Graveslab in Rathduff (madden)

One of a large number of graveslabs (KK027-029005-; KK027-029015-, KK027-029016-, KK027-029021- to KK027-029051-) found at Kells Priory for Augustinian canons (KK027-029004-) which have been described and catalogued by Higgins (2007, 453-67). A graveslab (L 2m; Wth 0.32-0.345m; T 0.12m) described by Higgins as having a very worn upper surface, probably re-tooled. The visible long side of the slab is tapering with a hollow bevel possibly cut away for reuse as a step. There is also a hollow bevel on the lower edge. The upper end of the slab is hidden from view. The slab was reused as the lower step in a doorway to the W room of the S claustral range, associated with the later use of the priory as a farmstead in the second half of the 16th/17th century. Stylistically dated to the 14th/15th century. (Higgins 2007, cat. no. 33, 467). Ref.: Higgins, J. 2007 The medieval funerary monuments. In M. Clyne, (ed.), Kells Priory, Co. Kilkenny: archaeological excavations by T. Fanning & M. Clyne, 453-67. Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Dublin. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 7 June 2023

Medieval Christian graveslab; associated with the Augustinian priory at Kells, significant as part of a large assemblage of ecclesiastical monuments reflecting monastic burial practices in the region.