Cross-slab in Balla

In Balla village, located in the N half of a graveyard (MA090-024005-). This fragment of a cross-slab consists of a rectangular slab (Wth 0.6m; T 0.06m; H 0.47 above ground) set upright in the ground, with a plain, double-line ringed cross, within a double-line rectangular frame, inscribed on the W face. The upper portion of the stone has broken off immediately above the arms of the cross in a clean almost horizontal break, so that the upper portion of the shaft and the upper arcs of the ring are missing. The S side of the slab has also been damaged, truncating part of the incised frame. The frame surrounding the cross consists of two close-set (0.025m apart) parallel grooves incised around the outer edge of the slab, 0.02m in from its edge. The cross is outlined by parallel incised grooves (0.5-055m apart), with the arms extending to the inner groove of the frame. Below the arms, 0.4m of the shaft is visible, but its base is concealed beneath ground. The two lower arcs of the ring, also outlined by two incised grooves, describe a semicircle with external diameter of 0.34m, but do not break the arms or shaft of the cross. Another cross-slab (MA090-024008-) is reused as a lintel in the lower doorway of the round tower (MA090-024004-) in the SW part of the graveyard. Attached image: MA090-024009-_01.JPG Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 25 June 2018

This cross-slab likely dates to the early medieval period, possibly 8th to 11th century AD, and may have served as a Christian memorial or waymark. Its presence in a graveyard suggests a connection to local burial practices or religious observance.