Cist in Carrownacon

In pasture, located near the top of a low rounded hill. The N slope of the hill drops to an area of lowlying damp ground. Lough Carrowcon is located 540m to NE. This is one of two close-set cists which were excavated in 1933 by the Second Harvard Archaeological Expedition (Movius 1934; 72-85). The second, larger cist (MA100-056----) was located 0.05 to S, and its massive capstone partly overlapped the capstone of this cist. This cist (int. dims. 0.58m E−W; 0.22 N−S; D 0.4m) was rectangular in shape, long axis oriented E-W. The four walls were each constructed of a single upright limestone slab, and it was roofed with a single capstone (L 0.79m E-W; Wth 0.61m; T 0.06m), which was 0.36m below ground level. Smaller stones were used as packing stones to hold the side stones in place. The floor consisted of gravel subsoil. The cist was filled to half its depth with cremated bones, representing the remains of two individuals, an adult male and an infant. The burials were accompanied by an oval perforated stone pendant. (Movius 1934; 72-85). Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 12 March 2021