Cist

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on the surface of the bedrock outcrop under the S centre of Poulawack cairn (CL009-032002-). Excavated by the Third Harvard Archaeological Expedition in Ireland, under Hugh O’Neill Hencken (Hencken and Movius 1935), who subsequently restored the cairn. ‘Grave 5’ in Hencken’s schema, this rectangular short cist (int. dims. 0.75m NNW–SSE; 0.3–0.45m WSW–ENE; H 0.55m) (Waddell 1970) had roughly vertical walls, each consisting of a single rectangular limestone slab standing on its long edge, on which rested a large capstone slab (L 1.15m; Wth 0.85m; T 0.16m) (Hencken and Movius 1935, 202). The cist’s floor was the limestone outcrop under Poulawack cairn (CL009-032002-). Here were found the scattered unburnt bones of a child (c. six years) laid with its head perhaps at the N, and an adolescent (c. 12–14 years) with its head at the S (ibid., 204). Also found in the cist was ‘a very tiny potsherd of Bronze Age date’ (ibid.). The human remains were later radiocarbon-dated to that era, more specifically to c. 2000 cal BC (Brindley and Lanting 1992, 16)—the second general phase of mortuary activity at Poulawack cairn (ibid.), during which the 'Grave 4' and 'Grave 6' cists (CL009-032015- and (CL009-032017-) were also constructed in the N and E parts of the mound respectively (Brindley and Lanting 1992, 16; Hencken and Movius 1935).

The following images have been uploaded:

CL009-032016-_01.jpg Photo of 'Grave 5' showing bones (Hencken and Movius 1935, Pl. XIX, Fig. 2)
CL009-032016-_02.jpg Photo of cairn with cists (Hencken and Movius 1935, Pl. XX, Fig. 2)
CL009-032016-_03.jpg Plan and section (from Hencken and Movius 1935, Fig. 6)

Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Conn Herriott

Date of upload: 19 January 2022

References

Brindley, A. and Lanting, J. 1992 Radiocarbon dates from the cemetery at Poulawack, Co. Clare. Journal of Irish Archaeology 6, 13–17.

Hencken, H. and Movius, H. L. 1935 A cairn at Poulawack County Clare: with a report on the human remains. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 5, 191–222.

Waddell, J. 1970 Irish Bronze Age cists, a survey. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 100, 91-139.