What is recorded here

Under the western outskirts of Ballina, a hidden D-shaped mound of burnt stone and charcoal waited for road builders to reveal it in 2004. Its central trough, wide enough for several people to stand beside, still holds the ghost of heat and water, while a yew stake pierces the peat above like a forgotten promise. The mound may have cooked food, cleaned hides or gathered neighbours for feast and festival, but its true purpose has vanished with the hands that shaped it.

This fulacht fia was discovered during archaeological monitoring of the construction of a link road on the western outskirts of Ballina town, and was subsequently excavated (licence no. 04E0952) in 2004. It was uncovered at the E edge of the road take (Area A), in low-lying, level ground. There was no surface indication prior to soil stripping (Zajac 2010). It consisted of a low, rough D-shaped mound (12.5m E-W; 5m N–S; D 0.2m) of burnt stone, charcoal and ash. The mound had been disturbed by several E-W field drains (Wth c. 0.3m; D 0.1m), which cut through it and truncated it on its N and S sides. An unlined trough (L at least 1.3m E–W; Wth 0.87m; D 0.4m), oval in plan, was found almost in the centre of the burnt mound. The trough was infilled with organic and burnt material, and redeposit subsoil, with moderate inclusions of boulders and cobbles near the base. A low subsoil ridge or spine extended through the centre, suggesting that the trough had been re-cut/widened along its southern edge. A hazelnut shell and a chert flake were recovered from the fill. The E edge of the trough lay beyond the E edge of the road take, and was not excavated. A shallow oval pit (L 3.2m; Wth 2m; D 0.3m) was located 4m S of the trough, which may have been used for storage. It was filled with burnt stone, ash and charcoal. Another pit (Wth 0.4m) was noted at the N edge of the mound, but was not fully excavated as it extended beyond the road take. A timber stake (yew), with a faceted ‘pencil point’, was found at the interface between the peat layer, which overlay the fulacht fia mound, and a layer of modern disturbance; its relationship to the fualcht fia is uncertain. Another fulacht fia (MA030-101----), located 12m to SW, was also excavated. (Zajac 2010). Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 22 July 2019

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