A cist (pronounce /ˈkɪst/ or /ˈsɪst/) or kist (/ˈkɪst/) is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead, and examples of which 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. Occasionally, ornaments have been found within a cist under excavation, which could indicate the wealth of the interred individual.