2016:154 - Errarooey More (Oirear Dhumhaí Mór), Donegal

Excavation and conservation works took place at a damaged fulacht fia in the townland of Errarooey More (Oirear Dhumhaí Mór), Co. Donegal. This work was carried out on behalf of the National Monuments Service, Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (DAHRRGA). The fulacht fia was first recorded by the Archaeological Survey of Donegal during the early 1980s (DG025-007). Inspection works and rescue excavation were required due to recent machine damage at the site, which was reported to the DAHRRGA by Jane O’Shaughnessy in April 2016. An inspection of the site was subsequently carried out by Alan Hawkes. This confirmed that the burnt mound had been subject to damage on the east, north and south sides. The remains of a wattle trough had been exposed on the east-facing section and a considerable amount of rubble and modern rubbish had been deliberately dumped around and over the burnt mound. The primary aim of the excavation was to rescue vulnerable archaeological material exposed by recent damage and recover any artefact or suitable environmental remains for analysis.

Theworks took place over a period of eleven days between 24 October and 5 November 2016. The fulacht fia is located c. 5km north-east of Falcaragh in north Co. Donegal. It is situated in a steep-sided narrow valley at an altitude of approx. 60m OD. A small stream borders the fulacht fia c. 8m to the east, which flows north-south. The site is overlooked by drier, rocky ground to the east and west, where natural bedrock is exposed. Following the removal of the overlying dumped material, the burnt mound proper was identified along with the collapsed remains of a possible field wall first recorded by the Donegal Archaeological Survey. Once the limits of the burnt mound were identified the site was cleaned by hand and recorded.

The mound was roughly crescent shaped in plan and the machine damage was clearly evident on the east, south and north sides. A small amount of burnt mound material extended 1.8m to the south. The surviving mound measured approx. 10.3m north-south by 6.2m. The extant height of the mound to the west ranges from 0.85m to 1m. The exposed section faces to the east, north and south revealed that the mound was composed of several lenses of pyrolithic material and fire-residues along with other organic material. The depth of material ranges from 1-1.5m on these sides. The entire mound overlies a layer of peat 0.4m deep with moderate wood and burnt stone inclusions including some larger pieces of natural unworked wood. Macroscopic examination of the heat-affected stone suggested that it was chiefly composed of granite - the local glacial drift geology. Prior to excavation, the exposed wattle-work appeared to line a shallow curve or pit set within the underlying peat. It was located on the east side of the burnt mound on the bottom southern half of the east-facing section. It was orientated south-west/north-east and measured approximately 0.7-0.8m north-south and is 0.3m high.

Two panels of wattle-work were exposed by machine damage and consisted of rows of interwoven horizontal roundwoods divided by a series of upright stakes. These horizontal sails were woven between the uprights and survived in a very fragmentary condition. Although the trough was exposed in section, a number of original fill deposits survived as thin lenses adhering to the section face. These were mainly concentrated below the wattle work. Remnants of the upper fill consisted of burnt mound material composed of small angular pieces of burnt stone in a charcoal-rich silty clay. It was recorded within and behind the wattle-work. The burnt stone deposit overlay a lens of charcoal that was identified across the entire width of the timber structure underlying the base of the wattle-work. This deposit measured approx. 0.65m north-south by 0.02-0.06m thick. The primary layer was a deposit of fine, loose and well-sorted grey/orange gritty sand measuring approx. 0.55m north-south by 0.02-0.09m thick. This most likely represents the remains of decayed and shattered coarse-grained quartzite and granite used in the boiling process.

The surviving trough was internally lined with 10 upright timber stakes that where driven approx. 0.3m into the underlying peat horizon. Only three of these stakes were interwoven with horizontal wands – the rest appeared to support the wattle-work in place. This, however, could be a reflection of poor preservation. In addition, some of the wattle-work may have been displaced by the recent machine damage. The stakes ranged in length from 0.17-0.84m with an average diameter of 0.03m. The woven structure survived in three panels and extended to a height of between 0.19-0.25m.Some, but not all of the horizontal rods/wands were interwoven around the uprights to form a tight wattle structure. The sides appear to be lined with piles of inner wattle coppiced rods/wands (average 0.2-0.3m in length by 20-30mm in diameter), located in double groupings with an in-out weave around them. Some were held in place at intervals by weaving them around vertical timber stakes. Some of the worked ends of the horizontal wands were driven into the peat side walls and did not appear to be woven around uprights. There were also occasional pieces that were randomly placed that had worked ends but were not part of the general structure of the trough. Excavation revealed that a dense moss layer was packed between and around this wattle work. This was composed of moderately compacted material which was discoloured brown/black from exposure to peat and had some inclusions of charcoal, hazelnuts and shattered burnt stone chips. It was packed behind the horizontal rods and upright sails of the trough. This may have been used to filter acidic bog water entering the trough. Once the trough was excavated, the exposed burnt mound was overlain with terram/geotextile material to protect the remaining mound deposits. The monument was then covered with 1-1.5m of spoil and re-seeded. The only find recovered from the excavation was a possible hammerstone composed of a rounded beach cobble.

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