Cist, An Charraig Uachtarach, Co. Donegal

Co. Donegal |

Burial Sites

Cist, An Charraig Uachtarach, Co. Donegal

Around 40 years ago, turf cutters working in An Charraig Uachtarach, County Donegal, made an unexpected archaeological discovery buried deep in the bog.

Whilst cutting through the peat, they uncovered a stone cist; a type of ancient burial chamber; sitting two and a half feet beneath the surface, resting directly on the subsoil. The cist itself was modest in size, measuring three feet by one and a half feet, with walls built using dry stone construction techniques and topped with a covering slab.

Inside the chamber, archaeologists found a quantity of red ash, likely the remains of cremated human bones. The surrounding area yielded further intriguing finds, including a flint arrowhead and several flint flakes, suggesting this was more than just an isolated burial. These artefacts hint at prehistoric activity in the area, possibly dating from the Neolithic or Bronze Age periods when such burial practices were common in Ireland.

The location itself sits within an undulating landscape characterised by blanket bog and rocky outcrops, typical of much of Donegal's rugged terrain. This find, documented in the Archaeological Survey of County Donegal in 1983, offers a glimpse into how our ancestors chose to memorialise their dead in these remote upland areas, carefully constructing stone chambers that would remain hidden beneath the growing peat for millennia.

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