Fulacht fia in Raynestown

Situated in a gently undulating landscape. Archaeological centre-line testing (04E0472) by E. Cotter of Testing Area 11 of Contract 1 prior to the construction of the M3 motorway identified archaeological features (excavations.ie: 2004:1333) that were fully excavated (E003039) by S. D. Elder as Raynestown 2 in July-August 2006 (excavations.ie 2006:1631). A total of 16 pits (dims 0.52m x 0.24m; D 0.08m; to 3.3m x 2m; D 0.32m), five post-holes and a stake-hole were excavated in a concentrated area (dims c. 12m x c. 9m) of the subsoil, with some outlying pits. The pits were circular or oval, but one rectangular pit (dims 1.78m x 1.2m; D 0.24m) could have served as a trough. It cut the edge of a circular pit (dims 2.02m x 1.66m; D 0.56m) just to its SE, while a short channel (Wth 0.77m; D 2m; L 1.32m) connected it with another oval pit (1.5m x 1.14m; D 0.56m) to the SW. The lower fills were usually silty or sandy while the upper fills contained substantial quantities of burnt stone and charcoal flecks. A sample of hawthorn charcoal from one of the other pits produced a C14 date of 2343-2041 cal. BC, placing it at the start of the Early Bronze Age. One artefact, a bipolar flint flake, was recovered together with some bones of cattle and pig. Although no mound of broken and burnt stone is present the occurrence of this material in the fills of the pits is sufficient to identify this as a truncated fulacht fia. (Elder 2008) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 10 December 2021