County: Sligo Site name: CUMMEEN: Strandhill Road
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 14:52 Licence number: 02E0852
Author: Mary Henry
Site type: Burnt spread
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 565509m, N 836474m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.275902, -8.529563
Monitoring of excavation works on a greenfield site was carried out as part of a grant of planning permission to construct 32 houses at Cummeen, Co. Sligo. The area is near a large enclosure, c. 130m in diameter.
During monitoring, a burnt spread was encountered and investigated. It measured 2.6m (north–south) by 2.4m. Within this spread was a very thin layer, 30–60mm thick, of very dark grey/black sand intermixed with burnt sandstone and granite and flecks of charcoal. There were associated features near the burnt spread: 0.2m west of the burnt spread was a cut to accommodate a burnt pit. It was 1.65m long (east–west) and 0.8m wide. Its upper fill was very dark/black, similar to that in the burnt spread. However, it had a higher charcoal content and contained large burnt pieces of sandstone. The lower fill was a dark grey, silty sand. A further cut was identified close to the main burnt spread. It was small, shallow and subrectangular, measuring 0.35m by 0.22m by 28mm deep. It was filled with burnt material including burnt sandstone and charcoal intermixed with a very dark grey sand.
There was no trace of a hearth or trough to confirm the remains as those of a ploughed-out fulacht fiadh.
24 Queen Street, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
