Notes from the archives: Re-analysis of skeletal assemblages from three later fourth millennium BC Irish passage tombs

Passage tombs are one of the best-known aspects of the Irish Neolithic, with over 200 surviving examples recorded. A small fraction of these monuments have been excavated with any associated human remains rarely recorded to modern osteoarchaeological standards. This makes it challenging to make robust inferences on the nature of mortuary practice and social structure in the Irish Neolithic, but overcoming these challenges is not an impossible task. In this paper we outline recent and ongoing re-analysis of skeletal assemblages from three late fourth-millennium BC passage tombs — Knockroe, Co. Kilkenny, and Fourknocks and Newgrange, Co. Meath — all excavated between 1950 and 2010. The burial deposits from Knockroe and Fourknocks were fully sampled during excavation and represent a rare opportunity to fully analyse and assess what may come close to a complete sequence of prehistoric burial activity. The surviving archive from Newgrange, while incomplete, is nevertheless providing new insight on the nature of activity within the tomb. We highlight the value of approaching older excavation archives with new methods and fresh eyes, and underscore the importance of constructing robust, standardised baselines of archaeologically analysable populations.