Flat cemetery in Kilbarry

At the W edge of a broad marshy basin. A flat cemetery was identified during archaeological excavations (licence no. 18E0613) in advance of a housing development (Pollock 2021, 45-8, 56-7). It consisted of a rectangular stone-lined cist (dims. c. 0.85m NW-SE; c. 0.4m NE-SW) with no capstone (ibid. 46). The cist appears to have been robbed of its contents and the absence of any cremated bone suggests that it had contained a crouched inhumation (ibid. 46-7). Pottery fragments from a Bronze Age vase urn were found in the silt fill as well as a stray sherd of Neolithic pottery from behind the cist (ibid. 47). Less than 2m SW of the cist there was a pit-burial containing a cremation within an upright urn, which had been truncated almost to the base (ibid.). The burnt bone was mostly those of an adult human, with some teeth of a possible juvenile and possibly some animal fragments (ibid.). Also within the urn was a bipolar flint core (ibid.).  A second cremation was found 7m W of the cist, consisting of a small oval patch (dims. c. 0.2m x 0.3m) of burnt bone within a shallow pit (D < 0.05m) (ibid. 48). The bones are those of a young adult (c. 20-40 years), with some small dental roots suggesting a juvenile (ibid.). Approximately 30m to the S a group of 3 small holes included in their fills scorched soil and a potential mix of burnt human and animal bones (ibid. 56-7). These may be contemporary with or older than the cist with associated pit-burials (ibid. 57). The flat cemetery is located c. 130m NW of Kilbarry church (WA017-003001-) and graveyard (WA017-003002-) which was a focal point of the former manorial centre associated with the preceptory of the Knights Templar. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 5 May 2021