Burnt mound in Laughanstown

The burnt mound was situated on a SW-facing sloping grassland represented as marshy ground on OS 19th century maps; this land was reclaimed in the late 19th/early 20th century. The site was discovered in the course of archaeological monitoring of topsoil stripping in 2003 (License number 03E1370). The remains consisted of a burnt mound (54m N-W x 17m E-W; H 0.1m – 0.3m) comprising loosely compacted black-brown sandy clay with frequent inclusions of charcoal and small heat-cracked stones. The monument was covered over and preserved in situ. A second burnt mound/fulacht fia (DU026-164----) was discovered c. 95m to the SE (pers. comm. Melanie McQuade, 26 November 2014). Compiled by: Paul Walsh Date of upload: 28 November 2014

Burnt mound, likely dating to the Bronze Age (c. 2500–500 BCE), associated with ritual or industrial activities involving heat. Its presence indicates early human settlement and land use in the area.