Cist in Ballickmoyler

Unlocated cist within the townland of Ballinknahee which is listed by Waddell and described as a 'short rectangular cist found in gravel ridge in 1961; 70 x 55 cm internally, long axis E-W. Contained crouched skeleton of adult female; laid on the skeleton in the region of the thorax was a deposit of cremated bones representing at least one adult' (Waddell 1970, 128). According to the local landowner this site may have been in the adjoining townland of Ballickmoyler and may have been mistakenly identified as being located in the townland of Ballicknahee (Murphy Unpublished Report 1994) The National Museum of Ireland recorded that in 'September 1961 a short cist containing a cremation and an inhumation was discovered during the digging of sand near Clara, Co. Offaly. One of the side stones of the cist became visible in the sandbank as the sand was being vertically removed. The capstone lay just under the sod and the layer of soil that covered the sand, approximately 0. 15m below the surface. The cist was reported to the Garda Síochána at Clara, who informed the NMI of the find. An excavation was carried out on 19 September by Ellen Prendergast. The human remains were examined by Professor J.B. Coakley. This report is based on Prendergast's sketches and report of the site and on Coakley's report on the human remains. A cemetery of unprotected inhumation graves was excavated by Donald Murphy in the adjacent townland in 1997 and 1998. It was not possible to date these burials' (Cahill and Sikora 2011, vol. 1, 384). The site was in the townland of Ballickmoyler, north Co. Offaly, just 10m west of the border with County Westmeath. It was approximately 3km north-east of Clara town, in a limestone gravel ridge at an altitude of 70-80m above sea level. No sites of early Bronze Age date are known from this townland, but a cemetery containing at least one early Bronze Age cremation, a number of extended inhumations and a ring-ditch were excavated by Raghnall Ó Floinn in Lehinch townland, approximately 1km south of the site (Cahill and Sikora 2011, vol.1, 386-93) According to the National Museum 'the cist was rectangular in plan, with its long axis aligned east/west. It measured 0.7m long by 0.55m wide by 0.5m high internally. It was formed of four main flagstones, one at each side. As the flagstones were not closely fitted at the corners, smaller packing stones were used from the outside to seal off the cist. The southern side was sealed by a shorter flag, which overlapped the main side slab (this was the first stone of the cist to be discovered). At the north-west corner two separate stones were used to block up the corner, the outer one sloping into the gap at the top and the thinner one placed upright across the angle of the corner but not abutting on any of the other stones. The top of the cist was sealed by a large capstone, 1.1 m long by 0.9m wide by 0.15m thick. This stone completely covered the cist underneath. The floor of the cist was not paved but consisted of compacted gravel. The pit dug to receive the cist was not identified. The cist contained a crouched burial of an adult female (1961:229) and the cremated remains of an adult (1961:228). No artefacts were found in the cist. The inhumation was articulated when found and lay crouched on its right side, with the head at the east end and the knees drawn up to the chest. The cremation was placed over the thoracic region of the skeleton. The human remains from this site have not been dated. The site is assumed to be early Bronze Age on the basis of its form, The excavator noted that she was not able to determine whether or not the two burials had been interred at the same time but, owing to the weight of the capstone, considered it more likely that they were deposited together' (Cahill and Sikora 2011, vol. 1, 385). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 13 August 2012