Two fulachta fiadh or 'burnt mounds' - considered to be Bronze Age cooking pits - have been uncovered close to the N72 in Fermoy.

They were discovered during recent works to make a new temporary diversion off the N72 on the Courthouse Road. The diversion is necessary to allow the stretch to be raised to prevent water from lying there. It's being done as part of the flood protection scheme.

Daniel Noonan Archaeology Consultants have been on the site of the flood relief works from the start, monitoring excavation. They check where topsoil is being stripped for signs of sites or items of archaeological interest. They moved in as soon as the burnt mounds were noticed and a team of seven archaeologists has been working there since to uncover, photograph and record the finds so that an archive can be created.

Dan Noonan, Director of Daniel Noonan Archaeology Consultants, explained the two separate finds discovered in close proximity to one another, saying a hearth had been uncovered in one and the remains of a trough in another. The work is being done in two phases and is very labour intensive, he said.

The sites have been laid out in grids and after the top layer is removed with picks, the remainder is being painstakingly uncovered by the archaeologists using trowels. The finds are of no value once unearthed. Their worth is in their preservation by being recorded. Each layer uncovered is carefully documented and photographed.

Dan expects their work to continue until Christmas. Work on the diversion-road has been suspended by Lagan Construction until the excavation is complete.

It's the first dig this year for the Youghal-based archaeology consulting company.

Because it's a construction site, members of the public aren't allowed access. Dan Noonan says a report on the find will be compiled and the public will have an opportunity to view full details and photographs of it at a later stage.

While the burnt mounds aren't rare - some 2,000 such finds have been recorded in Cork alone - they are considered to be an interesting find, adding to the store of knowledge about early Bronze Age life.

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