2006:1423 - CLOONAGHBOY, Mayo

Area I
Excavations were undertaken on this area from 29 June to 14 July 2006. The site was newly identified during the monitoring of topsoil removal (A020/075) and was fully excavated in advance of the construction of the N5 Charlestown bypass. The fulacht fiadh was located at the southern edge of a deep blanket peat basin at an altitude of 75m OD.

The mound measured 10.1m north–south by 5m by 0.26–0.62m thick. It was a moderately compact black peaty silt with frequent inclusions of heat-affected stone and charcoal. A poorly preserved wood-lined trough was identified under the mound material. It had a single fill, which probably represented the slumping of the surrounding mound material. It consisted of three split-plank base timbers averaging 1.85m long by 0.28m wide by 0.04m thick. One substantial timber formed the east end. Two corner posts on the south-east and south-west sides survived. Some smaller pieces of brushwood made up the remainder of the wood lining.

A sandy deposit was identified between the underlying peat and the base timbers of the trough. It was loose yellow fine sand with frequent inclusions of heat-affected stone. It may be the residue from the shattered heat-affected stone.

An area of charred and several worked timbers was identified along the north side of the mound and partially sealed by it. It covered an area 3.02m north–south by 1.5m. These timbers, eleven in total, were 0.3–1.7m long by 0.1–0.5m in diameter. Most were roundwoods with evidence for woodworking. The timbers were randomly orientated.

Area II
Excavations were undertaken on this area from 29 June to 14 July 2006. The site was newly identified during the monitoring of topsoil removal (A020/075) and was fully excavated in advance of the construction of the N5 Charlestown bypass. The mound was located on the south-facing slope of a gentle east–west ridge.

It measured 9.2m north–south by 9.5m by 0.1–0.42m thick. The deposit was a moderately compact mid-black silty clay, which had frequent inclusions of heat-affected stones and charcoal. There was a small depression located on the north side of the mound, which had been sealed by peat.

The mound had been heavily disturbed in modern times by forestry and machine activity in the area. Two possible boiling pits/troughs were identified under the mound.

Pit A was an irregular-shaped earth-cut pit, of which only three sides of the cut survived. It measured 1.9m north–south by 1.48m by 0.1–0.39m deep. The cut had steep sides and a flattish base, which sloped northwards. It had a single fill, a loose, friable mid- to dark-black clayey silt that had frequent inclusions of heat-affected stones and charcoal. It had a maximum thickness of 0.39m and minimum of 0.1m.

Pit B was located c. 3m south-west of Pit A. It was a shallow, roughly oval-shaped earth-cut pit that had two fills. The cut of the pit measured 2.4m east–west by 1.32m by 0.04–0.41m deep. It was a bowl-shaped cut, stepped on its western side, cut into the natural subsoil. The pit had two fills. The upper fill was a loose and friable mottled black and yellow coarse-grained silt that had frequent inclusions of charcoal. It measured 1.05m north-east/south-west by 0.9m by 0.04–0.08m thick. The lower fill was a loose, friable dark-greyish-black clayey silt, which was dominated by large heat-affected stones and had inclusions of charcoal. It measured 1.04m east–west by 1m by 0.15–0.41m thick.

It is possible that one of these pits may have functioned as a roasting pit and the second as a trough. Neither of the pits filled naturally with water, but this may have been the result of modern land drainage of the area.

Drummin, Westport, Co. Mayo