What is recorded here

Death in Letterkeen was a shared act. One cist held two compartments, one for an adult male and one for another adult with a child, all cremated and laid under a single slab on a rise above the Goulaun River. The divide may have marked age, rank or simply the order of laying out bodies, but the roof united them. Around it stood other cists, pit burials and a cairn, later covered by a rath, so the dead became the foundation of the living village.

Located on a rise in the middle of a plateau bounded by the Goulaun River on one side and by the steep rise of Letterkeen Hill on the other, in an area of mountainous and boggy terrain. This cist was excavated (E000015) in 1950 by Ó 'Ríordáin and Mac Dermott (1950-51, 93-94). It consisted of a short, rectangular slab-lined cist, long axis roughly E-W, divided into two compartments by a transverse slab, and roofed by an irregular-shaped slab (1.2m x 0.8m; T 0.15m). The W compartment contained the cremated bones of a least one adult, possibly a male, some animal bone, a possible bone pin made from a bird bone, and much charcoal. The E compartment contained the cremated bones of an adult, and a child of about 10 years. The cist was dated to the Bronze Age. A possible burial cairn (MA046-004001-), two other cists (MA046-004002-; MA046-004003-) and two pit burials (MA046-004005-; MA046-004006-) were found in close proximity, also dating to the Bronze Age. At a later period, these features were overlain by a rath (MA046-004007-). Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 9 April 2019

Cist in Letterkeen is a small stone burial chamber, likely dating to the Early Christian or Bronze Age period. Its location suggests it may be part of a broader funerary or ritual landscape in a remote upland setting.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.