What is recorded here

Half a metre of stone, no more, yet dense enough to carry a triple-outline cross whose arms loop into interlace and fret. The centre still turns an S-and-C spiral, but the D in ORD has surrendered to weather, leaving only a ghost of the name it marked. Crawford saw that D in 1909; you can no longer do so. What remains is a small, stubborn knot of line and absence, waiting for the hand that first held it.

Clonmacnoise grave-slab inventory (1992) number: CLN00307 Dimensions: H 0.46, W 0.445, T 0.105 Triple outline expansional cross with median line. The left arm terminal contains interlace while the upper arm has a debased fret pattern and both are looped. The centre has a spiral pattern formed of 'S' and 'C' curves. Inscription: 'OR[D]' Macalister and Crawford saw the 'D' but it is no longer visible. Evidence of discovery: H.S. Crawford 1909. Condition: Weathered fragment with left/upper arm of cross. National Monuments Service, Photo number: 81-232, 928 Lionard, Early Irish Grave-slabs, PRIA 60(1959-60), p 134, Fig 25, no. 5. 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

Dateable to the early medieval period, likely 8th to 10th century AD, the cross-slabs of Clonmacnoise were often associated with Christian burials or monastic sites. This slab may have served as a grave marker or commemorative monument, reflecting the fusion of Christian and prehistoric artistic traditions in the region.

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