They had been filled with black clay and heat-shattered stone, typically exposed with burnt mounds. This site may represent outlying pits and features associated with the larger Site 1. However, it is likely that it is associated with a second burnt spread exposed to the north, suggesting that it represents a second, smaller fulacht fiadh.

Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth