2002:1486 - LAGORE LITTLE (BGE 1a/16/1), Meath

The site at Lagore Little, Co. Meath, was identified by a surface scatter of characteristic firing material, blackened earth and heat-shattered stone in a very slight mound. The deposit was partially visible through the residual soil cover. Clearance was required to gain assess to the full extent of the feature. The site was defined as an area measuring 16m north–south by 5.4m. The evidence suggested that there may be two separate locations of firing material, with clear sterile ground between. A probable water source lies adjacent to the site in a field drain.

Excavation verified that this was indeed the site of two small fulachta fiadh, each with a well-defined trough. The southern fulacht fiadh revealed the full extent of the firing material spread, with some pockets preserved in natural hollows in the ground and tree bowls. There were no associated ancillary features. The trough was oval, measuring 1.2m north-north-west/south-south-east by 0.9m. The trough was 0.23m deep.

Excavation of the northern site revealed no evidence of firing material on the surface. The trough measured 1.7m north-north-east/south-south-west by 1.1m, and the feature survived to a maximum depth of 1.1m. It was quite irregular in plan. The base was lined with a thin layer of heat-shattered stone. The trough appeared to have been abandoned and allowed to silt up over time. Two shallow pit-like cuts, associated with the northern site, were also filled with firing material. The absence of a surface spread of firing material in the vicinity of this trough may suggest that the site was abandoned after a short period of use or served an alternative function using the same firing material.

2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin