Burial mound

The National Monuments Service's description

In September, 1933, road widening carried out by Westmeath County Council on the Crookedwood-Castlepollard road uncovered the remains of five Bronze Age crouched inhumations all of which appeared to have been placed into a natural hillock that was reused as a burial mound. The burials lay beneath the summit of this natural hillock or possible burial mound. The road widening operations cut into the side of this hillock revealing the skeletons that were interred 2.4m below the summit of the hill.
The first burial (No. 1) was located 8 feet (2.4m) beneath the surface of the ground and consisted of a crouched inhumation with fragments of a bowl food-vessel which was interred into a beehive stone structure, possibly a corbelled cist measuring 4 feet (1.2m) in diameter and 3 feet (0.9m) in height. The head of the skeleton rested on a flat stone about 2 feet (0.6m) square and 8 inches (0.2m) in height.
The second burial (No. 2) was that of a child located to the SE of the above burial and was uncovered at a depth of 4 feet (1.2m) beneath the surface of the ground. A third (No. 3). crouched inhumation 7 feet (2.1m) beneath the surface was excavated which had some small stones measuring 10 inches (0.25m) placed around it. The burial was in a crouched position lying on the right side, with head towards N, right hand under the lower jaw and the left before the body. A fourth cremated burial surrounded by large stones was located 4 feet 8 inches (1.4m) beneath the surface to the W of burial No. 3. A fifth burial (No. 5) was discovered 2 yard from Burial No. 3 the following year in 1934 and consisted of a crouched inhumation lying on its right side with head lying close to a large boulder (Ó Ríordáin 1935, 102-12; Waddell 1970, 97, 134).

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 14 February 2018

References

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

Ó Ríordáin, S.P. 1935 Bronze Age burials at Crookedwood, County Westmeath. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 65, 102-12.