Fulacht fia in Portan (dunboyne By.)

Located on a fairly level landscape. A gradiometer survey (17R0229) by Target Archaeological Geophysics of an extensive development area of c. 75 ha in the townlands of Loughsallagh, Portan, and Gunnocks, identified numerous anomalies of potential archaeological interest. Targeted archaeological testing (18E0013) by T. Coughlan in 2018 and M. Piera (19E0211) in 2019 was able to demonstrate that many of these were of fairly modern agricultural origin. However, sixteen locations were set aside for further investigation, which was undertaken by J. Whitaker under the licence (18E0013) between the beginning of April and the end of July 2019, and all but four of these proved to be of archaeological interest. A large pit or well (dims 2.1m x 1.8m; max. D 1.5m) that was filled with silty clays and varying amounts of burnt stone and some wood fragments was at the centre of a group of nine pits (dims 0.5m x 0.3m; D 0.08m to 3.36m x 1.3m; D 0.3m) filled with similar deposits. A subrectangular pit (dims 2.18m x 1m; D 0.36m) just NE of the well is regarded as a trough and cut an earlier trough (dims 1.4m x 1.2m). Both troughs were filled with a dark grey silty clay with burnt stone and charcoal inclusions. The larger trough had decayed or burnt timbers along its sides. There was a cluster of smaller pits and a single post-hole just S of the well, and there were also three small spreads (dims < 1m) of grey marl with charcoal and burnt stone inclusions. No artefacts were recovered. (Whitaker 2020 8-11, Site 3) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 8 November 2021