Cross-slab (present location) in Inishmurray

Found in Relickoran cemetery (SL001-004003-) during excavation in August 1999, one of two cross-slabs (see also SL001-004010-) located in superficial rubble spreads on the S side of a leacht (SL001-004002-). Now in the Schoolhouse/OPW conservation store. Worn, slightly tapering slab fragment (H: 0.285 m, W: 0.165 m, Th: 0.047 m) with incised shafted cross the base of which is missing. At the surviving upper terminal the line bifurcates to encircle a false relief boss. The vertical arms divide again at the crossing to delimit a single element in false relief which forms the horizontal arms. This element features a slight expansion at the crossing decorated with a dimple, and it had slightly bulbous terminals. The quadrants were probably each decorated with an incised cross with modest rounded terminals surrounded by a rectangular frame with rounded corners. In the surviving upper right quadrant the frame respects the horizontal arms of the cross, breaking into two U-shaped elements rather than fusing with the arm terminals. The above description is derived from the results of a programme of survey and excavation undertaken in 1997-2000 on Inishmurray and published in: Jerry O’Sullivan and Tomás Ó Carragáin 2008 Inishmurrary. Monks and pilgrims in an Atlantic landscape. Volume 1: Archaeological Survey and Excavations 1997-2000. Cork. The Collins Press. Date of upload: 19 February 2018

Date likely to the early medieval period (7th–10th century AD), associated with Christian burial practices. The cross-slab may have marked a grave or served as a memorial, reflecting the influence of early Irish monastic tradition on the island.