2007:322 - CORKBEG, Whitegate, Cork

Two adjacent fulachta fiadh were uncovered during test-trenching and monitoring investigations in a marshy low-lying corner of a greenfield in the south-west quadrant of the Whitegate Oil Refinery facility. This area was due to be impacted on by construction works and, following consultation with the National Monuments Service, it was agreed that both fulachta fiadh should be fully excavated.

The southern fulacht fiadh had been disturbed by later agricultural activity, including field drains and a drying kiln. The burnt spread extended over an area measuring 12.5m east–west by 10m and ranged between 0.02m deep at the outer edges and 0.3m deep near the centre. It was composed of a charcoal-enriched sandy clay deposit with frequent inclusions of heat-shattered stones. Following removal of the burnt spread, a rectangular trough cut with rounded corners was exposed in the low-lying north end of the site. The north end of the trough had been removed by a field drain and its surviving extent measured 2.65m north–south by 1.05m and 0.26m deep. There were no surviving traces of a lining element present. The trough was cut into an outcrop of loose shale-rich bedrock and was filled with the overlying burnt spread. It began to fill with ground-water following the removal of the fill material. A small hearth was uncovered underneath the south-west quadrant of the burnt spread. This was composed of a charcoal-rich deposit, which measured 1.07m east–west by 0.97m and 0.08m in maximum depth, and it contained a number of partially burnt, medium-sized angular stones. A stone-lined pit truncated the south-west edge of the burnt spread and measured 1.2m north–south by 1.7m and 0.3m in depth. The base was sealed by a number of flat slates, which were overlain by eight upright stones that lined the sides of the pit. The exposed surfaces of a number of the sidestones and basal slates displayed traces of burning. It appeared that the hearth and pit were used to heat the stones before they were placed into the trough.

The south-east quadrant of the burnt spread was truncated by a shallow L-shaped cut feature, which was interpreted as the remains of a drying kiln. The cut measured 0.18m in depth and ranged between 1.3m and 1.6m in width. It extended east–west for a distance of 3.8m and then turned to the north and continued for 4.5m until it terminated in the north-east quadrant of the burnt spread. The kiln cut extended down into the subsoil layer in all areas apart from the northern terminal, where the burnt spread formed the base. The sides of the cut were lined with 2–3 rough courses of angular field stones and these formed an internal flue averaging 0.6m in width. An upright baffle stone was set across the centre of the flue and it appeared that the bowl area was removed by later agricultural activity. The interior of the kiln was backfilled with a sterile fill of redeposited subsoil and the only artefact recovered was a saddle-quern fragment.

The truncated remains of a second fulacht fiadh were uncovered 16m to the north-west. This site was located in level ground at the base of the ridge in a marshy area of marginal ground that was prone to waterlogging. The burnt spread was uncovered following topsoil removal and measured 5.3m east–west by 7.2m and between 0.02m and 0.1m in depth. It contained occasional small charcoal flecks and was composed of a mixture of burnt material intermixed with topsoil, which indicated cultivation disturbance. The north end of the burnt spread both sealed and filled a rectangular pit, which measured 2.4m north–south by 1.4m and 0.3m in depth. There were no traces of lining in the pit and the east and west sides were truncated by a 0.3m-wide trench that contained a ceramic drainage pipe. Two subcircular pits were uncovered in the subsoil to the west of the burnt spread and both were sealed by the topsoil layer. The northern pit was stone-lined and contained some partially burnt medium-sized stones. The southern pit was unlined and the fill was similar in composition to the burnt-spread material.

There were no other archaeological features uncovered in the remainder of the development area.