Cilliní: lugares para el enterramiento de individuos infantiles en Irlanda

Abstract

Cilliní, or children’s burial grounds, are a recognized class of archaeological monument found throughout Ireland. The sites were most frequently used for the burial of unbaptised babies, although other members of Irish society who were considered unsuitable for burial in consecrated ground by the Roman Catholic Church could also be buried there. Such individuals included the mentally disabled, shipwrecked sailors, criminals and famine victims. Locations for cilliní were diverse and included deserted churches and graveyards; ancient monuments and natural landmarks. Although a considerable amount of archaeological interest has been shown towards cilliní they remain a poorly understood class of monument. As such, the paper will review the previous research that has been undertaken on these burial grounds before advancing a theory to explain their origin. The paper also explores the emotional impact that the burial of a child within a cillín would have had on its family, and questions recent research which has suggested that these were liminal sites on the Irish landscape.