What is recorded here

Half a metre of worn stone holds the name ARLIA beneath a cross whose four arms point back toward the centre, as if pulling the dead and living into one place. Clonmacnoise gave that small slab its address, while Hennessey drew it in 1869 before time could erase the lines entirely. The short marks at each terminal do not decorate; they aim. ARLIA is no longer a whisper because the stone still speaks, though its edges have given much of herself to rain.

Clonmacnoise grave-slab inventory (1992) number: CLN00074 Dimensions: H 0.55, W 0.47, T 0.03 An outline cross with rectangular terminals and central crosslet inside a single line frame. A short line jutting from the frame in the centre of each terminal points towards the centre. Inscription:'ARLIA'. Evidence of discovery: Drawn by W.H. Hennessey at Clonmacnoise in 1869. Condition: Complete but very worn and flaked. National Monuments Service, Photo number: 81-8, 372, 759 Stokes, M. (1878) Christian Inscriptions in the Irish language, Vol 1, p XI, no. 27 Lionard, Early Irish Grave-slabs, PRIA 60(1959-60), p 113, Fig 10, no. 4. 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

Date likely to the early medieval period (7th–10th century AD), consistent with Christian monastic activity in Clonmacnoise. The cross-slab may have served as a grave marker or commemorative monument, reflecting early Irish Christian art and symbolism.

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