Nicky and I visited the Drombeg Stone Circle in County Cork. Adjacent to this is the Fulacht Fiadh, an ancient cooking place which probably dates back to the Bronze Age, and may have been in use at the same time as the Stone Circle nearby. As written on the accompanying information panel:
‘The fulacht fiadh consists of a trough with an adjoining hearth and well, which are all enclosed by a low stone bank with an entrance to the south. Water in the trough was heated by rolling stones heated by fire in the hearth, into the water. Experiments conducted during excavation of the site in 1957 showed that 70 gallons (318 litres) of cold water could be brought to the boil in 18 minutes. Meat was then cooked in the water which remained sufficiently hot for almost 3 hours. One of the conjoined huts contains a stonelined feature interpreted as a roasting oven which suggests that the huts may have had a food processing function similar to that of the nearby fulacht fiadh. A pathway links both.’
