An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s17.121

v1.c9.s17.121

(7) Port-hole cist: A port-hole cist is a box-like burial chamber, largely underground and built of gneissic orthostats floorstone and capstone but arranged inside a rectangular pit scooped out of the native laterite. The e. orthostat has a port-hole which is blocked by a small slab on the outside. The entire structure is surrounded by a stone circle. The cist sometimes has a bench inside, as at PORKALAM. Similar cists, but not sunk into laterite, occur also in Tamil Nadu [4.17.9].