Burnt mounds

Structures comprising mounds of shattered stones and often charcoal, together with an adjacent hearth and trough. The troughs were made watertight by having been cut into the living rock and/or lined with wood or clay. Locations include Ireland, Britain, and various sites in northern continental Europe. Dates of the structures range from the Neolithic and Iron Age to the early Mediaeval period, with most dating during the span 1900-800 BCE. The shattered stone fragments are thought to be the remains of stones heated in fires, which were used to heat water in the trough for cooking, brewing, bathing, dyeing textiles, or treating leather.