- WHITESTOWN, CO. DUBLIN, Dublin

Introduction
In early February 1932, during ploughing in a field near Rush, Co. Dublin, an inhumation burial, accompanied by a bowl and protected by a few small stones, was discovered. The grave had been covered by a large stone, which lay 0.31m below ground level. The landowner, Lawrence McGuinness, removed the capstone; on finding the burial, he tried to lift the vessel and it was broken in the process.⁹⁵ The skull was also removed from the grave and considerably damaged before it was replaced. The landowner reported the find to the Garda Síochána, who informed the NMI and instructed Mr McGuinness to leave the site undisturbed pending instructions from the Museum. The site was excavated five days after its initial discovery, on 6 February 1932, by Adolf Mahr and Liam Price.

[caption id="attachment_45769" align="aligncenter" width="558"]
Fig. 3.67—Location map, Whitestown, Co. Dublin.[/caption>

This report is based on Mahr and Price’s notes and sketches. The human remains were analysed by Laureen Buckley.

Location (Fig. 3.67)
The site was in the townland of Whitestown, north-east Co. Dublin.⁹⁶ It lay in a field known locally as ‘William’s field’ south of the main road between Rush and Lusk, west of St Maur’s Church and east of St Maur’s Well. In 1989 a skull and long bone were discovered in a sandpit in the same townland, approximately 200m south of that discovered in 1932 (see Vol. 2, p. 474). A human skull was also reported from Whitestown in 1976 but was not retained.

Description of site
The grave (no plan of this site survives) consisted of a semicircular arrangement of three tall and four smaller stones which protected the skull and the vessel. The grave appears to have
been aligned north/south.⁹⁷ The stones were irregular in shape, the tallest being 0.38m.⁹⁸ The total length of the burial was 0.71m by 0.38m. The stones around the skull supported the large capstone, which measured 1.19m long by 0.76m wide by 0.13m thick. The grave-cut does not seem to have been identified. The floor of the grave was not paved.
The grave contained the unburnt remains of an adult male and a small amount of cremated bone of an adult male (1932:5614.2,3) accompanied by a bowl.⁹⁹ Although the upper strata of the burial were completely disturbed and many bones broken, it was possible to see the original position of the skeleton. It lay in a supine position with the head at the eastern end of the cist, the knees drawn up to the chest and the arms by the sides. The ribs seem to have been crushed by the weight of the capstone. The bowl had been placed standing upright immediately south of the skull.

Simple necked bowl, 1932:5614.1 (Fig. 3.68)
The bowl is a simple bowl of the necked variant, as classified by Ó Ríordáin and Waddell

Fig. 3.68—Ceramic vessel, Whitestown, Co. Dublin.[/caption]

(1993, 164). It is decorated with incised lines and ‘slightly crescentic impressions’ (ibid., 109). The rim is flat and is decorated with an incised line running around the rim and a second line which may be executed by nail marks. Below the rim there is a zone of cross-hatched strokes delimited by a wavy line of nail impressions on either side. Below this an incised sharp line marks the break of the shoulder and globular body. On the shoulder are diagonal scratched incisions, below which is another zone delimited by two wavy lines of nail-like impressions. This zone is filled in with vertical incised lines. Below this are more diagonal scratched lines, as above. Lower down these ornamental zones and cross-hatching appear to be repeated, but much of the vessel is repaired. The base is plain.
Dimensions: H 12cm; ext. D rim 16.3cm; D base 7cm.

Comment
The human remains from this site have not been dated. The decorative scheme on the vessel is very similar to a necked bipartite bowl from Kiltalown, Co. Dublin (Ó Ríordáin and Waddell 1993, 175, no. 87¹⁰⁰). This vessel is placed in stage 2 by Brindley (2007, 173, fig. 51, i), which is dated to 2080–1980 BC. By analogy with this vessel, the Whitestown vessel is placed in same stage of the development of bowl tradition pottery.

HUMAN REMAINS
LAUREEN BUCKLEY

Late middle adult male, 174cm (1932:5614.2)
Most skeletal elements were present but the bones were very decayed and fragmented. The cranium was virtually complete and in one piece, although some of the maxilla was missing. The mandible was almost complete, apart from the right ramus. Very little remained from the vertebral column apart from the first three cervical vertebrae, fragments of one thoracic and one lumbar vertebra. Fragments of seven left and eight right ribs were present. Both scapulae were present but incomplete and the shaft of the right clavicle remained. Only the shafts of the left humerus and radius survived, but the left ulna was almost complete apart from its distal end. The distal two-thirds of the right humerus, most of the shaft of the right radius and the complete right ulna were present from the right arm. The left hand consisted of the pisiform, hamate, all the metacarpals and one proximal phalanx, but only an incomplete third metacarpal remained from the right hand.
Both ilia and the left ischia were present from the pelvis but were very incomplete. The first two sacral vertebrae were also present. Both femurs and tibiae were complete but in poor condition and the left patella was also present. Only the distal end of the left fibula and the shaft of the right fibula remained. The foot bones consisted of the left and right tali, the left calcaneum, cuboid and third cuneiform, right first cuneiform and all the metatarsals except for both fourth metatarsals.

Age and sex
The sciatic notches were of the male type and all the features of the skull, the external occipital protuberance, mastoid process, supraorbital ridge, orbital rims and mental eminence, were also of the male type. The only feature available to help determine age was the auricular surface of the ilium, which gave an age of 35–44 years. The stature was estimated from the lengths of the femur and tibia as being 174cm.

Skeletal pathology
There was some degeneration of the right shoulder, with mild surface osteophytes on the glenoid fossa of the right scapula. In the vertebral column there was moderate lipping on the inferior articular surfaces of C1 and also at the articular facet for the dens. Moderate osteophytosis was present on the body of the third cervical vertebra.

Dentition

Attrition: there was a moderate degree of wear on the anterior teeth and heavy wear on the molars, especially the upper molars.
Calculus: deposits were light on the lingual surfaces of the upper right incisor, canine, second premolar and first molar and on the lingual surfaces of the upper left molars. There were also light deposits on the buccal surfaces of the lower left molars and right first molar, and moderate deposits on the lingual surface of the lower left molars.
Periodontal disease: there was a slight degree of alveolar recession around the roots of
most teeth.
Hypoplasia: linear enamel hypoplasia was noted on the upper left lateral incisor, canine and first premolar and on the lower premolars. The episodes occurred between the ages of two and five years.

Summary
This was the skeleton of a middle adult male with a living stature of 174cm. There was some evidence of degenerative joint disease in the spine and in the shoulder. The teeth show signs of heavy attrition that is typical of prehistoric burials.

Cremation (1935:5614.3)
Some cremated bone—a total of 57 fragments of bone weighing 51g—was also found with this burial. The bone was efficiently cremated, mainly white in colour, with horizontal fissuring ofthe surface. Some fragments were stained an orangey brown colour, probably owing to mineral deposits in the soil. Most of the sample consisted of large fragments over 15mm in length, and the largest fragment measured 50mm. The majority of the sample (61%) consisted of skull fragments. These included a large fragment of squamous occipital bone with pronounced external occipital protuberance. This fragment had flecks of sky blue colour on the outer surface and was stained orange on the internal surface. Other fragments of occipital bone were present and there were small fragments of parietal bone. There was also a left orbit and the supraorbital part of the left side of the frontal bone. The supraorbital ridges seemed to be of the male type, although the rim of the orbit was thin, like a female type. A small fragment of the mandible was present but the sockets were unidentifiable. Other bone present included a large fragment from the anterior shaft of an adult tibia, a fragment of radius shaft, a fragment of a hand phalanx, a fragment of a first proximal phalanx from a foot and a disarticulated particular surface from a vertebral arch. The remains appear to represent one adult male.

Summary and conclusions
The inhumed burial from the cist consisted of a late middle adult male, aged 35–44 years, with an estimated living stature of 174cm. There were some early degenerative joint changes at the right shoulder and in the cervical vertebrae. Dental wear was heavy on the molar teeth and calculus deposits were light to moderate, and there was evidence of the early stages of periodontal disease. Hypoplasia on the teeth indicates that this individual had suffered from nutritional deficiency or acute infection in early childhood. The cremated remains of an adult male were also found.

95. Sherds of the vessel were distributed among the neighbours of Mr McGuinness. Many of these were recovered by Dr Mahr but some did not reach the NMI until as late as 1974.
96. Parish of Lusk, barony of Balrothery East. Unfortunately, this site was not marked on the map but the general area is known. It lay 15yds south of the main Rush to Lusk road. SMR (possibly) DU004-035——. IGR (approximate only) 324500 253500.
97. According to Price, the ‘face was facing’ 50° west of magnetic north.
98. No other measurements are provided.
99. An account in the Irish Independent (6 February 1932) states that ‘a band of ornamented substance, which was around the skull, broke into fragments when touched’. This probably refers to the decorated bowl found next to the skull, which broke when it was lifted by the finder.
100. W10/Wk93.