- STILLORGAN PARK, CO. DUBLIN, Dublin

Introduction
In late May 1954, during the clearing of stones from a rockery on the grounds of St Augustine’s in Stillorgan, Co. Dublin, a short cist containing an inhumation burial was discovered. The capstone was revealed first and lifted, and the fill of the cist was being emptied when some bone was discovered within. The site was reported to the Garda Síochána at Blackrock, who reported it to the NMI. The site was investigated on 31 May 1954 by Joseph Raftery (Pl. 26). The human remains were analysed by Professor E.J. Keenan. As there is no excavation report on file, this report is based on memos on file and the plan and section of the grave, as well as the photographs taken at the excavation.

Location(Fig. 3.62)
The site was in the townland of Stillorgan Park, south-east Co. Dublin,⁸⁸ in the grounds of St Augustine’s (Brothers of St John of God) in Stillorgan, in the rockery beside an obelisk, at an altitude of c. 30–60m above sea level. Waddell (1990, 86) lists a cist burial that contained an inhumation and pottery at Stillorgan, Co. Dublin, which is situated north of that at Stillorgan

[caption id="attachment_45753" align="aligncenter" width="557"]
Fig. 3.62—Locationmap, Stillorgan Park,Co. Dublin.[/caption]

Park.⁸⁹ This was found in the eighteenth century and the sources also mention urns with ashes and burnt bones, suggesting that other burials, perhaps in pits, were also discovered.

Description of site
The cist was rectangular in plan, with its long axis aligned north/south. Internally it measured 0.92m long by 0.46m wide by 0.47m high (Fig. 3.63). It was composed of four main slabs set on edge, with each one forming a wall of the structure. These lay at a maximum of 0.17m below ground level. Raftery’s section of the cist shows that the end slabs inclined inwards. The side slabs were relatively regular in outline, with a maximum length of 0.84m, maximum thickness of 0.24m and maximum height of 0.46m. The northern end slab was the thinnest, measuring 0.57m long by 0.46m high by 0.1m thick. As the southern end stone was slightly shorter than that at the north, small stones had been laid flat on the former so that the capstone would be level on the cist.⁹⁰ The capstone of the cist is not included in the illustrations, and may have been broken or removed from the site prior to the excavation. The plan does not show evidence for packing stones around the cist, nor does it illustrate the pit dug to receive the cist. It does show that the cist was dug into gravel subsoil. The floor of the cist was not paved.
The cist contained the unburnt skeleton of a young adult female (1955:42) accompanied by a flint flake. The femora seem to have been placed along each side wall of the cist and other long bones across the centre (Fig. 3.63), while other bones were scattered around the floor of the cist. In addition to the anatomical report by Professor E.J. Keenan (see below), there is a report by Dr John McGrath⁹¹ on an injury to the skull, which in his opinion occurred during

life, shortly before death. He stated that this fracture could have caused death as it would have resulted in severe internal bleeding.
The location of the flint in the grave is unclear (it is possibly depicted to the west of the skull in the south-western corner of the cist; Fig. 3.63). Four fragments of non-human bone were found in the cist, but these have not been identified. The excavator also noted the presence of one ‘almost complete oyster shell’ in the cist.

Flint flake, 1955:43(Fig. 3.64)
A fragment of a flint flake was found in the cist. It appears to have split down the middle. There is some slight retouch on one lateral edge. Maximum dimensions: L 2.5cm; T 0.48cm.

Comment
The human remains from this site have not been dated. The form of the cist and the presence of the flint flake are indicative of an early Bronze Age burial, but in the absence of pottery or other associated finds close dating is not possible. The flint flake is not, in itself, sufficiently diagnostic. The presence of the oyster shell is interesting, as shells and other natural objects, such as fossils, other types of shells, pieces of quartz etc., have been noted in other burials of the period. Mussel shells are recorded from several burials in this volume and they may represent a symbolic food source for the journey of the deceased to the next world or the remnants of a last meal.
The report on the injury to the skull suggests that the individual died as a result of a severe blow to her head, but whether this was deliberate or accidental cannot be determined.
A note on a topographical file dated May 1946 notes that human remains found in the grounds of the Convent of St John of God, Stillorgan, were ‘reinterred by order of the Coroner’. No further details are recorded. A much earlier discovery of a cist containing the bones of an adult and an unclassifiable bowl was recorded in the eighteenth century (Waddell 1990, 86). Although these reports cannot be located in relation to the site of the 1954 discovery, collectively they do suggest a cemetery in the area. It is possible that the cist discovered in 1954 is the same one described in the early account quoted by John Waddell, as there was no vessel present in the cist and the description of the human remains being ‘promiscuously dispersed’ could be used to describe the remains recorded by Dr Raftery in 1954.

HUMAN REMAINS
E.J. KEENAN

The remains (1955:42) are part of one adult human skeleton, which is not complete and is partly fragmented. The skull and limb bones show marked female characteristics, but owing to the fragmented state of the skull it is not possible to give any data other than to say that it was of a person of about 25 years. The teeth show slight signs of wear. At the eminence of the left parietal bone there is a fracture (26mm by 10mm). The piece of bone is missing (ante-mortem?). There is no evidence of disease in any of the bones. The stature estimated from the limb bones give an approximate height of 5ft [1.52m].
The skeleton seems therefore to be that of a young adult female of about 5ft [1.52m] in height. There are four fragments of non-human bones.

REPORT ON AN INJURY TO THE SKULL BY DR JOHN MCGRATH, DATED 1 JULY 1954
[transcribed from a manuscript in the hand of Dr J. Raftery]

Injury caused by impact, glancing obliquely along the left parietal bone from back to front and causing a depressed fracture with the measurements [...] cms on the outer table [this was also noted by Professor Keenan as 26mm by 10mm]. Bevelled on the inner table, the opening being [...] cms. No evidence of healing in the bone. At the posterior angle the bone is channelled on the outside, whereas at the anterior angle there is no such appearance. It would therefore appear that a hard object with a narrow point about 2mm wide and behind the point expanding to a width of 4–6mm made an impact on the bone and produced the depressed fracture described. There still remains a small depressed bone fragment measuring 3 x 3 mm at the posterior angle.
The fracture occurred during life shortly before death and could have caused death as it would undoubtedly have produced severe intra-cranial haemorrhage. The track or [——] ofone of the major blood vessels inside the skull passes across the fractured area and this vessel would have been torn by the fracture.

88. Parish of Stillorgan, barony of Rathdown. The exact location of the cist has not been marked but it is known that it was near the obelisk. SMR DU023-056——. IGR (approximate only) 321300 227700.
89. See also Mount 1997b, 174. The cist, discovered in the eighteenth century, probably contained an unburnt burial and a bowl.
90. In the photograph showing these stones, at least one of them appears to have been quite thick and perhaps more like a packing stone than a capstone.
91. Dr John McGrath was at various times State Pathologist and Professor of Pathology at UCD.