County: Donegal Site name: Letterilly 1
Sites and Monuments Record No.: n/a Licence number: E005040
Author: Graham Hull, TVAS (Ireland) Ltd
Site type: Late Bronze Age fulacht fiadh
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 577515m, N 896952m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.819966, -8.349856
Letterilly 1 was excavated on the route of the proposed N56 Letterilly to Glenties (Kilraine) Road Scheme, Co. Donegal. The site had been discovered during testing in 2018 (under registration number E5014). The archaeological fieldwork and post-excavation work were funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland through Donegal County Council.
The excavation revealed evidence of a burnt stone deposit (measuring 6.1m by 4.9m and 0.38m deep) with an associated timber trough. The trough, which measured 1.8m by 1.13m and was 0.1m deep, was lined with timber, mostly alder and hazel, and analysis of the timbers and tool marks identified split timbers and roundwoods, with twelve worked ends, cut using adzes and sharp metal axes. Charcoal from the burnt stone deposit suggests that oak was frequently used as fuel along with holly, fruitwood and willow. Moss used to pack the base of the trough derived from a woodland environment and bramble seeds, alder and yew buds within the moss suggest a late summer/early autumn construction of the trough. Radiocarbon determinations obtained show that the construction and use of the trough and associated burnt stone took place broadly at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age in the period between the mid-11th and late 10th centuries BC.
Ahish, Ballinruan, Crusheen, Co. Clare
