What is recorded here

Melted rock and charcoal still mark the burnt mound in Ballyadam, where heat shattered stone before people had written laws or drawn clean lines. The date points to 2197-2042 cal. BC, when fire may have cooked food, cleaned tools or made water steam for bodies weary from rain. Another fulacht fia lies fifty metres north, as if the field had become a kitchen for occasions large enough to need more than one flame.

An irregular spread (6.8m E-W; 6.3m N-S; D 0.25m) of heat-shattered stones and three pits were discovered in 2007 during archaeological monitoring in advance of the construction of an industrial development. Two pits were recorded under the stone spread. One was oval in plan (1.1m E-W; 1.6m N-S; D 0.5m) and had a basal fill (T 0.1m) of charcoal-enriched silt with infrequent heat-shattered stones which may have accumulated naturally when the pit was open. The upper layers appeared to be deliberate infill of heat-shattered stones. The other pits were in a 'figure-of-8' plan (L 2m; Wth 1.1m; D 0.15m) with the N section being wider. There was a single fill of heat-shattered stones. This possible burnt mound was radiocarbon dated to 2197-2042 cal. BC (3726±33 BP) (UBA 8453). A fulacht fia (CO076-123----) lies c. 50m to the N. (pers. comm. Rose M. Cleary) The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 5' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). Date of upload: 22 December 2009

Burnt mound in Ballyadam is a Neolithic ritual or industrial site, dating to approximately 4000–2500 BCE. Its significance lies in providing evidence of early human activity, possibly related to ceremonial practices or heat-related processes such as cooking or hide-tanning.

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