2006:792 - DUNMORE, Galway

Excavation was carried out of a fulacht fiadh in the townland of Dunmore, Co. Galway, between 12 and 16 June 2006 as part of ongoing works for the Dunmore sewerage scheme. The fulacht fiadh was found near a bend on the Sinking River in a marshy field of rushes liable to floods. Specifically, the feature was located 39m to the east-south-east of F4 (a manhole for the foul sewer) and 5m from the edge of the southern boundary of the temporary wayleave. It was first identified as an amorphous spread of fire-cracked stones in a charcoal-enriched silt, measuring c. 10.8m north-north-west/south-south-east by 9.5m. Initially the burnt spread was partially obscured by overburden and pockets of peat and it was difficult to ascertain its extent or shape; it did not, however, conform to the classic kidney-shaped mound diagnostic of this monument type.

The mound consisted of mottled grey/black/orange, charcoal-enriched sandy silt with frequent inclusions of heat-fractured stone, mostly of metamorphic gneiss and schist. There were also variable percentages of ash (5–10%) and, to a lesser extent, charcoal, within the matrix.

The depth of the mound material averaged 0.3m near the centre-point, tapering to 0.07m at its southern extremity. The trough was identified by a conspicuously dark rectangular feature located in the north-west quadrant of the mound. The trough was orientated north–south at a 30° angle from the west-facing baulk. It was filled with both redeposited mound material and peat. A half-section through the fill exposed a section face of shattered stone, ash and charcoal contained within a wood-lined rectangular cut that measured 1.25m east–west by 2.1m. What survived of the timber lining was quite shallow, the side and base elements having been reduced to a degraded spongy mass. The timbers, numbering six base planks and four side planks in all, were regularly laid, cut to fit and arranged in a rectangular fashion. The four side planks had an average height of only 0.18m. No joints were evident, nor were the planks tightly fitting. On average, the base timbers measured 2m in length by 0.2m in width and had a depth of 0.07m. There was no evidence of clay at the base, but there was a fine sand lodged between the base planks that represent the finer sediments from the shattering of the stones. Following the recording of the trough in situ, the individual timbers were lifted piece by piece for sampling purposes.

Corporate House, Ballybrit Business Park, Ballybrit, Galway