Fulacht fia in Ballina (tirawley By.)

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 W edge of the road take (Area B), in low-lying, level ground. There was no surface indication prior to soil stripping (Zajac 2010). It consisted of a low mound (7.8m N–S; 4.2m E–W; D 0.2m) of burnt stone, which had been cut through by a number of later E–W land drains. A poorly preserved trough (L 1.7m E–W; Wth 0.9m; D 0.15m) underlay the burnt material. It was rectangular in plan, with each of the rounded corners defined by a stakehole (diam. 0.14m; D 0.4m deep). Remnant of two planks remained in situ, lining the base of the trough; the timbers, which were highly degraded, were tentatively identified as alder. A shallow, kidney-shaped pit (L 1.8m N–S; Wth 1.2m) was located 2m NE of the trough. A portion of the fulacht fia mound extended beyond the road take, and was not excavated. Another fulacht fia (MA030-100----), located 12m to ENE, was also excavated. (Zajac 2010). Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 22 July 2019