Fulacht fia in Shankill

Top soil monitoring in 1998 revealed an oval trough (1.5m x 1.1m x 0.3m deep) sealed by a deposit of clay that also sealed a number of deposits of burnt stone and charcoal, a cobbled area and a line of stake-holes. A subrectangular hut site was also associated with it. This suggests that this phase saw the use of a trough alongside a cobbled area and hut site. The stake-holes began parallel to the trough and may have acted as some form of windbreak or screen at the southern end of the cobbled area, shielding the site from the prevailing winds (O'Neill 2000, 37-9). The trough had been excavated down to the local shale bedrock and appeared to fill freely with water, which percolated through the beds of shale. A sticky, grey clay, heavily stained with charcoal, filled the trough. The area of stake-holes measured 3.6m (north- south) by 2.1m and was defined by an oval setting of stake-holes. There was no indication of the presence of an entrance, other than an ill-defined gap in the south-eastern corner. The presence of multiple lines of stake-holes in some places suggested that there were a number of phases of reuse of the site for some form of light hut or tent structure (O'Neill 2000, 37-9). Compiled by: Geraldine Stout and Padraig Clancy. Revised upload on: 21 April 2018.