2004:1256 - KELLS: Drumbaragh, Meath

Excavation took place from 16 to 27 February 2004 at Cherry Hill housing estate, Kells, Co. Meath. The site was uncovered during monitoring undertaken in January 2004 (see No. 1255, Excavations 2004, 04E0034) in which the remains of an intact fulacht fiadh with a mound, a rectangular trough and associated features were encountered.

The main feature of the site is a small sub-rounded mound of burnt material consisting of charcoal-rich soil with a large concentration of burnt sandstone interspersed throughout. This mound encompassed an area of c. 9.2m east-west by 9.5m and achieved a maximum depth of 0.28m. Although irregular in shape, it maintained a roughly circular outline, showing no indications of a typical horseshoe pattern. The mound itself rests in a slight bowl-shaped depression in the natural topography, which was seen to have been closer to the underlying groundwater and which also caught the runoff from the surrounding gently sloping hills.

There were four shallow pits encountered in direct association underneath the mound. They do not abut each other in any structural manner. All contained the same fill of burnt material identified in the adjacent mound.

There was also an area of associated pits located c. 9m to the north-east at the centre of a slight rise in the topography. This area exhibited three irregular U-shaped pits containing dark-black burnt material associated with the mound. Although it is more than likely that the entire area was at one point covered with a light covering of burnt material, only the remaining pits situated below surface level have survived. One pit was sub-oval in plan, with a U-shaped cut with steeply sloping sides leading down to a relatively flat base. This bowl-shaped pit had dimensions of 1.4m east-west by 1.9m with a maximum depth of 0.43m. Three stones were deliberately placed at its base. These stones were flat, unworked sandstone but were placed in such a manner as to form a flat rough platform. It is possible that this pit was a 'potboiler', which was used for the heating up of cooking material, and that the stones at its base served as a rough but efficient platform for cooking activity. It is unclear whether this possible potboiler was utilised for one or more periods of firing, although, if it was used continuously, the stone platform at its base would facilitate easier removal of spent burnt material after periods of firing.

Located c. 1.2m from the south-western edge of the mound, a fully intact unlined trough was encountered. It was subrectangular in shape, having a very well defined flat base with sharply sloping vertical walls. The corners were uniform, with slightly rounded contours. The trough measured 1.95m east-west by 1.3m, with a depth of 0.45m at the southern half of the feature and 0.28m at the northern half. Cutting into the base of the trough on all four corners were circular U-shaped post-holes, the largest of which was 0.28m in diameter. These were fairly uniform in shape and all contained fills of burnt material associated with the mound. The posts were probably used for the suspension of objects above the trough such as a spit or a rack, of which no trace has survived. No finds were recovered from the trough or any of the features found within it. At the north-eastern edge of the trough a shallow linear trench cut into its side and led away to the south-east. While the purpose of this gully remains unclear, it is possible that it served as a water release feature to drain the trough after periods of firing.

Ard Solas, Lacken, Co. Wicklow