Fulacht fia in Ardbraccan

Situated on a slight S-facing slope and at the N edge of a marshy area. Archaeological testing (04E0584) by N. Fairburn (2004) at Testing Area 11 of Contract 3 of the M3 motorway identified archaeological material (excavations.ie 2004:1158) that was excavated (E003116) by M. Mossop (Mossop et al. 2009) as Ardbraccan 2 (excavations.ie 2006:1487) during May to July 2006 when a fulacht fia, a rath with internal hut-sites, and an external hearth and cereal drying kiln were recorded. Elements of four field systems were also present. The burnt mound was on a slight rise, and consisted of two rectangular troughs (dims 1.76m plus x 0.8m; D 0.24m: dims 3.05m x 1.3m; D 0.44) with rounded corners and flat bases that had primary layers of silt below deposits of heat-shattered stone and charcoal. The smaller trough had been truncated by a later ditch and the larger returned a C14 date of 1601-1392 cal. BC (Beta 247119) from a sample of cherry, placing it in the Middle Bronze Age. The troughs were beneath a burnt mound (dims 7.4m x 6m; T 0.19m) with 50% burnt stone inclusions that also covered a rectangular pit (dims 2.94m x 1.2m; D 0.18m) and a circular pit (diam. 0.85m; D 0.17m), both with fills containing broken and burnt stone. Five other pits (dims 0.84-1.3m; D 0.07-0.31m) filled with brown/grey silty clays that had frequent burnt stone inclusions were in the vicinity of the mound but not covered by it, and a sample of hazel charcoal from one provided a C14 date of 1606-1411 cal. BC (Beta 247117). A possible hearth (dims 0.92m x 0.85m; D 0.15m) had burnt stone in its base and was 10m W of the mound. Two metalled areas (dims 5.4m E-W; 2.6m N-S; T 0.09m: dims 8.6m N-S; 4.4m E-W) comprised of small angular stones were SE and W of the mound respectively and consolidated the ground around the troughs and pits. (Mossop et al. 2009, 2-3) See the attached interpretive site plan from Mossop eta al. (2009 fig. 1) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 25 March 2022