- CONRANSTOWN, CO. WESTMEATH, Westmeath

Introduction
In August 1946 a short cist containing an unburnt burial was discovered near Castletown Geoghegan, Co. Westmeath, during the digging of a foundation trench in a farmyard. The capstone, which was discovered at a depth of 0.3m, was lifted and bones were noticed underneath. The capstone was replaced and the find reported to the Gardaí, who informed the NMI. The site was investigated by Dr Joseph Raftery and the human remains were examined by Laureen Buckley.

Fig. 3.185—Location map, Conranstown, Co. Westmeath.

Location (Fig. 3.185)
The site was in the townland of Conranstown, south Co. Westmeath, 2km north-west of Castletown Geoghegan.³²⁶ It was situated on a small natural hillock with a flat top, resembling a miniature plateau, at an altitude of approximately 120m above sea level.

Description of site
The cist was rectangular in plan, with its long axis aligned west/east. Internally it measured 1m long by 0.63m wide by 0.6m high (Fig. 3.186). It was composed of four main slabs set on edge, with one forming each wall. The height of the cist walls was supplemented by approximately 0.14m by the placing of a number of flat slabs underneath the capstone. There was no evidence for packing stones around the outside of the cist but the side stones appear to have been placed in sockets approximately 0.08m deep. The cist was sealed by a large capstone of rectilinear shape, measuring 1.8m long by 1.35m wide by 0.15m thick. The floor of the cist was not paved but was formed of hard grey sand. The pit containing the cist had been dug through humus into yellow clay and measured 1.7m long by 0.7m deep.
The grave contained an inhumation burial (1947:37) and no accompanying artefacts were found. The remains were found to be those of an adult male, aged between 25 and 40 years at death. Two skull fragments and one long bone were found at a depth of 0.45m below the capstone, underneath which was a thin layer of light yellow sand. Under this was a deposit of yellow clayey soil, which contained most of the long bones, tarsals, carpals and part of a mandible and pelvis. One fragment of cremated bone representing an adult male was also found. The bone had verdigris stains. Dr Raftery suggested that the position and level of the bones and the total absence of vertebrae and ribs, skull and toe and finger bones might represent the reburial of a defleshed skeleton.

Fig. 3.186—Plan and section of grave, Conranstown, Co. Westmeath.

This is not supported by the examination of the bones, which suggests disturbance of the remains as a causal factor, although Dr Raftery remarked that the cist was undisturbed and the capstone in place when he arrived to inspect the site. This does not rule out disturbance at an earlier stage, however.

Comment
There were no grave-goods, but the form of the cist and the disposition of the human remains, in the absence of pottery, are still indicative of an early Bronze Age burial. The human remains from this site have not been dated.

HUMAN REMAINS
LAUREEN BUCKLEY

Description
Burial 1947:37 consisted mainly of skull and long bones, with very little axial skeleton present. The outer surfaces of the bones were very decayed, especially on the right side, suggesting that the burial may have been lying on its left side. Very little remained of the skull. Most of the left parietal bone, a small amount of the right parietal bone, most of the squamous part of the frontal bone, some of the occipital bone and part of the left temporal bone were all that remained from the cranium. The left side of the mandible and a small amount of the right side were present. No vertebrae survived and there was only one fragment of rib. A small part of the acromial spine of the left scapula was present.
Most of the left humerus, apart from part of the distal joint surface, and the complete left radius remained from the left arm. The right arm consisted of part of the scapula with the acromial spine, coracoid process and part of the glenoid area present, as well as most of the shafts only of the humerus, radius and ulna. The hand bones consisted of the left scaphoid, right lunate, left fifth metacarpal and right second and third metacarpals. There were also five proximal and one distal hand phalanges.
Only fragments of the left ilium remained, and part of the right ilium with the sciatic notch and part of the acetabulum was present. The left femur was almost complete but the head and neck were missing. The left tibia was also virtually complete but fragmented at the distal end, and the left fibula was complete apart from the proximal end. Only the shafts remained from the right femur and tibia. Both calcanea, the right talus and cuboid and the right first metatarsal remained from the foot bones.

Age and sex
The right sciatic notch, the nuchal crest, the left posterior zygomatic arch and the mental eminence of the mandible were the only features remaining from which sex could be deduced. They were all of the male type. Measurements of the few remaining joint ends also indicated that this was a male individual.
There were no features from which the age could be estimated apart from the teeth. Since this was a Bronze Age burial, the degree of attrition as noted by Brothwell could be used for ageing, and as the wear was not heavy it could be placed in the adult age range, 25–40 years.

Stature
Stature was estimated from the length of the tibia using the regression equations of Trotter and Gleser (1952; 1958) as 176cm.

Dentition

Attrition
There was a moderate amount of wear on the first molar, with less wear on the second molar and light wear on the third molar.

Calculus
Deposits were light on the lingual surface of the premolars and first molar and moderate on the buccal surface of the first molar.

Periodontal disease
There was a very slight degree of alveolar recession around the roots of the premolars and first molar.

Summary
This inhumation of an adult male was in a very poor state of preservation. It is likely that this was the result of disturbance at some time in the past before the burial was rediscovered in 1946. Exposure of a burial hastens the decay process, and this would explain why most of the small bones of the hands and feet and the less compact bones, such as vertebrae and ribs, are completely decayed. There were no marks on the bone that would be indicative of defleshing.

Cremated bone
One fragment of cremated bone (4.8g) was found with the deposit. The bone was mainly white in colour and was well calcined. It consists of a piece of adult frontal bone from around the glabella, with a small part of the left orbit also present, probably from a male individual. Green staining was also present.

326. Parish of Castletownkindalen, barony of Moycashel. SMR WM025-093——. IGR 232850 246126.