Fulacht fia, Hollyhill By.), Co. Cork

Co. Cork |

Settlement Sites

Fulacht fia, Hollyhill By.), Co. Cork

At Hollyhill in County Cork, there is almost nothing left to see, and that absence is itself the point.

A fulacht fia once stood here, one of thousands of prehistoric cooking sites scattered across the Irish landscape, identifiable in surviving examples by their characteristic horseshoe-shaped mounds of burnt and fire-cracked stone. This one was levelled in June 1984 by University College Cork, most likely in the course of an archaeological investigation, leaving the site as little more than a coordinate in a county inventory.

Fulachtaí fia, the plural form, are among the most common archaeological monuments in Ireland, dating broadly from the Bronze Age, though some sites show evidence of use across many centuries. The typical arrangement involved a trough sunk into the ground, often timber-lined or stone-lined, filled with water, which was then heated by dropping fire-cracked stones into it. The discarded stones accumulated over time into the mounds that make these sites recognisable today. At Hollyhill, that mound is gone. Whatever the 1984 investigation uncovered or confirmed, the physical trace of the monument did not survive it.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Fulacht fia, Hollyhill By.), Co. Cork. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement