What is recorded here

Cross-slab CLN00326 in Clonmacnoise bears a vertical prayer for Gilla Giarain, carved beneath an expansional cross whose upper arm slants right to fit the narrow stone. The looped terminals and triple-arm spiral suggest a maker comfortable with sacred geometry, while the slight tilt reveals the physical limit of the slab itself. Petrie identified the piece in 1872, preserving a small act of remembrance that has survived intact beside the ancient river.

Clonmacnoise grave-slab inventory (1992) number: CLN00326 Dimensions: H 0.54, W 0.33, T 0.065 Outline expansional cross with median line, semicircular looped terminals with fret patterns and circular centre wirh a triple arm spiral . The termianl of the upper cross arm is slanted to the right in order to fit on the slab. Inscription: Vertically inscribed 'OR AR GILLA GIARAIN'. Evidence of discovery: Petrie 1872. Condition: Complete. National Monuments Service, Photo number: 81-62, 327, 328, 620 Stokes, M. (1878) Christian Inscriptions in the Irish language, Vol 1, p XLI, no. 105. 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 9th to 11th century AD, reflecting the early Christian tradition in Ireland. The cross-slab may have served a funerary or commemorative function, with its intricate design symbolizing Christian faith and possibly the status of the deceased.

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