2007:303 - MEADSTOWN, Cork

The development at Meadstown, Kildorrery, consisted of the construction of a single dwelling house on a greenfield site. The site is located within the constraint zone for a linear earthwork, CO018–001, which is known as the Claidh Dubh. A previously unrecorded fulacht fiadh was uncovered in the area of the wastewater treatment plant in Trench 4.

Trench 4 was excavated in a roughly north-east/south-west direction just to the rear of the proposed house area. A levelled fulacht fiadh was uncovered in the western portion of the trench c. 0.3m below present ground level and extended in a westerly direction as far as the Claidh Dubh. An auxiliary trench was excavated to the north of Trench 4 in order to expose the northern extent of the monument and therefore assess the potential impact of the proposed house on the fulacht fiadh. The burnt spread extended a further 7m to the north within the auxiliary trench and natural clay was exposed to the north of this. No further testing of the fulacht fiadh was considered necessary, either in a westerly direction towards the Claidh Dubh or in a southerly direction, as no ground disturbance would be taking place in these areas.

The burnt spread consisted of a black silty sand with frequent inclusions of heat-shattered stones. The depth of the burnt spread was not established and only the topsoil was removed to expose the northern and eastern extent of the monument. It is located in a wet and marshy portion of the field and was not visible aboveground prior to the test excavation. The proposed wastewater treatment plant would therefore be located c. 4–5m to the east of the burnt spread. Recommendations were made to the applicant to amend the location of the wastewater treatment plant and percolation area further to the east, thereby maintaining a buffer zone of 15m between the latter and the monument. A National Grid reference of 69512 08284 was taken for the fulacht fiadh.