What is recorded here

Hot stones crashed into water, sending steam and fury into the air. People gathered around the trough to cook, clean or transform ordinary things into something brighter. The site has witnessed life in County Cork for generations, and it still belongs to everyone who comes to remember what heat and water can do together.

A spread (9.72m E-W; 7.08m N-S; D 0.28m) of heat-shattered stones and charcoal-enriched soil was discovered during archaeological monitoring in advance of the construction of the N22 Ballincollig Bypass and was excavated in 2002. Excavation revealed a sub-oval trough (1.78m E-W; 0.77m N-S; D 0.7m), the base of which was cut into a natural gravel layer. A layer of sand on the base of the trough may have been a platform for some type of waterproof lining. A NE-SW linear alignment of stake-holes, possibly the remains of a screen, was found along the periphery of the spread. A further cluster of stake-holes to the NW did not form any discernible pattern. A metalled surface was also found, partly overlying the trough. Another fulacht fia (CO073-112----) lies c. 70m to the SE. A Bronze Age building (CO073-114----) and numerous miscellaneous excavated features (CO073-117----) lie c. 230m to the SE. (Danaher and Cagney 2003; Danaher 2004j, 56) The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 5' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). Date of upload: 22 December 2009

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