Fulacht fia in Ballymackeamore

Topsoil-stripping on Bord Gáis Éireann's Pipeline to the West uncovered the partially exposed remains of a fulacht fiadh in Ballymackeamore townland, Co. Limerick. According to the excavator Brian Halpin (02E0526) 'this site contained a shallow burnt mound with a double trough measuring 7.6m north-east/south-west and associated features. The extent of the site is not known owing to part being outside the limit of excavation.The troughs were roughly equal in size and similar in composition: subcircular with a deep U-shaped cut into the yellow/grey clay subsoil. They contained five fills, all with moderate to frequent inclusions of charcoal and heat-shattered stone. On the uppermost edge of the western trough a large piece of charred wood was recovered. An irregular metalled surface covering roughly half of the site was exposed, measuring 6m north-south by 4m and with a maximum depth of 0.15m. The stones were loosely packed together in a probable single episode of activity. This surface pre-dates the double trough, which cut through it. A modern field drain was also noted, running north-south through the site, cutting through the metalled surface. An area of burnt material that remained in a slight depression in the subsoil was exposed south of the troughs. When removed, a small, U-shaped, subcircular pit was uncovered with an undercut profile, measuring 0.2m north-south by 0.12m by 0.3m deep. It was non-structural and was possibly a storage pit. Charred hazelnuts were recovered from this context.' The above description is posted on the web at the following internet address: http://www.excavations.ie/ (accessed 22 August 2012). Compiled by: Denis Power Date of upload: 22 August 2012