What is a cist?

A cist is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found all over the world. 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. Often ornaments have been found within an excavated cist, indicating the wealth or prominence of the interred individual.