What is recorded here

Inishcaltra is a thin bar of limestone where two flat stones still carry deep hollows, likely worn by repeated human use rather than water. They sit close together south of the old tower, surrounded by soil blackened with charcoal and scattered knife fragments, suggesting people gathered there to cut, burn, or prepare something important. The hollows are not casual marks; they are the shape of patience, made steady by many hands doing the same thing across generations.

One of two bullaun stones located c. 35m SSW of the round tower (CL029-009010-) on Inis Cealtra. The other bullaun stone (CL029-009029-) is 0.9m to the S. A low, roughly rectangular, limestone boulder (max. H at S 0.33m; L 1.8m NNW-SSE; Wth 1.1m) with rounded ends and a slightly convex upper surface. A subcircular depression (diam. 0.52m x 0.48m, D 0.24m) lies slightly S of centre. The depression is deep in relation to the height of the stone. A 4m square cutting around this bullaun was excavated in 1977 (de Paor 2013, 42-3). Numerous finds from the upper layers included whetstones, knife-blades, nails, clay pipe fragments, burnt bone, mortar, slag and chert chippings. An extension to this cutting in 1979 revealed the second bullaun (CL029-009028-). The soil near the two bullauns was heavily mottled with charcoal flecks and burnt material. A part of a stone pestle was also found which may have been used in the hollows of the bullauns. McNamara (1984, 31-2) described the two adjacent boulders as very similar in shape with depressions in similar locations on both. Compiled by: Mary Tunney Date of upload: 29 September 2015

Probably dating to the early Christian period (5th–10th centuries AD), the bullaun stone may have been used for ritual or ecclesiastical purposes, such as anvil stones for making holy crosses or preparing communion wafers. Local tradition may associate it with saintly activity on the holy island of Inishcaltra.

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