Fulacht fia in Meenane

In pasture, on a gentle NE-facing slope on the W edge of a boggy area. This fulacht fia was excavated in 1999 in advance of the construction of the N8 Glanmire-Watergrasshill Bypass. Prior to excavation, it consisted of a low irregularly shaped grass-covered mound (15m N-S; 14m E-W; max. H 0.5m) of heat-shattered stones and charcoal-enriched soil, bounded to the SW by a field boundary. Excavation revealed a rectangular unlined trough (2.1m E-W; 1.3m N-S; D 0.3m). The hearth was on a horseshoe-shaped shelf immediately to the W of the trough. A setting of post-holes to the N and S of the trough was interpreted as evidence of a structure either enclosing the N end of the trough or forming part of the hearth. A large roughly oval pit (2.9m N-S; 2.2m E-W; D 0.6m) of uncertain function was found 1.6m E of the trough. There is a stream c. 100m to the NE. (Cotter 2000b, 32; 2000c, 1-7) The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 5' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). Date of upload: 22 December 2009