Burial

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on the W side of Malahide Island, a sandbar 400m E of the Malahide coastline. In 1950 P. J. Hartnett excavated an extended inhumation burial with some irregular stones covering the body. The grave was orientated NW-SE. Remains were accompanied by a rounded limestone pebble (Diam. 0.25m). Hartnett compared this pebble to a granite pebble found by him possibly accompanying a crouched inhumation at Hempstown Commons, Co. Kildare (Hartnett 1950, 197). The articulated body was extended on its back in a NW-SE direction with the head to the NW. The left forearm lay across the chest with the hand resting on the right shoulder and the right arm was fully extended at the side with the hand underneath the right hip. A brief report on the teeth suggest that the individual was twelve to sixteen years old (Cahill & Sikora 2011, 324-325).

Compiled by: Geraldine Stout

Date of upload: 26 August 2011

References

Hartnett, P.J. 1954a Malahide "Abbey", Co. Dublin. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 84, 179, 181.

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.