Burial

The National Monuments Service's description

Located on a low, rocky oval hillock, (c. 60m NE−SW; c. 45m NW−SE) E of centre on Cruit Island, 70m W of a beach. The hillock is cut by a road on its E side.
In February 1954 human skeletal remains were uncovered by workers for Donegal County Council digging for sand on the hillock. It was reported that the body was extended E−W in an unlined pit dug into sand and gravel. No associated grave-goods or grave-markers were found. According to local tradition, a sailor of great size, washed ashore on the island c. 100-200 years previously, had been buried in this general vicinity, and it was thought likely that this burial was that of the drowned sailor. The site was reported to the Gardaí at Burtonport, and the remains were examined by a pathologist, who noted that the individual was unusually tall, estimating a stature of 7 feet, 9 inches. The Gardaí informed the NMI, but as there was no obvious archaeological context, the site was not visited (Cahill and Sikora 2011, vol. 2, 466). The remains were subsequently interred in the island cemetery, Reilig Naomh Bridhge.
In November 2017 the remains were exhumed as part of a research project initiated at Queen’s University Belfast on incidences of gigantism in Ireland (McSparron and Murphy 2018). Osteological analysis revealed, however, that the individual was not a giant. The bones were those of a young adult male (18-35 years) with a height of 186.1 cm +/- 3.27 cm, equating to c. 6 foot 1 inch. Pathologies (Schmorl’s nodes and spondylolysis) noted on the vertebrae suggest that the man had lived an arduous physical existence. A bone sample submitted for radiocarbon dating returned a date of 1401 ± 27 BP. This calibrates to a calendar date in the Early Medieval period within the range AD 603-685 (95.4% probability) or AD 630-658 (68.3% probability) (McSparron and Murphy 2018, Appendix 1).
Following the investigation, the remains were placed in a new coffin and reburied. (McSparron and Murphy 2018)

Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy

Date of revised upload: 27 June 2018

References

Cahill, M. and Sikora, M. (eds) 2011 Breaking ground, finding graves - reports on the excavations of burials by the National Museum of Ireland, 1927-2006, 2 vols. Dublin. Wordwell Ltd. in association with the National Museum of Ireland.

McSparron, C. and Murphy, E. 2018. The exhumation and scientific analysis of a potential sufferer of gigantism, Cruit Island, Co. Donegal. Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queens University Belfast. Unpublished report submitted to National Monuments Service.