Cist in Culleens

On the summit of a low ridge. This monument was uncovered in 1989, when a farmer removed a large stone which had been impeding farm machinery. The contents of the cist were removed but later replaced. The monument was subsequently investigated by Ryan and Cherry on behalf of the National Museum of Ireland. Trapezoidal-shaped short cist (1.08m E-W; 0.76m N-S) whose sides were defined principally by four slabs set on edge. The floor was unpaved. The capstone (1.66m x 1.04m) was suboval in shape. The side and end stones had been bedded in sockets. That at the S side of the SE corner had been enlarged to form a pit into which the finders had placed the tripartite vase (2009:24). The dating of this feature is uncertain. In addition the cist contained the unburnt bones of an adult female (2009:23) which may have been lying on its left side. Radiocarbon dates obtained from bone samples yielded a date of 2210-1920 BC. (Cahill and Sikora 2011, Vol. 1, 453-458). Compiled by: Patrick F. O'Donovan Date of upload: 28 February 2013

A Bronze Age cist tomb; its location on a prominent ridge suggests ritual or funerary significance typical of early metalworking period burial practices in Ireland.