2014:421 - Liscannor, Clare

Monitoring was carried out at the site of a proposed park and ride facility serving the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre. The site was located on a steep hillside in Liscannor townland on the outskirts of Liscannor village. The groundworks had been planned for 2010 but began in October 2014, continuing sporadically until September 2015. Monitoring in October 2014 revealed two large burnt stone spreads alongside two smaller deposits of burnt stone. Monitoring in January 2015 revealed a further part of one of the large burnt stone spreads and a few smaller patches of burnt stone. Further monitoring in September 2015 revealed no additional archaeological remains.

The archaeological features were excavated in November 2014 and January 2015. The largest fulacht fia was a complex monument that measured overall over 19m by 15m and was up to 0.60m thick; it had at least two phases of use. The initial phase included a trapezoidal stone trough accessed from the west by an area of stone flag paving. After a period of use the trough had been partly dismantled and rebuilt above the original, with a layer of burnt stone between the two phases. It appears that, whilst the base stones of the second trough were new, the side slabs had been reused from the earlier iteration. Another area of stone paving accompanied the later trough, with a clear pathway again providing access from the west. Also sealed beneath the burnt stone of this monument was a large pit or well and a collapsed stone slab structure that contained burnt deposits and might represent the location of a hearth. At least two other cut features were observed in a machine-cut section at the edge of the excavation.

The second large fulacht fia, which also showed evidence of at least two phases of use, had overall measurements of 19.6m by 17m and was up to 0.55m thick, with five associated cut features. The largest feature beneath the burnt stone was a probable well, 1.7m deep, with stone slabs around its base that would have enabled access. There were two troughs in the first phase of use, one with degraded remains of a wooden lining. A later trough and a hearth were cut through overlying burnt stone deposits; the hearth was stone-lined and contained laminated deposits of clay and charcoal. The other features on the site were a smaller burnt stone spread with a trough, several isolated spreads of burnt stone and a number of pits or troughs also filled with burnt stone. None of the activity is currently dated but it is assumed that the site was utilised for a considerable period of time during prehistory.

TVAS (Ireland) Ltd, AHISH, BALLINRUAN, CRUSHEEN, CO. CLARE