Bronze Age Burnt Mounds (Fulachtaí Fia)

Several fulachtaí fia/burnt mounds were excavated across the scheme. A large example, a previously known site, was unearthed at Shannonpark. This site type typically dates to the Bronze Age. They are recognised as a mound or spread of heat-shattered stones and charcoal-rich soil, usually found in association with one or more troughs set in to the ground, and are generally found next a water source. The stones would have been heated in a fire, and thrown into a water-filled trough in order to heat the water, perhaps for bathing, cooking, or other purposes.