What is recorded here

Dún Ailt Cairn and Cross-Marked Slab is a small Donegal garden site where an undressed slab rests on a stone mound, carrying three different incised crosses that still face outward like a quiet invitation. The western cross ends in a pear shape, the northern and eastern crosses use bar terminals, and weathering has softened parts of the work. A person may have set the slab there to mark a boundary, honour a dead person, or warn a traveller that the bay below belongs to more than one world.

A subcircular cairn (DG080-022001-) c. 4.6m in diameter and 1.1m in height. Located on top of this is an undressed slab (DG080-022002-) 1.14m × 0.22m to .34m × 0.11m to .18m. There are crosses inscribed on three faces of the slab. The W face has a simple, bar cross with a pear-shaped terminal at the bottom and a rectangular terminal with internal markings at the top. The cross on the N side is a simple Latin cross with a bar terminal on top and on its Warm. On the E face of the slab is a simple Latin cross with bar terminals on each arm. All the lines on the slab are thinly incised and some features may have disappeared through weathering. The site is located in a garden overlooking the Glen Bay inlet in rough, rocky pasture. The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Date of upload: 22 September 2008

A Neolithic passage tomb with a later Bronze Age cross-marked slab; significant as a rare example of Christian iconography superimposed on a prehistoric monument.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.