Fulacht fia, Bishopslough, Co. Kilkenny

Co. Kilkenny |

Settlement Sites

Fulacht fia, Bishopslough, Co. Kilkenny

In a field of reclaimed pasture at Bishopslough in County Kilkenny, the ground holds the faint trace of something that once generated considerable heat.

The site has been identified as a possible fulacht fia, a type of prehistoric cooking or industrial site found in considerable numbers across Ireland, typically recognised by a horseshoe-shaped mound of fire-cracked stone and charcoal built up beside a trough or pit. This one, however, has been ploughed over, leaving little visible at the surface.

The identification was made on the basis of a personal communication from archaeologist Con Manning in 1986, which means the site entered the record through expert observation rather than formal excavation. Ploughing will have disturbed or dispersed much of the burnt stone spread that normally defines these features, making confident identification difficult. What adds a quiet interest to the location is the proximity of a second possible fulacht fia, recorded roughly 190 metres to the north-north-west. Two such sites in close proximity is not unheard of, fulachta fiadh tend to cluster near water sources and suitable grazing land, but it does suggest that this corner of Kilkenny may have seen repeated or sustained use during the Bronze Age, when these sites were most commonly in use.

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