County: Meath Site name: KELLS: Drumbaragh
Sites and Monuments Record No.: ME017-044 Licence number: 04E0034
Author: Brian Halpin, National Archaeological Services
Site type: Fulacht fia
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 669671m, N 775478m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.724314, -6.944301
Monitoring was carried out from 12 to 20 January 2004 in advance of the construction of 48 houses on a greenfield site. The proposed development is within the zone of archaeological potential of the town of Kells, Co. Meath. This monitoring entailed the removal of all the topsoil down to the subsoil on the site using a track machine with a 1m-wide flat toothless bucket.
During the course of monitoring, one area of possible archaeological interest was uncovered in the north-western area of the site. A burnt mound or fulacht fiadh with associated features was uncovered in a slight hollow in the natural topography in a low-lying waterlogged setting. This feature is subcircular in shape, having approximate dimensions of 16m east-west by 14m. The feature contains large amounts of charcoal-rich soil with tightly packed burnt sandstone, typical of burnt mounds.
Ard Solas, Lacken, Co. Wicklow
