Cremated remains in Harristown

Harristown passage tomb (WA027-007----) was excavated in 1939 by J. Hawkes (1941). The covering cairn (diam. c. 15.25m) had spilled outside the orthostats, and it may have had an outer kerb of dispersed orthostats. The cairn contained secondary burials, all cremations, one with a vase food vessel, three with cordoned urns, one of which had a pygmy cup, and an unclassifiable urn. The cremated remains of at least four others were found in two deposits, and the associated finds of the secondary burials comprise a razor, a faience bead and perforated bone pins. The remains of an adult male were found in two shallow pits outside the kerb of the passage tomb at N (Waddell 1990, 145, 7) Hawkes, J. (1941) Excavation of a megalithic tomb at Harristown, Co. Waterford. JRSAI, vol. 71, 130-47. Waddell, J. (1990) The Bronze Age burials of Ireland. Galway University Press. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload/revision: 31 May 2011

Passage tomb; Neolithic period (c. 3500–2500 BCE). Its excavation provided early insights into burial practices and megalithic architecture in the region.