2007:1081 - Errew, Leitrim

Pre-development excavation was carried out on the site of a proposed golf-course in Errew, Co. Leitrim, from 10 to 27 April 2007. The remains of four fulachta fiadh were identified some 30m east of the River Errew at the base of a valley opening northwards on to Lough Errew. The area of the site would originally have been part of the lake that had already filled up with peat by the time the fulachta fiadh were constructed.
The excavation encompassed 208.3m2, which was divided into four separate areas corresponding to the locations of identified archaeological deposits. A layer of sod covering the reclaimed bog had been removed with the aid of mechanical excavators during the testing phase. The underlying peat was divided into two strata on the basis of their stratigraphic position in relation to the archaeological deposits. The upper stratum covered the archaeological deposits and survived to a depth of c. 0.25m, while the depth of the lower stratum reached a minimum of 0.7m.
The northernmost of the four fulachta fiadh was located on an artificial, 0.15m thick, kidney-shaped deposit of marly clay that acted as a 5.4m-long and 3.2m-wide platform in the bog. A circular stone-lined bowl-shaped trough, measuring 1.4m in diameter by 0.35m deep, was partly cut into the western periphery of the clay platform. An irregular line of ten stakes ran in an east–west direction some 1.5m north of the clay platform. During the use of the fulacht fiadh, a thin, 0.06m-deep, crescent-shaped deposit of small, heat-shattered sandstone fragments mixed with charcoal was deposited on the surface of the clay platform. Charcoal from this burnt deposit returned a calibrated radiocarbon date range of 2200–1960 bc (Wk-23159).
The second fulacht fiadh lay some 35m to the south. This was located on a sub-oval artificial deposit of clay measuring 3.9m north-west/south-east by 2.6m by 0.25m deep. A rectangular trough, measuring 1.98m by 1.08m by 0.2m deep, was constructed within the western limit of the clay platform. The base and the sides of the trough were lined with longitudinally split roundwood and brushwood elements. A layer of moss was inserted behind the wood lining of the feature. A mixture of charcoal and heat-shattered sandstone fragments – also including many larger pieces ready to be reused – was deposited at two locations. Charcoal from this burnt deposit returned a calibrated radiocarbon date range of 1000–830 bc (Wk-23160). Adjacent to the eastern side of the trough, a deposit of clay, measuring 0.35m in diameter by 0.15m deep, partly overlay the burnt material, suggesting that it also played part in activities associated with the site.
The third fulacht fiadh was located further to the south. It consisted of an irregularly oblong clay platform, measuring 5.2m east–west by 2.8m by 0.5m deep. A bowl-shaped, originally wattle-lined trough, measuring 1.22m in diameter by 0.24m deep, was excavated along the northern edge of the platform. A deposit of heat-shattered stones mixed with charcoal accumulated to the south-east of the trough. This deposit, measuring 1.1m by 0.5m by 0.02m deep, possibly indicated the location of a hearth, though the lack of oxidised surfaces on the underlying clay did not confirm this interpretation. A circular stake-hole with a rounded V-shaped profile, measuring 0.19m in diameter by 0.12m deep, was found in the south-eastern extent of the platform. A dense deposit of roots, some brushwood and a worked stake were identified some 5m to the south-west of the platform. These may have acted as a foundation for a structure associated with the site.
The southernmost fulacht fiadh lay some 8m south of the previously discussed location. It consisted of a clay platform measuring 4m east–west by 2.1m by 0.32m deep, with a thin oblong deposit of heat-shattered sandstone mixed with charcoal in its eastern half. Charcoal from this burnt deposit returned a radiocarbon date range of 790–500 bc (Wk-23161). No trough was found in association with this fulacht fiadh.