What is recorded here

Seven flat stones formed a small circular chamber in Newtown, County Louth, holding a crouched body beneath a single slab. A second cist lay nearby inside a ringfort, but both were destroyed before modern protection reached them. The dead person may have been young, old, loved or forgotten; the stones no longer answer that question. What remains is the shape of the chamber and the certainty that someone bent stones around another human life.

The following description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 Roughly circular cist with seven orthostats for side stones and single slabs for floor and capstone. The grave contained a crouched inhumation. Second cist with large capstone discovered in nearby ringfort (LH011-012001-). Both subsequently destroyed. (CLAJ 1956, 451).

A cist burial, likely dating to the Early Christian or medieval period; its significance is primarily local, reflecting burial practices of the period in the region.

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