Cross-slab in Clonenagh

In an elevated area. In 1988 ten early Christian cross-slabs, rectangular in shape were uncovered during the digging of a pathway through the graveyard (LA017-003007-) at Clonenagh. Three are in false relief, the remainder are simple incised crosses. These cross-slabs have been attached to the inner E face of the graveyard wall in the W quadrant of the graveyard. The slabs have been numbered one to thirteen by Manning in his article entitled 'Cross-Slabs from Clonenagh, Co. Laois' (1998, 185-192). The slabs are upright just inside the gateway to the graveyard. This area has been used as a dumping place for cut grass and other debris that has resulted in the base of the slabs being covered in soil and vegetation. Slab 5 consists of 'an incomplete slab (H 0.55m, Wth 0.44m; T 0.05m) with either part of the upper or lower member of a cross defined by two incised lines. Running out at right angles to the terminal at each side is a double line with spirals attached' (Manning 1998, 187). Immediately N of Slab 5 there are two eighteenth century headstones that have been incorporated into the E face of the W wall of the graveyard. The first headstone belongs to Elllinor Culliton and is dated to 1752. The second sandstone headstone dates from 1702. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 17 December 2007

Dateable to the early Christian period (7th–10th centuries AD), the cross-slab likely served a funerary or commemorative function, reflecting the spread of Christianity in the region. Such stones often bore symbolic Christian iconography and may have been associated with a monastic or ecclesiastical site.