Burnt mound, Baile Na Creige Thoir, Co. Donegal

Co. Donegal |

Ritual/Ceremonial

Burnt mound, Baile Na Creige Thoir, Co. Donegal

On a gentle southwest-facing slope in the southeast corner of a recently re-seeded field lies what appears to be an ancient burnt mound, known locally as a fulacht fia.

The monument presents itself as an irregularly shaped patch of dark soil, roughly 16 metres by 15 metres, peppered with reddish, heat-shattered stones that stand out against the surrounding light brown earth. Recent agricultural work has revealed more of its extent; a newly dug drainage channel along the northeastern edge has exposed at least six distinct concentrations of these telltale heat-fractured stones, whilst the adjacent field boundary shows an 8.5 metre stretch of similar dark soil and burnt stone deposits embedded in its southwestern face.

According to the landowner, Mr Ferguson, this site has been known to local families for generations, becoming particularly visible after rainfall when the contrast between the burnt material and regular soil is most pronounced. Local tradition holds that this spot witnessed a battle between the inhabitants of nearby Scalp Mountain and Mouldy Hill, though the archaeological evidence points more convincingly to its use as a fulacht fia; a type of Bronze Age cooking site where water was boiled by dropping hot stones into wooden or stone-lined troughs.

These burnt mounds are amongst Ireland's most common prehistoric monuments, typically dating from 1500 to 500 BC. They were created through repeated use of the same location for cooking, with the discarded heat-shattered stones and charcoal gradually building up to form the distinctive mounds we see today. The site at Baile Na Creige Thoir represents yet another piece in the puzzle of how our ancestors lived, worked, and perhaps gathered for communal meals in ancient Donegal.

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Pete F
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