Cist Burials Research Articles

A Bronze Age Cist Cemetery at Howick, Northumberland

This paper reports the results of the excavation of an Early Bronze Age cist cemetery on the mid-Northumberland coast at Howick. The Bronze Age site was discovered during the investigation of a Mesolithic hut site, the latter having been published separately as a monograph. A total of five cists were found with only one being adult-sized, the rest presumably for infants. Due to the acidic conditions on the site, only a few fragments of a small skull were found in Cist 2. Other small finds included a small sherd of Food Vessel urn in an area of disturbance next to Cist 5, smoothed limestone cobbles and some nodules of yellow ochre. Flints were found in most of the feature fills, but these are considered to be residual as they are directly comparable to the narrow blade material found within the Mesolithic hut and its environs. The siting of Early Bronze Age cist burials in coastal locations is thought to reflect contemporary settlement on the coastal margin and its hinterland. With no Bronze Age dwelling sites known from this area, these cemeteries have an added significance as they provide indirect evidence for Bronze Age settlement on the North-East coastal plain.

Three long cist burials at Easter Broomhouse, near Dunbar, East Lothian

Three long cist burials were discovered during road widening along the A1 near Dunbar. As a result of plough damage only one, poorly-preserved skeleton survived, identified as either a female adult or a young, slightly-built male. An unusually early radiocarbon date (1850 ± 45 BP) derived from the remains of this individual, must be viewed with caution due to poor collagen survival. The work was commissioned by Historic Scotland on behalf of the National Roads Directorate of the then Scottish Office Development Department.

14C age determination for human bones during the Yayoi period – the calibration ambiguity around 2400 BP and the marine reservoir effect

14C ages for Japanese prehistoric samples from the Latest Jomon period to the early Yayoi period have a calibration ambiguity for dates around 2400 BP. It is also necessary to correct for the marine reservoir effect on 14C ages of human bone samples from people who consumed marine food as a protein source. The Ohtomo site in western Japan, is a cemetery site used from the end of the Latest Jomon period to the Kofun period, provide a useful archaeological chronology. Human bones found in dolmen burials, jar burials and cist burials. In this study, we determined the 14C ages of human bone samples and calculated the marine reservoir effect, using diet analysis based on carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. Diet analysis showed that these people obtained from 40% to 60% of their protein from marine sources. Their 14C ages with calibration and marine reservoir correction were serially matched with the archaeological chronology.

Excavations on a Bronze Age Cairn at Hardendale Nab, Shap, Cumbria

The cairn on Hardendale Nab was excavated in 1986 in advance of destruction by quarrying, and this allowed the reconstruction of a complex sequence of development. Construction of the cairn appears to have begun in the Early Bronze Age, although it might have been earlier. Phase 1 comprised a simple cist burial, and small earthen mound, with a number of secondary burials made in and around the original monument. Unusual rectangular features might have been used for pyres. Phase 2 saw the erection of a round enclosure around the mound, which was later (Phase 3) filled with loose limestone rubble. Again burials, both cremations and inhumations, were cut into the rubble, and bone scattered over and amidst it, with an apparent focus on the southern part of the structure. The entire complex was buried by a further layer of rubble in Phase 4, into which several further burials, this time inhumations, were cut. The excavation produced an unusually large amount of environmental evidence, much of it associated with the use of the cairn as a roost by owls in Phases 2 and 3.

Excavation of a cist burial on Doons Law, Leetside Farm, Whitsome, Berwickshire

A cist burial containing the fragmentary remains of a (probably) female skeleton, a decorated Northern British/Northern Rhine Beaker, a group of flints, a fragmentary copper awl and some fragments of burnt bone and charcoal, was unearthed by ploughing in 1995. A sample of skeletal bone yielded a radiocarbon date of 2135-1935 cal BC at one sigma. Analysis of the pollen and spore content in an area of stained cist-floor sediment surrounding the skeleton suggested that flowers of Brassicaceae and Filipendula were deliberately deposited in the cist at the time of the inhumation. A series of trial trenches was excavated around the burial to investigate whether any additional archaeological evidence was detectable, but none was found.

Meldon Bridge: a centre of the third millennium BC in Peeblesshire

Rescue excavations on an extensive cropmark site at the confluence of the Lyne Water and Meldon Burn in the 1970s revealed several episodes of activity. A limited Mesolithic presence is indicated by the stone finds, but more intensive use is attested from the early/mid fourth millennium BC. Widely scattered groups of pits contained Impressed Ware of the local style. Radiocarbon dates chart this activity down to the early/mid third millennium BC, when a massive timber wall, 600 m long and up to 4 m in height, was constructed to shut off the 8 ha promontory between the Lyne Water and Meldon Burn. A timber avenue led into the enclosure on the north-west; standing posts and stones and settings of posts and stakes were erected; and cremation burials took place in the interior. No cultural material can certainly be associated with this phase and it probably lasted a century or less. A large stockade within the main enclosure could not be dated with certainty. A disturbed cist burial, yielding a jet pendant, 'slug' knife and possible Food Vessel sherds, may have been interred as one ofthe final acts in this phase. Renewed activity came in the mid/late second millennium BC, when the site was used for an extensive cremation cemetery. This involved erecting rows of posts, some standing in pits containing cremations. There was also a burial in a rough cist, and two cremations deposited in Cordoned Urns. There is no evidence for further activity until the Roman period when the road from Newstead to Castledykes was driven through the site, disturbing some of the prehistoric features. There were Roman forts just to the west at Easter Happrew and Lyne, and large temporary camps at Meldon Bridge itself. One of these partly overlay the prehistoric site, and appeared to have been constructed after the road. Long afterwards an 18th-century turnpike road was laid down on top of the old Roman road. At least some of the gravel pits found on both sides of the road were dug in this phase.

Palynological Investigations of a Bronze Age Cist Burial from Whitsome, Scottish Borders, Scotland

A palynological study of the floor material of a recently excavated Bronze Age burial cist is presented. This demonstrates a distinctive pollen assemblage rich in a Brassicaceae pollen alongside a more restricted distribution ofFilipendulapollen. The possibility that the pollen is derived from purposeful anthropogenic deposition at the time of inhumation is recognized. It is considered to be of particular significance that this cist falls within a region whereFilipendulatributes have previously been recovered from Bronze Age burials and yet a novel floral taxon is present.

Two Orcadian cist burials: excavations at Midskaill, Egilsay, and Linga Fiold, Sandwick

Two cists representing common forms of Bronze Age burial monument were excavated in 1992 in Orkney. A short flat cist at Midskaill, on the island of Egilsay, was previously unrecorded and it contained coarse pottery sherds and 'cramp' (vitrified cremation slag). No human bone was found. The second cist, located within a mound at Linga Fiold, Sandwick, on Mainland Orkney, contained human bone and cramp. The Linga Fiold mound is one of a recorded and partially excavated group (RCAHMS 1946, no 713). The work was carried out with funding from Historic

Cist burials of the Kumaun Himalayas

In the Kumaun region of Uttar Pradesh, India, on the southern slopes of the Himalaya are cist burials, as well as megalithic monuments. Radiocarbon dates from the cists now hint at their going back to the 3rd millennium BC, and linguistic affinities would associate them with early Indo-European migrations into the western and central Himalaya regions.

Long cist burials at Four Winds, Longniddry, East Lothian

Long cist burials at Four Winds, Longniddry, East Lothian

Bronze Age burials at Gairneybank, Kinross-shire

Rescue excavation in 1970 recorded three cist burials, one associated with a bowl and a flat riveted knife-dagger and another with an accompanying Food Vessel. Two other finds, a Beaker and a Food Vessel, have been rescued from the same area and clearly represent further burial deposits in a small cemetery of early second millennium bc date.A list of radiocarbon dates associated with Food Vessel burials from east-central Scotland by Alison Sheridan & Trevor Cowie is in an appendix (107--8). The skeletal remains are described by D A Lunt & A Young on microfiche (1:B1--B8).

Excavation of a shell midden site at Carding Mill Bay near Oban, Scotland

Summary Rescue excavation of a shell midden was undertaken after its discovery during construction work. The site showed evidence of disturbance prior to excavation but it clearly consisted of two main elements, a shell midden containing ‘Obanian’ artefacts and, at the top of this, a fragmentary second millennium cist burial. The main significance of the site lies in the late date it provided for the ‘Obanian’ material. The site was excavated by the Lorn Archaeological Society and the post-excavation work was funded and organised by Historic Scotland.

A beaker child burial from Catterline, Kincardine and Deeside

Cist burial of a six or seven year old, accompanied by a Late Northern/Step 5 beaker; evidence complicated by the presence in the beaker of a fragment of lead glass. A R

The Stone Circles at Temple Wood, Kilmartin, Argyll

SummaryExcavations at Temple Wood between 1974 and 1980 disclosed a long and complex history. A slightly older and smaller site was confirmed close by to the north of the stone circle: originally a setting of posts, early in the 4th millennium BC it was in process of conversion to a stone circle when dismantled before completion. In its primary phase the main site was a freestanding stone circle, probably built later in the 4th millennium: one of the uprights was carved with spiral and another with ring ornament. An apparent modification was the insertion of dry walling between the stones, with an entrance to the east. Two short cist burials, one containing a Beaker, and each with its own reveled cairn, were placed outside the circle to the north and west. The cist in the centre and possibly a nearby cremation seem to mark the change from ritual to burial use. The drystone wall was thrown down and upright interval slabs were inserted between the standing stones and across the entrance. The addition of an outer bank of stones completed the process. Cremation burials under kerb cairns within the circle, with an increase in size to the surrounding bank to conceal both cairns and interval slabs, ended prehistoric use of the site early in the 1st millennium BC. Attempts are made to reconstruct the geometry of the main circle as well as the astronomical and calendrical potential of the whole site.

Excavations at the Catstane, Midlothian 1977

NT 148743. Excavation around the Catstane confirmed disturbance at its foot and revealed long cist burials arranged to respect a space 7-8m diameter round the stone. Results of excavating 52 graves to E and SE of the stone failed to correlate with the 19th century excavation report, and bone preservation was poor. A 5th century start for the cemetery is suggested. A R

Two Cist Burials at Kintyre Nurseries, Campbeltown, Argyll

SummaryPart of the plan and contents of a large cist burial and the presence of a smaller one were noted during building operations at this site. Rescue excavation in the former produced traces of an inhumation burial, a flint blade knife, a crescentic jet necklace and perhaps a bracelet; labourers salvaged a Food Vessel from the latter. These finds emphasize the W and coastal distribution of such necklaces in SW Scotland during the mid-2nd millennium BC, but no further dating evidence was obtained, nor were there traces of more graves in an area of nearly 200m2subsequently cleared.

Bronze age mead

The discovery of three bronze age cist burials at Ashgrove, Fife, was unusual in revealing highly decomposed macroscopic plant debris in cist I, which was excavated by Professor R. J. Adam, Mrs Mary Adam and Professor L. H. Butler. Miss A. Henshall (1964) states that the liberal clay luting of the side slabs and cover of cist I had been so effective as to keep the interior dry and free of soil. She also reports that 'Over the skeleton and cist floor there was a thin deposit of black crumbly matter which formed a deep deposit nearly I ft across in the area between the forearms and upper arms, i.e., in the vicinity of the chest' (p. 167) (PL. xva). Miss C. A. Lambert (now Mrs C. A. Dickson), in an appendix to Henshall's paper, found that 'The plant material consisted of abundant dicotyledonous leaf fragments, bark, twigs, wood charcoal (two tiny fragments), plant tissue with crystalline copper salts adhering to it and fairly abundant sphagnum moss. The leaf fragments were several layers thick but their poorly preserved condition prevented their separation and identification.

Second Report of cist burials at Parkburn Sandpit, Lasswade, Midlothian

Second Report of cist burials at Parkburn Sandpit, Lasswade, Midlothian

A dagger-grave and other cist burials at Ashgrove, Methilhill, Fife

A dagger-grave and other cist burials at Ashgrove, Methilhill, Fife

A Bronze Age Cist Burial at Masterton, Pitreavie, Fife

A Bronze Age Cist Burial at Masterton, Pitreavie, Fife