Fulacht fia, Killeen, Co. Mayo

Co. Mayo |

Settlement Sites

Fulacht fia, Killeen, Co. Mayo

Beside the Fiddaunglass stream in County Mayo, a low grass-covered mound sits in rough pasture looking, at first glance, like little more than a natural rise in the ground.

It is roughly circular, about eighteen metres across, and rises to just a metre at its highest point on the eastern side. Beneath the grass, however, the mound is composed almost entirely of heat-shattered stone fragments packed into charcoal-rich soil, the accumulated debris of repeated high-temperature activity carried out here long ago. A single large stone protrudes from the surface just north of centre, and a faint depression on the southern edge may mark where a trough once sat.

This is a fulacht fia, a type of prehistoric cooking or heating site found in enormous numbers across Ireland, most dating to the Bronze Age. The typical method involved heating stones in a fire, then dropping them into a water-filled trough to bring the water rapidly to a boil. The stones shattered with thermal shock after repeated use and were discarded in a crescent-shaped mound around the trough, which is precisely what accumulated here beside the Fiddaunglass. What makes this particular site more than a solitary curiosity is its context: it belongs to a linear cluster of similar burnt mounds strung along the course of the same stream. The proximity of running water was not incidental; a reliable water source was a basic requirement for the whole process, and the Fiddaunglass appears to have drawn repeated use across what may have been a considerable stretch of time. The mound is sheltered to the north by rising ground, an old east-west field bank separates it from the stream four metres to the south, and a later field drain clips its eastern edge, all of which speak to the long, layered history of this small patch of Mayo pasture.

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, Killeen, Co. Mayo. 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