Fulacht fia in Ballybeg

Situated in a natural depression in a gently undulating landscape and c. 10m W of a S-N field drain. Archaeological testing (04E0922) by J. Roynane (2005) at Testing Area 5 of Contract 4 of the M3 motorway identified a burnt mound spread (excavations.ie 2004:1287) that was fully excavated (E003132) by P. Lynch (2010) as Ballybeg 1 in August 2006 (excavations.ie 2007:1259). An area of just over 1500 square metres was opened revealing a spread of dark grey silty clay with burnt stone (dims 8.4m N-S; 6.9m E-W; T 0.2m) overlying a basal layer of black/grey silty clay (dims 5.5m x 4.2m; T 0.17m) filling a natural depression. A sample of hazel charcoal from the lower layer yielded a radiocarbon date of 1208-1013 cal. BC (UBA 11130). An oval pit (dims 0.91m x 0.7m; D 0.27m) with a burnt stone fill was probably a trough and related to six stakeholes in the subsoil beneath the mound. The stakeholes form no clear pattern but a sample of alder charcoal from one provided a C14 date of 1403-1265 cal. BC (UBA 11131), confirming the date from the mound and placing it in the Middle Bronze Age. A small spread of burnt mound material (dims 3.5m x 1.75m; T 0.16m) c. 5m to the S and another (dims 1.69m x 0.9m; T 0.1m) c. 8m to the NE were both probably detached from the mound. (Lynch 2010, 5-7) See the attached plan from Lynch (2010, fig. 5) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 23 March 2022