Fulacht fia, Lackaroe, Co. Cork

Co. Cork |

Settlement Sites

Fulacht fia, Lackaroe, Co. Cork

In the rough grazing land of Lackaroe in North Cork, a Bronze Age cooking site has effectively vanished.

A fulacht fia, the term used for a type of ancient outdoor cooking place typically identified by a horseshoe-shaped mound of fire-cracked stones beside a water source or trough, once sat around fifteen metres west of a local well. By the time anyone thought to record its absence in detail, a trackway had been cut directly across the site, and the mound itself had been levelled. There is no visible surface trace remaining.

The site was recorded on an Ordnance Survey six-inch map made in 1937, which means the mound was still present, or at least mappable, at that point. At some time between that survey and more recent fieldwork, it was lost. What makes Lackaroe particularly notable in a quiet way is not the site itself but its company: a second fulacht fia sits immediately to the north. Finding two such sites in close proximity is not unheard of, since fulachtaí fia often cluster near reliable water sources, and the well nearby would have made this patch of ground attractive to people cooking or processing food over many centuries of prehistory. The pairing hints at repeated use of a favoured spot, even if the physical evidence for both sites is now severely reduced.

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, Lackaroe, 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