What is recorded here

Bolus Head tilts its steep slopes above Kenmare Bay, forcing every visitor to look south toward Beara before entering the cashel. The cross-slab stands guard inside the wall, its Latin marker piercing two concentric circles like a needle through beadwork. For centuries the enclosure held an oratory, hut and passage, while a holy well waited ninety metres below. The bay still glitters beneath, unchanged since people climbed this far to pray beside stone.

Situated on the steep SE slopes of Bolus Head, from which it commands a magnificent view over the mouth of Kenmare Bay to the Beara Peninsula at S, KE097-044001- comprises a strong cashel wall which encloses an oratory, a circular hut, three rectangular buildings, a cross-slab and a covered passage. Just outside the enclosure, at N, is a rectangular platform with a leacht and a cross-slab. This site was in use as a ceallúnach until the nineteenth century (OSNB Prior, 51), and a holy well is located c. 90m to SW (KE097-059----). Cross-Slab: (2) This is 1.4m high and measures .28m x .08m at base. Its SW face features a tall, linear Latin cross ringed by two concentric circles. The shaft extends well beyond the outer circle and is surmounted by the transverse stroke of a H-shaped terminal, while a similar device is bisected by its lower end. The outer circle is interrupted on either side by the waist of the slab. See attached drawing of cross-slab taken from O'Sullivan and Sheehan 1996, Fig. 186 To see a 3D model of this monument visit: https://skfb.ly/6qBSz The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 951. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 30 July 2013

Probably dating to the early Christian period (5th–9th centuries AD), the cross-slab likely served a religious or commemorative function, possibly associated with the nearby oratory. Such stones often carried Christian symbols or inscriptions, reflecting the spiritual life of early monastic communities in the region.

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