Quinn and Moore added malted barley (top) to water that had been heated in their fulacht fiadh by stones fired on a nearby hearth (above). (Courtesy Declan Moore and Billy Quinn)
Posted on 02/19/2015 2:24:40 PM PST by SunkenCiv
On a typically misty morning in the west of Ireland, just outside the medieval town of Athenry, County Galway, archaeologist Declan Moore... is taking me to visit an unexcavated fulacht fiadh (pronounced FULL-ahk FEE-add), or fulachtaí fia in plural, the most common type of prehistoric archaeological site in Ireland. Better known as a "burnt mound" in the neighboring United Kingdom, where they are also found, there are nearly 6,000 recorded fulacht fiadh sites dotted around Ireland alone...
When we arrive at the site, Moore shows me the basic features of a fulacht fiadh -- a horseshoe-shaped mound of soil and rocks surrounding a depression big enough to park a small car in. Moore climbs the four-and-a-half-foot mound and quickly wipes away some of the soil to expose the layer of stones. He then points to the depression...
Although commonplace and easy to identify, the fulacht fiadh remains enigmatic. There is no consensus among archaeologists about what they were primarily used for. Various theories -- such as cooking, textile production, bathing, and Moore's personal hypothesis, a type of ancient microbrewery -- have all been proposed. But a lack of consistent artifacts associated with any of these activities at excavated fulacht fiadh sites continues to shroud the purpose of the burnt mounds in mystery.
Fulacht fiadh sites typically date to the Middle Bronze Age (1800 B.C.). The structures are usually found alone, but have also appeared in groups of two to six, spaced as close as 16 or so feet from one another, making an archaeological complex. "Most fulacht fiadh sites are somewhat isolated, with only a few having been found as part of a permanent settlement," says Emer Dennehy, an Irish archaeologist with the Railway Procurement Agency in Dublin who studies the fulacht fiadh...
(Excerpt) Read more at archive.archaeology.org ...
Quinn and Moore added malted barley (top) to water that had been heated in their fulacht fiadh by stones fired on a nearby hearth (above). (Courtesy Declan Moore and Billy Quinn)
How Bronze Age man Enjoyed His Pint
BBC | 8-12-2007
Posted on 08/12/2007 4:39:08 PM PDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1880246/posts
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fiadh (pronounced FULL-ahk FEE-add),
I’m not a scholar but iirc that’s not the correct pronunciation of Fiadh.
http://www.forvo.com/word/fiadh/
“”Most fulacht fiadh sites are somewhat isolated, “
Probably not a brewery then, imo.
They haven’t looked nearby for the deeply worn paths.
I hope it was a brewery. I’d like to think they were creating Guinness.
Tannin is often found in bogs and swampy water. And tannin was a important part of the ‘tanning’ process for curing and preserving skins for usable leather.
Since the timeline is right for a culture that used a lot of skins for clothing and other paraphernalia, it’s possible that these Fiadhs were used for tanning skins.
Another point for my theory is that they were also built near—but not in—village sites. Tanning raw skins can produce some nasty smells that you wouldn’t want inside the living compounds.
Sounds more logical than giant soup pots or beer breweries.
Sounds more likely that the brewery idea, as appealing as it is.
They`re prehistoric Irish hockey goals-
Your hypothesis makes more sense than the idea of brewing the ale so far from settlements.
It sounds like an ost house and place to kiln the malt.
To malt barley you put it on a concrete or stone floor. You soak the barley and allow it to germinate overnight. In the presence of water the hull breaks down, more water enters, the germ begins to sprout, and enzymes are produced that start to convert starch to sugar. During the process heat is produced and you rake the pile around to encourage even germination.
You do not want this to go on too long. At some point you need to kiln the sprouting barley to stop the germination. We do this on large metal trays heated underneath. Since metal was not common In ancient Ireland, I would not be surprised if they heated rocks and placed them on the ost house floor with the malting barley. You need to heat your barley until your malt is dried and/r carmelized for a darker ale. When this is done you can store it for longer periods until you are ready to make your beer.
I once malted my own barley one time on a tray in the kitchen oven. Someone had given me half a bag of raw barley. The beer was a bit on the skunky side, but it had a kick. (It was the Belgian yeast.) I don’t drink so much now, but I know that when the time comes there will be room in someone’s compound for someone who knows a bit about brewing!
Could be they had a revenooer problem, too.
I excel at Faeth Fiada.
I’d like to believe you, but I can’t see where you’re going with this.
Or so it would appear....
I loved my five years in the UK, and dragged my girls to every castle, museum and archeological site I could find.
:’)
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