2023:566 - Carlanstown, Kells, Meath

Archaeological excavation was carried out during October of 2023 at a site in Carlanstown, Kells, Co. Meath. An area measuring roughly 10m by 10m was opened up to expose the feature, first identified during the testing phase, classified as a burnt spread/mound. The excavation revealed that, rather than a single feature, two small burnt mounds/spreads, C3 and C4, which both appeared to have been heavily truncated, possibly by modern agricultural activity (i.e. ploughing).
C3 was a sub-oval spread that measured about 7.8m (east-west) by 4m with a thickness of between 0.05m and 0.15m. It consisted of small, sub-angular, heat-shattered stones within a firm, mid to dark greyish-black silty clay. C4 was smaller than C3, measuring 3.8m (north-south) by around 3m and a thickness of between 0.05m to 0.15m. Like C3, it consisted of small, sub-angular, heat-shattered stones within a firm, mid to dark greyish-black silty clay. Both were interpreted as the remains of a fulacht fiadh.
The two examples found at the site in Carlanstown were relatively small, which is likely due to modern disturbance. The presence of a wetland area to the west of the site and directly adjacent to the two spreads is typical of this type of feature, requiring access to water. However, no evidence of a pit or trough was found beneath either spread. This suggests that while the two features are recorded separately, the truncation of the features may suggest that they were originally part of a single fulacht fiadh, which has since been disturbed by later activity at the site.