Cist in Gortnaskehy (upperchurch Par.)

Situated on the flat summit of Moher Hill overlooking a broad valley to the SW and panoramic views from E through S to W. A denuded circular cairn (dims. 10.1m N-S; 10.5m E-W) defined by occasional small stones and a slight scarp. The cairn covers a recently exposed cist (L 0.82m x Wth 0.6-0.76m; D 0.8m), aligned NE-SW, trapezoidal in plan, with the wider end to SW. There is a large rectangular capstone (2.15m x 0.96m; T 0.21m) of sandstone with quartz pebble inclusions. Four flat sandstone slabs (av. H 0.5m) set on edge line the cist (sidestone at SW end is 0.17m T). A depth of 0.2m of soil has recently been removed from the base and a flag floor which paved the bottom has been broken through. According to local information the soil covering the flag floor had been very dry. A small quantity of charcoal was found in the disturbed soil. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 September 2008

Bronze Age cist tomb; dates to the early to middle first millennium BCE. Its location on a prominent hilltop suggests ritual or funerary significance, possibly linked to landscape orientation and ceremonial practices of the period.