Page 41 - GAHS Journal Volume 9

GREYSTONES ARCHAEOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL VOLUME 9

and his extended family. As it covered such a wide area, only a
few of us walked around it as others looked on. Close by are the
remains of two more Fulacht Fiadh.

Continuing our walk for another 1.2km in the direction of the
Sugarloaf, we arrived at the best-preserved Fulacht Fiadh on the
Common. It is beside a stream and partly obscured by gorse
bushes. ‘Fulacht’ means a cooking place or pit, and the word ‘fia’
means deer, or perhaps ‘Fianna’, who were early inhabitants of
Ireland. Twelve of these cooking pits have so far been identified
in Co Wicklow, seven of which can be seen on Ballyreamon
Common and adjoining the townland of Glassnamullen. It is
remarkable that any still exist, as they date from the Bronze Age,

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