What is recorded here

Eighteen graves clustered south of the Caherlehillan church, some dug shallow, others capped with lintels or lined with slabs. They belonged to one living community, not a scattered accident of time. The dead gathered where the shrine stood, suggesting prayer and burial shared the same breath.

Excavation of the ecclesiastical enclosure (KE070-043----) revealed evidence of eighteen contemporaneous graves in the areas to the E, W and S of the church (KE070-043007-), with the main concentration occurring to the S, the area where the shrine (KE070-043003-) was also located. Three separate types of grave were present, simple dug graves, lintel graves and slab-lined cists. (see Sheehan 1994, 41-2; 1995, 43-4; 1996, 40-41; 1997, 47; 1998, 82; 2000a, 89; 2000b, 112; 2004, 211-12; 2006, 214) Compiled by: Elizabeth Byrne, Ursula Egan and Sheila Ronan, Archaeological Survey Unit, University College, Cork. Date of upload: 30 May 2011

A Christian graveyard associated with a medieval ecclesiastical site; its significance lies in the spatial arrangement of graves around the church, reflecting burial practices of the period.

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