cist
Ancient burial box
A cist is a prehistoric burial chamber made of stone slabs set on edge to form a box, typically covered by a capstone and buried under earth or a cairn.
Found throughout Europe and the British Isles, cists held human remains and sometimes grave goods: The excavation revealed a Bronze Age cist containing pottery fragments.
Underground chamber for remains
- graveSerious and worrying
- intermentPutting a body underground
- sepulcherChamber for the dead
- chamberEnclosed room or cavity
barrow · cairn · dolmen · cremains · inhumation · ossuary · funerary · mortuary
Thick flat piece
- capstoneTopmost stone of structure
- flagstoneFlat stone for paving
- graniteIgneous rock, quartz-rich
- sandstoneCemented grain sediment
limestone · slate · quartzite · boulder · corbelling · drystone · megalith · chamber
Act of unearthing
- digUnearth by shoveling
- siteDesignated location
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
pottery · sherds · context · prehistory · settlement · trowel · trench · fieldwork
Lidded storage container
- receptacleContainer for items
- cofferSecure valuables container
- vesselReceptacle for contents
- repositoryPlace for storing things
Items entombed with corpse
- offeringsThings presented or given
- venerationProfound admiring respect
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- ritesFormal ceremonial acts
commemoration · libation · sacrifice · afterlife · spirit · consecration · dedication · mourning
tomb
Underground chamber for remains
chamber · barrow · cairn · dolmen · cremains · inhumation · ossuary · funerary · mortuary · remains
slab
Thick flat piece
sandstone · limestone · slate · quartzite · boulder · corbelling · drystone · megalith · chamber · lintel
excavation
Act of unearthing
- digUnearth by shoveling
- siteDesignated location
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
artifacts · pottery · sherds · context · prehistory · settlement · trowel · trench · fieldwork · carbon-dating
box
Lidded storage container
- receptacleContainer for items
- cofferSecure valuables container
- vesselReceptacle for contents
repository · casket · reliquary · storage
grave-goods
Items entombed with corpse
- offeringsThings presented or given
- venerationProfound admiring respect
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
rites · commemoration · libation · sacrifice · afterlife · spirit · consecration · dedication · mourning · remembrance