What is recorded here

Half a metre of chipped stone, a double ring cross still burning inside its broken frame, and the name Findan carved beneath like a man refusing to leave. Clonmacnoise gave up its saints one at a time, but this slab kept his shape when the abbey forgot his face. Petrie found it in 1822, perhaps beside the river or beneath a field of grave grass, and the top has been missing ever since. What remains is enough: a border of small hungry lines, a cross drawn twice as if certainty needed witness, and a prayer short enough to fit on a palm. Findan is not lost because the stone still speaks his name.

Clonmacnoise grave-slab inventory (1992) number: CLN00164 Dimensions: H 0.57, W 0.755, T 0.06 A double outline ring cross inside a two line rectilinear frame. The border is decorated with a fretwork design. Inscription: 'OR AR FINDAN' is inscribed inside the frame. Evidence of discovery: Petrie 1822 Condition: Upper part of frame missing. National Monuments Service, Photo number: 81-6, 845 Stokes, M. (1878) Christian Inscriptions in the Irish language, Vol 1, p XVI, no. 42 Lionard, Early Irish Grave-slabs, PRIA 60(1959-60), p 124, Fig 19, no. 12. The Clonmacnoise inventory was compiled by the Office of Public Works. A copy of the record for this slab is available for inspection in the relevant Archaeological Survey of Ireland (SMR) file. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien. Date of upload: 23 May 2011

9th- to 10th-century AD; the cross-slab likely served as a high-status Christian grave marker, reflecting the monastic heritage of Clonmacnoise. The fretwork decoration is typical of Insular art and may symbolize spiritual protection or ecclesiastical prestige.

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