2002:1928 - STRANDFIELD, Wexford

Excavation of a previously unrecorded fulacht fiadh was undertaken at Strandfield, Co. Wexford, before construction work on a wastewater treatment plant. The site was uncovered during topsoil-stripping and consisted of a low burnt stone spread with associated linear and pit features. The excavation was carried out over two weeks in April 2002. The wastewater treatment plant is c. 3.2km south of Wexford town, between the Kerlogue Industrial Estate and the Wexford–Rosslare railway line. The fulacht fiadh was uncovered in the centre of the development area, on flat ground close to the shoreline.

The fulacht fiadh consisted of an irregularly shaped spread of heat-fractured stones sealing an unlined trough. The trough was self-filling, and the water-retaining nature of the marl did not require the trough to be lined. Two randomly placed post-holes at the base of the trough did not provide sufficient evidence of a wooden lining around the sides. Although unlined pits are not an uncommon feature of fulachta fiadh, it has been suggested that they may represent temporary troughs (Ó Drisceoil 1988).

Most of the activity associated with the fulacht fiadh was to the south and west of the trough. A concentration of pits, post-holes and stake-holes was excavated to the west, but these features did not form any distinct pattern or plan. Some may have held posts, and many were large enough to have been structural in function, but interpretation was complicated by the fact that it was not possible to determine whether all of the features were contemporary with each other. A group could be seen to form a U-shape, and these may be the remains of an open-ended, flimsy structure. A row of small stake-holes to the south of the possible structure may have supported a windbreak or drying rack. The function of the various pits and post-holes to the south of the trough is unclear. None of the features showed signs of having held a post, but these may have been removed when the site was abandoned. The larger pits were filled with the same material as the trough, and it is possible that they also functioned as smaller troughs or wells. No evidence of a hearth was revealed, despite the intensive pit and stake-hole activity to the south and west of the trough. The natural clay at the base of the irregular depression to the south-west of the trough was oxidised but not to such an extent as to indicate that this was the main hearth for the activities associated with the trough.

A curvilinear feature to the east of the trough is interpreted as representing a post-and-wattle fence that was erected to protect the site from the prevailing easterly winds from Wexford Harbour. It was clear that the windbreak burnt down at some stage, as the sides of the trench were oxidised and the fills of post-holes at the base contained large amounts of charcoal, including small twigs.

Domestic activity at Strandfield is indicated by the presence of Bronze Age pottery, lithic material and animal bones. The pottery included the fragmented remains of a poorly preserved vessel from the curvilinear trench and a decorated rimsherd that was found embedded in the natural marl close to the trough. As with many other fulachta fiadh, there were very few animal bones; just a few unidentifiable burnt fragments were found in the base of the trough. The absence of animal bones does not necessarily preclude cooking activities as a function of these sites. Meat joints may have been brought in a prepared form and removed to a drier area away from the site for consumption.

The conclusion drawn from the evidence at Strandfield is that it was used as a cooking place rather than a sweat-house or sauna. The latter would have required a large superstructure, and the arrangement of stake-holes/post-holes around the trough did not indicate that they were used for this purpose. The number of stake-holes and post-holes in the environs of the site may indicate, at best, buildings of a temporary nature.

Reference
Ó Drisceoil, D.A. 1988 Burnt mounds: cooking or bathing? Antiquity 62, 671–8.

Department of Archaeology, University College Cork