County: Mayo Site name: BALLOUGHADALLA
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 06E0744
Author: Joanna Nolan, Mayo County Council
Site type: Fulacht fia
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 517669m, N 826107m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.177314, -9.261131
Two areas of burnt-mound material were revealed in topsoil-stripping on the route of the Ballina regional water supply scheme, Stage 4A, in Treangarrow (Spread 1, Excavations 2006, No. 1484) and Balloughadalla (Spread 2) townland. Neither of these sites had showed any surface traces prior to the topsoil-stripping and both seem to have previously been levelled either by land improvement works or by the adjacent road.
Spread 2 appeared to be a single small flattened area of burnt stone located on the south-east edge of the wayleave where it abutted the Crossmolina to Killalla road. The area was subcircular in outline and measured 9.5m north-west/south-east by 10.75m. It was resting on the edge of a peat deposit, with part of the spread, on the south-east edge, surviving only as a thin skim on top of grey/white boulder clay. This spread was located at the junction of peat and boulder clay. As it ran towards the west and south-west it was underlain by peat and the deposit got deeper. The road abutted this site to the south-west and seemed to have caused disturbance to it.
The area was excavated by revealing it fully and inserting a baulk across its widest point, from north-east to south-west. It revealed burnt stone to a depth of 0.9m overlying peat, and 1.6m north-west of the spread of burnt stone was an oval-shaped pit. It had fills of peat, woody material and crumbed burnt stone and has been interpreted as a boiling pit. A few struck cherts were found in the topsoil and in the vicinity of the site, but, due to the level of prior disturbance and displacement by topsoil-stripping, any association they may have had with this site is now lost.
Roadbridge compound, Breaffey road, Castlebar, Co. Mayo
