2008:1170 - Aghnahoe, area 29, Tyrone

This site was investigated as part of the proposed corridor improvements of the line of the A4 between Dungannon and Ballygawley, where 15km of new road will be constructed. The site lay in a small valley between drumlins, characterised by glaciofluvial sands and gravels, eroded by a tributary of the Ballygawley Water, c. 3.5km north-east of Ballygawley, Co Tyrone.
Three trenches (A–C) were hand-cleaned to reveal two burnt mounds beside the stream and a probable corn-drying kiln slightly upslope.
Trenches A and B
The eastern half of both burnt mounds had been extensively eroded by the stream, presumably in periodic episodes of flooding. A large number of post-medieval furrows and field drains spread both burnt mounds, mixing the burnt stone with the topsoil. Beneath the layers of disturbed burnt-mound material, in situ burnt-stone material was found surrounding a central trough in each case. Both troughs were subrectangular with rounded corners and are likely to have been partly wood lined, though no post-holes were recorded in the corners. The decayed remnants of a solitary plank lay diagonally across the base of the trough and, whilst most of this survived as a soil stain, the best-preserved section included wood with a probable axe mark.
A probable hearth and pit were also recorded in association with the southern fulacht (Trench 29B). Both fulachta demonstrated at least two phases of use, with a succession of natural erosion and deposition episodes. Three fragments of flint debitage were recorded in association with the larger fulacht, but all from disturbed contexts. A small number of late post-medieval finds were retrieved from the base of the topsoil and loose during clean-back and may relate to a cottage which formerly stood to the east.
Trench C
The kiln (Trench C) was a well-preserved example of a keyhole kiln with jambstones flanking the entrance of the flue to the drying chamber. An additional stone between these jambstones may have been a collapsed flue capstone or perhaps a blocking stone. A sequence of burnt layers within the kiln suggest a considerable number of firings as well as at least two unintentionally vigorous burns, where it seems the turf superstructure burnt down.
Preliminary analysis suggests that there were at least four phases of activity at Area 29, including at least two phases of prehistoric activity associated with the fulachta, a phase associated with the kiln and late post-medieval agricultural phase. The classic proportions of the features may hint at a Bronze Age date for the fulachta fiadh and a late Iron Age or early medieval date for the kiln.