Slab-lined burial

The National Monuments Service's description

On undulating land in pasture at the SE foot of a low hill, with a SW-flowing stream just to the N. Within a large multiperiod field system (CL009-059001-) and a local field system (CL009-249----). Discovered by the landowner in 1988, rescue excavated by Mary Cahill (Bennett 1989, 9; Cahill 2011; Ó Donnabháin 2011) and subsequently covered with earth. Listed as ‘Lintelled grave’ in the RMP (1996). This slab-lined burial (int. dims. 1.75m E-W; 0.35-0.4m N-S; H 0.25m) is a long rectangular stone cist, oriented E-W, carefully constructed of large limestone slabs and containing the skeletal remains of an adult human male. The long sides of the cist are quite symmetrical; each comprises two stones, one long (max. L 1.25m; H c. 0.28m; T 0.13m) and one short (L c. 0.5m), with the long stones set opposite each other at the W end. The W end of the cist is lined by two stones (L c. 0.3m), and the E by one stone (L c. 0.55m). The cist was covered by six well-fitted lintels (L 0.4-0.75m; Wth 0.3-0.4m), two of which overlapped slightly. A number of smaller stones leaned against and supported the outside edges of the lintels at E-N, with other packing stones placed in interstices. Fitting tightly within the cist were the articulated and well-preserved skeletal remains of an adult male (est. 25-35 years old), placed in an extended supine position with head at the W, arms extended by the sides, and feet close together (Cahill 2011; Ó Donnabháin 2011). This suggested that the body was probably originally wrapped by a winding-sheet or shroud (Cahill 2011). The human remains were radiocarbon-dated to AD 345-539, which is early among lintel graves of this type (ibid., 12).

This individual’s maximum living height was estimated as c. 1.69m (5ft 6/7in) (Ó Donnabháin 2011, 13). An unusual pattern of tooth abrasion resulted in the central incisors being reduced to smooth rounded stumps (ibid.). This appears to have been caused by a habitual activity which involved pulling a narrow (1-3cm) band of soft material (i.e., softer than leather) out of the mouth, between the clenched front teeth (ibid.). Patterns of wear in the skeleton indicated that this activity was probably carried out using the left hand, involving ‘a jerking motion of the neck, hand and elbow as the object was pulled out of the mouth’ (ibid., 14). The activity appeared to require some rotational force, carried out habitually over the course of years. The teeth and skeletal remains also indicated a relatively poor diet, and damage from lifting heavy objects and tough physical labour, leading to the conclusion that ‘this individual did not belong to an idle élite but rather was perhaps engaged in a specialised trade’ (ibid., 15).

A standing stone (CL009-089----) and ring-barrow (CL009-089002-) lie c. 176m to the WNW.

Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Conn Herriott

Date of upload: 20 June 2022

References

Cahill, M. 1989 Ballykeel South. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 1988: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 9. Bray. Wordwell.

Cahill, M. 2011. Ballykeel South, Co. Clare, E1042. In Cahill, M. and Sikora, M. (eds.), Breaking ground, finding graves: reports on the excavations of burials by the National Museum of Ireland, 1927-2006. 11-12. Dublin. Wordwell.

Ó Donnabháin, B. 2011. Human remains. In Cahill, M. and Sikora, M. (eds.), Breaking ground, finding graves: reports on the excavations of burials by the National Museum of Ireland, 1927-2006. 13-15. Dublin. Wordwell.