What is recorded here

In 1954 workers at Clonmacnoise uncovered a thin stone where a triple cross still climbs through looping bands and a spiral of C curves. The left edge carries broken letters, ORDO GR TEHTC, as if a name or prayer had been cut into the stone before it broke. What the cross marked is no longer certain, but the fineness of the carving suggests the maker believed the line itself could hold someone safe.

Clonmacnoise grave-slab inventory (1992) number: CLN00308 Dimensions: H 0.52, W 0.421, T 0.06 Triple outline expansional cross with median line. The surviving looped semicircular terminal has a strange fret pattern on it. In the centre is a spiral pattern made up of 'S' and 'C' curves. Very finely carved. Inscription: 'OR]DO [G]R TEHT[C]…' vertically down left side. Third and last letters indecipherable. Evidence of discovery: OPW 1954-58. Condition: Large fragment very worn and flaked. National Monuments Service, Photo number: 81-207, 926, 938. 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

9th- to 10th-century AD; the expansional cross and fret decoration suggest a Christian ecclesiastical context, likely associated with the monastic settlement of Clonmacnoise. Such slabs may mark burials or serve as devotional markers.

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