Cairn - burial cairn

The National Monuments Service's description

The following account of the excavation at this monument has been published by Grant (2006):
'A small cairn at Kilcorney which is part of an archaeological complex was partly destroyed by machinery in the recent past during the construction of a farm track. This particular site had not previously been identified as an individual monument. A cist grave was visible, with skeletal material surviving within it. This discovery was reported to Duchas, at which time it was decided that excavation should take place within the area of disturbance.
The cairn is roughly circular, being 9m by 8m. It is constructed of limestone which is local to the area and would typically be considered of prehistoric origin. The disturbed cist was located in the south-western quadrant of the cairn. It is a long cist, consistent with a Romano-British type noted in Ireland since the 4th century AD (Betty O'Brien, pers. comm.). The cist contained a fully extended female skeleton. The teeth indicate that it is a young adult female. Bones from a young infant were also found within the cist, though these had been scattered, most likely through rodent activity. The adult skeleton was orientated east-west, with the head facing west, in typical Early Christian form.
The disturbance to the cairn on the north of the cist was also investigated. A small number of prehistoric chert lithics were recovered from this area, along with a faceted quartz artefact. This material at best points to pre-cairn activity, possibly of Bronze Age origin. It is obvious that the cist is a late intrusion into this monument. A second long cist was located on the north side of the cairn. There is evidence for a third cist in the central area of the cairn. This is most likely the primary burial and appears to be of a type consistent with prehistoric cist burials.'

Compiled by: Paul Walsh

Date of upload: 29 May 2014

References

Grant, C. 2006 Kilcorney. Cairn and cist burial. In I. Bennett (ed.) Excavations 2003: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 553-4, No. AD11. Bray. Wordwell.