County: Mayo Site name: Sonnagh
Sites and Monuments Record No.: - Licence number: A020/076, E3358
Author: Richard F. Gillespie, for Mayo County Council, Westport Road, Castlebar, Co. Mayo.
Site type: Fulacht fiadh
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 546425m, N 800544m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.951442, -8.816187
This site was excavated between 13 and 22 May 2006. It was newly identified during monitoring (A020/075) of topsoil removal. This site was located in very wet peat adjacent to a stream at 70m OD. It consisted of a crescent-shaped mound of burnt stone and charcoal which overlay an oval-shaped trough. This fulacht fiadh was totally enveloped in peat.
The mound measured 11m by 9.5 and had a maximum thickness of 0.5m. It consisted of burnt stone in a charcoal-rich peat matrix. It rested directly on the underlying peat and overlay the trough.
The trough was oval in plan, measuring 1.8m by 1.1m, and had a maximum depth of 0.4m. It was cut through the peat to the underlying marl. A partial wood lining survived in situ. It consisted of two base timbers, split planks, set side by side, and three possible corner stakes. It was filled with a dense layer of moss and fragmented wicker rods and a small amount of burnt stone and charcoal. A small amount of bone, possibly pigs’ teeth, was present in this fill. Some stray timbers, two of which were cut, were retrieved from the general area of the trough. The presence of wicker fragments suggests a wicker lining holding a moss layer that had since collapsed and the faunal remains suggest cooking as the main function of this site.
