County: Laois Site name: AGHMACART (2)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A015/94, E2204
Author: John Lynch, for Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Site type: Fulacht fia
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 633639m, N 675626m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.830540, -7.500807
An excavation was carried out in response to an assessment, in advance of the proposed M7 Portlaoise to Castletown/M8 Portlaoise to Cullahill motorway scheme, in March–April 2006. The work was carried out on behalf of Laois County Council and the National Roads Authority.
This site was identified as the remains of a fulacht fiadh following the assessment of Testing Area 10. Contract 1 of the project incorporated the Portlaoise to Cullahill section of the scheme, consisting of c. 14km of motorway that extends from Aghaboe to south of Cullahill through the townlands from Gortnaclea to Oldtown. Aghmacart 2 was located to the west of a stream.
Topsoil-stripping on this site revealed a burnt mound and spread lying partially under palaeochannel deposits. The trough was subcircular (1.4m by 1.4m by 0.5m) and may have had rounded corners. It possibly contained a wooden structure which subsequently decayed. The basal fill was a clay lining on which lay a soft black fulacht-type deposit. It was approximately 50% finely comminuted charcoal and 50% heat-affected stones, which were mostly sandstone. It merged with the mound (6m by 4.5m by 0.05m), some of which spilled down into the palaeochannel. The site and all the features were sealed by alluvial deposits.
All of the samples from this site have yet to be analysed.
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