Burial in Clonmacnoise

In the 1992 excavations of the new graveyard at Clonmacnoise, Heather King excavated the remains of a single human burial in cutting 5 which were discovered at a depth of 0.7m below the surface within the uppermost undisturbed early medieval level. The burial was that of a child of about 7 years of age which had been inserted in a flexed position with knees bent and hands drawn up under the chin in a shallow pit. The pit was not well defined and appears to have been just sufficiently large enough to contain the child. No indication of a shroud, coffin or covering were discovered. This burial in open ground raises the question of its interment outside the recognised graveyard. (King, H. 1992, 'Preliminary report on the 1992 excavations in the New Graveyard at Clonmacnoise, Co. Offaly') Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien. Date of upload: 23 May 2011