Ancient Burial (Site of) — Bealick

Shown only on 1938 OS 6-inch map as 'Ancient Burial (site of)'. Examined by Windle (1912, 169-72), who found small stone-lined grave containing fragments of encrusted urn, food vessel and human bones. Excavation by O'Kelly (1944, 116-21) revealed rectangular stone-lined cist (L c. 0.5m; Wth c. 0.4m; D c. 0.43m), covered by flat slab (c. 0.91m square); floor unpaved. Contents of cist re-examined by O'Kelly and further fragments of urn and food vessel recovered as well as 'a small quantity of finely comminuted' cremated bone (ibid., 118). Encrusted urn (H 0.27m; diam. base 0.10m; rim 0.31m) 'of the usual encrusted type - narrow bands of clay applied to the surface of the finished pot before firing. The encrustations are decorated with incised lines to give a herring-bone effect; inside the rim is also decorated. About one third of food vessel recovered (H c. 0.12m); mainly red-brown in colour and decorated with bands of 'oblique lightly-scored lines arranged in a broad herring-bone pattern'; the rim is decorated internally also. Windle's examination of the bones suggested that 'the interment was that of a female'. Following excavation, cist was reconstucted above ground slightly forward of its original position, where covering slab can still be seen. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 3: Mid Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009