Kistvaen

A kistvaen is a stone coffin, usually pre-Christian, derived from the Celtic cist (chest) and maen(stone).

Many fine examples of kistvaens are to be found on Dartmoor. These often take the form of small rectangular pits about 3 ft. (0.9 m) long by 2 feet (0.6 m) wide. The kistvaens were usually covered with a mound of earth and surrounded by a circle of small stones. When a body was placed in the kistvaen, it was usually lain in a contracted position. Sometimes however the body was cremated with the ashes placed in a cinerary urn.

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