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Cross-slab in Clonmacnoise

Cross-slab

What is recorded here

Cross-slab CLN00430 at Clonmacnoise is a broken fragment of pale stone, measuring 0.69 metres high and 0.45 metres wide, bearing an outline cross with looped terminals but no name. It lies fractured beside the ancient river, its median line still visible though the edges have surrendered to time. Perhaps it marked a child, a traveller, or a monk who never wanted fame, only a place where the body could rest beneath the open sky. The loops at the cross ends suggest compassion rather than warning, as if the carver believed even death should contain a little shape of mercy.
Clonmacnoise grave-slab inventory (1992) number: CLN00430 Dimensions: H 0.69, W 0.45, T 0.085 Outline cross with median line and blank looped semicircular terminals. No inscription. Evidence of discovery: Davis 1984. Condition: Fragment with cross stem, fractured and broken.. The Clonmacnoise inventory was compiled by the Office of Public Works. A copy of the record for this slab is available for inspection in the relevant Archaeological Survey of Ireland (SMR) file. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien. Date of upload: 23 May 2011
Early Christian period, likely 7th to 10th century. The cross design reflects Insular Christian art traditions and may have served as a grave marker or commemorative monument.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.

What survives
Recorded monument

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