Cist - Definition and Overview

A cist (pronounced 'kissed') is a small stone-built coffin-like box used to hold the bodies of the dead (notably during the Bronze Age in Britain). The sides are usually built of single slabs.

A cist may have been associated with other monuments, perhaps under a cairn or long barrow. It would not be uncommon to find several cists close together within the same cairn or barrow. Occasionally, ornaments have been found within a cist under excavation, which could indicate the wealth of the interred individual.

See also: kistvaen