Cist

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated in the E 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. This double cist was numbered ‘Grave 6’ and ‘Grave 6A’ by Hencken (ibid., 204), and comprised a single five-sided structure divided unevenly into two cists, both covered by a single capstone (L 1.73m; Wth 1.35m; T 0.2m)—‘by far the largest [capstone] of any cist in the cairn’ (Hencken and Movius 1935, 204). The larger of these two cists was ‘Grave 6’ (int. dims. 0.85m NNW–SSE; 0.4–0.7m WSW–ENE; H 0.88m), at the NE. On the single limestone slab comprising its floor were burnt bones of a young man. Under the floor stone were small fragments of unburnt bones representing several individuals: a child of about six years, a 12–14 year-old adolescent, and a large male of about 30. The latter was interpreted by Hencken (ibid.) to be the disturbed bones of an individual interred in ‘Grave 6A’ (see below). A bone sample from the adolescent in ‘Grave 6’ was later dated to c. 2000 cal BC (i.e. Early Bronze Age) (Brindley and Lanting 1992, 16). Between the floor stone and a sidestone of ‘Grave 6’ was found a decorated sherd of Beaker pottery (Chalcolithic / Early Bronze Age) (Ryan 1973).

To the SW within the same polygonal structure, ‘Grave 6A’ (0.95m NW–SE; 0.35m NE–SW; H 0.9m) was divided from ‘Grave 6’ by a sidestone. It had no floor stones, but at its base there were scattered uncremated bones of a large adult male of about 30, and others belonging to an adolescent—believed by Hencken (Hencken and Movius 1935, 205) to be the same individual detected under ‘Grave 6’, with movement of remains being due to rodents and water action.

Together with the 'Grave 4 and Grave 5' cists (CL009-032015- and CL009-032016-), this double cist represents a second broad phase of activity at the cairn, post-dating the site’s primary Linkardstown burial (CL009-032019-) under the centre of the cairn by over a thousand years (Brindley and Lanting 1992). A third general phase of interments at Poulawack cairn took place c. 500 years later, in the mid-second millennium BC. This includes the 'Grave 1' burial (CL009-032012-), the 'Grave 2' and 'Grave 3' cists (CL009-032013- and CL009-032014-), and possibly also the 'Grave 7' cist (CL009-0032018-) (ibid.) although the evidence for the latter’s date is equivocal (Hencken and Movius 1935, 198–202, 206).

The following images have been uploaded:

CL009-032017-_01.jpg Plan and section (Hencken and Movius 1935, Fig. 7)
CL009-032017-_02.jpg Photo of 'Graves 6 and 7' (Hencken and Movious 1935, Pl. XXI, Fig. 1)
CL009-032017-_03.jpg Photo of cairn with exposed cists from SE (Hencken and Movius 1935, Pl. XX, Fig. 3)

Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Conn Herriott

Date of upload: 19 January 2022

References

Ryan, M.F. 1973 The excavation of a Neolithic burial mound at Jerpoint West, Co. Kilkenny. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 73C, 120-27.

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.

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