Cinerary urn

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This ceramic urn was found at Seamill at West Kilbride in Ayrshire. It was used to hold cremated remains, sometime between 2000 and 1500 BC.

The urn has a pronounced collar and a mid-belly 'shoulder'. The collar and upper body are decorated with impressions of plaited cord.

By around 1750 BC, in mainland Scotland, cremation had become the favoured funerary custom. Cremated remains were gathered from the funeral pyre and usually placed in a large pottery urn, its top covered by a skin or stone.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-035-026-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.EA 198
• Date: Between 2000 and 1500 BC
  
• Material: Clay, reddish brown, rim overhangs, ornamented
  Pottery / cinerary urn
  
• Dimensions: 7.56" H x 7" D at mouth
  
• What: Pottery / cinerary urn
  
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Ayrshire, West Kilbride, Seamill
  
• Event:
• Description: Pottery / cinerary urn
  
• References:
  • Longworth, I.H. Collared urns of the Bronze Age in Great Britain and Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984, p 312. 
• Translations:
• Related Records: