Fulacht fia, Coumaraglinmountain, Co. Waterford

Co. Waterford |

Settlement Sites

Fulacht fia, Coumaraglinmountain, Co. Waterford

On the floor of the upper Araglin river valley in County Waterford, a low oval mound of broken and burnt stones sits quietly beneath a covering of heather. It measures roughly 20.5 metres north to south and 15.5 metres east to west, rising between 0.8 and 1.5 metres above the surrounding ground. A quarry trench has disturbed the southern edge, but enough of the mound survives to give a clear sense of its original form. About 50 metres to the southwest, a second site of the same type has been recorded, suggesting this stretch of valley floor was used repeatedly, perhaps over generations.

What lies beneath the heather is the accumulated debris of a fulacht fia, a type of prehistoric cooking site found in large numbers across Ireland and Britain, typically dating to the Bronze Age. The usual interpretation is that stones were heated in a fire, then dropped into a water-filled trough to bring it to the boil, cooking meat wrapped in straw or skins. The broken, fire-cracked stones were raked out and discarded after each use, and over time these cast-off stones built up into the horseshoe or oval mounds that survive today. The Araglin river runs through a ravine roughly 70 metres to the north, which would have provided a ready water source. The valley setting, the proximity to running water, and the presence of a second site close by all fit the pattern seen at fulacht fia sites elsewhere in Ireland, where clusters of monuments suggest sustained activity in a landscape over long periods of time.

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Pete F
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