What is recorded here

Half a metre of worn stone holds a cross with square ends inside a double circle, marking Marcus beneath the Clonmacnoise grass. The name sits crooked above the frame, almost erased, as if the chisel ran out of patience or light. In each end of the cross are faint guide lines, waiting for work that never finished. What was left incomplete on the slab may be the point: a life measured, named, and still being made.

Clonmacnoise grave-slab inventory (1992) number: CLN00079 Dimensions: H 0.57, W 0.44, T 0.04 Outline cross with square terminals inside a two line circular frame. In each of the terminals there are mark up lines for more work on the slab (see also CLN00081). Inscription: 'MARCUS' - placed above the frame is badly laid out, very worn and barely legible. Evidence of discovery: Macalister 1898-1905 Condition: Edges of stone damaged. Some weathering. National Monuments Service, Photo number: 81-392, 708, 710 Lionard, Early Irish Grave-slabs, PRIA 60(1959-60), p 113, Fig 10, no. 10. 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-slab may have served as a grave marker or commemorative monument, reflecting the Christian heritage of Clonmacnoise, a historically significant monastic site.

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