Fulachtaί fia and Bronze Age cooking in Ireland: reappraising the evidence

Abstract:AbstractThis paper examines the technical aspects of indirect cooking using pyrolithic technology in Ireland with a particular focus on its application during the Bronze Age. The widespread distribution of burnt mounds (fulachtaί fia) is striking, suggesting that Ireland was the most prominent user of this technology in Bronze Age Europe. However, narratives related to these sites have long revolved around function, to the extent that the basic definition of this monument type has been called into question. This paper examines the use of these sites based on evidence from some 1,000 excavated examples in Ireland and provides new insights into the use of pyrolithic technology for cooking. The model proposed here is of open-air feasting/food-sharing hosted by small family groups, in a manner that was central to different types of social bonding.