Slab-lined burial in Bunowen

Located in the eroding, NW-facing land-edge, bordering the mouth of the Bunowen River, c. 500m N of Louisberg village. The land-edge consists of a low cliff (H c. 3m) which drops from a pasture field to a sand and cobble beach. The slab-lined burial is located at a depth of c. 1.2m below the field surface/top of the cliff, and at a height of c. 2m above the beach. The E end of the grave remains in situ within the cliff face but the W end was destroyed by erosion during the winter of 2014/15. A concave area (c. 1m E–W; H 1m) in the cliff face immediately to W of the intact portion of the grave indicates where a pocket of soil containing part of the grave has collapsed/eroded out. A lintelled opening in the cliff face reveals the surviving portion of the grave which extends E into the body of the cliff. It consists of a roughly rectangular, stone-lined cavity (L 0.8m E–W; Wth 0.18m N–S at E, c. 0.46m N–S at W; max H. 0.33m). The E end is faced with a single upright stone. The N and S sides are partly faced with upright stones, one stone towards the E end of the N side, and two close-set uprights mid-way along the S side. The roof consists of two thin, flat overlapping slabs. Loose, grey-brown sandy soil (D c. 0.15) filled the grave to a level 0.2m below the capstones and overlay a floor paved with two slabs. A rescue excavation (16E0470) funded by the National Monuments Service was carried out on 29th August-5th September 2016 (Crumlish 2018). Due to concerns about the stability of the cliff face, the structural remnants of the grave were not removed, but the sandy layer in the interior was excavated. The collapsed soil at the base of the cliff was also excavated and sieved. Fragments of human bones were retrieved from within the grave and also from the collapsed soil. Stone slabs, which may have formed part of the destroyed W end of the grave, were also found at the base of the cliff. The skeletal remains are very incomplete and in a fragmentary condition. They comprise two skull fragments, part of the right jaw bone, a fragment of collar bone, a fragment of shoulder blade, rib fragments, the left humerus (upper arm), and fragments of finger and toe bones. Only the toe bones were found in situ within the grave; all other bones were recovered from the displaced soil at the cliff base. The osteoarchaeological analysis concluded that the bones are most likely those of a young adult male, aged between 20-30 years at time of death. It is likely that he was buried in an extended position, on an E−W axis, with the head to W; thus conforming to the traditional norms for a Christian burial. The slab-lined grave appears to have been at least 1.46m E-W in length. Radiocarbon analysis of a sample taken from the humerus returned a date of 1451±37 BP (UBA-36132), which calibrates (2 sigma) to the period 549-653 AD. (Crumlish 2018) Attached images: MA086-021----_01.JPG Shoreline cliff face, viewed from NW MA086-021----_02.JPG Location of burial in cliff face; heap of displaced soil at base of cliff MA086-021----_03.JPG Opening to surviving portion of the grave (pre-excavation) The two images below are provided courtesy of the excavating archaeologist, Richard Crumlish. They show the remaining E end of the grave, post-excavation. MA086-021----_04.JPG MA086-021----_05.JPG Compiled by: Jane O’ Shaughnessy Revised upload: 4 December 2018