Fulachtaí Fia (Burnt Mounds)

Reconstruction image by John Hodgson.

Burnt mounds, or fulachtaí fia, are one of the most common types of sites found by archaeologists working on projects in Ireland. Rocks were heated on a fire and then placed into pits or troughs full of water. The hot stones heated the water in the troughs which was then used for cooking or washing. Mounds of waste stone mixed with charcoal formed around the trough with repeated use over time. These sites mostly date to the Bronze Age.

Archaeologists working on the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge Road Project have found lots of these. This picture is of a burnt mound in Tullyloyd townland and is of a very big burnt mound that people must have returned to many times, perhaps for big feasts or communal saunas.

AMS

Video Documentary Series

Mini-documentaries on the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge Road Project. Each video lasts around 5 minutes and describes various stages of the excavations and fieldwork.
AMS

Forestry Excavation

As part of the N5 Road Project in Co Roscommon, AMS were required to test 78ha of felled forestry. Once the trees were felled and removed, the stumps were extracted by a specialist stump harvester.
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Palaeobotany near Ballaghcullia

Palaeobotanists study the plants that grew in the past. Palaeobotanists from National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) visited Roscommon last summer and took a core from a bog near Ballaghcullia.
AMS

Neolithic Axe

Archaeologists working at Shankill found a Neolithic stone axehead that is over 5,000 years old and was made from a very specific type of stone called Langdale tuff.

Metal Working at Shankill

At Shankill, a site reputably founded by St Patrick, archaeologists have uncovered traces of early medieval agriculture, burial and a forge.
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Fulachtaí Fia (Burnt Mounds)

Burnt mounds, or fullachtaí fia, are one of the commonest types of sites found by archaeologists working on projects in Ireland.
AMS

Medieval Coin at Gortnacrannagh

Gortnacranagh is a medieval site. These coins date from the era of Edward I or II. This coin is a silver penny.
AMS

Souterrains

Souterrains are underground, stone-lined passages dating from the early medieval period. At Killeen East we found a number of souterrains inside a rath (ringfort).