What is recorded here

Slab-lined burial in Mellifont is a stone-lined grave inside the abbey where bones and two gold pins appeared before 1886. It is not a display chamber or a modern invention; it is a dead person’s container, hidden beneath a house of prayer and recovered only when the building gave way or was opened. The gold pins suggest more than poverty, perhaps a gift, a trade or a family marker. The slabs suggest care, fitting one body into the earth instead of losing it to the field.

The following description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 Prior to 1886 a stone-lined grave containing bones and two gold pins was found inside the abbey (see LH023-007002-). (Bassett 1886, 129-30)

Slab-lined burial in Mellifont is a prehistoric cist burial, likely dating to the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. Its presence contributes to the understanding of early burial practices in the broader Louth region.

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