Fulacht fia in Cookstown Great

Situated on a slight N-facing slope down to a canalized N-S stream that changes direction to W-E c. 30m to the N. Archaeological testing (04E0918) by D. Nelis (2005) in Testing Area 9 of Contract 4 of the M3 motorway identified burnt mound material (excavations.ie 2004:1213) that was excavated (E003138) by G. McLoughlin (2010) as Cookstown Great 2 during January and February 2007 (excavations.ie 2007:1291) when an area of 9600 square metres was opened and three prehistoric phases were identified. Most of the material related to this Late Bronze Age fulacht fia. A waterhole (dims 3.9m x 2.95m; D 0.84m) with a flared mouth was filled with black sandy silts and stones, from which a fragment of ash charcoal yielded a C14 date of 1186-932 cal. BC (UBA 11087). The waterhole could have provided water for three possible rectangular troughs (dims 1.6m x 1.18m; D 0.23m: dims 2.05m c 1.4m; D 0.25m: dims 1.64m x 1.24m; D 0.2m) within 12m and all with burn stone in their fills but truncated to various degrees. Seven pits (dims 0.9m x 0.4m; D 0.17m to 2.53m x 1.78; D 0.45m), largely filled with silty clays, are thought to be associated with it, although the largest is c. 25m to the SW and a sample of oak charcoal from an adjacent pit provided a C14 date of 1209-1012 cal. BC (UBA 11085). Five other irregularly-shaped pits are thought to be the result of root activity. The main burnt mound (dims 19m N-S; c. 12m E-W; T 0.2m) extended S from the water-hole and covered most of the features although post-medieval artefacts were recovered from it. Two large rectangular pits (dims 3.8m N-S; 2.85m E-W; D 0.48m: dims 7.4m E-W; 5.3m N-S; D0.6m) were W of the water-hole and post-dated the fulacht fia, but provided no absolute dating material. Both pits were cut by a SSW-NNE drain and the mound was cut by an associated NW-SE drain that is part of a post-medieval field system. (McLoughlin 2010, 7-14) See the attached plan from McLoughlin (2010 fig. 6) ME017-090003-_1 Plan; Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 23 March 2022