Cross-slab in Gallen

East Wall, Facing, South off Centre. Diagram Number 21 Inventory of Carved Stone ID 000021 Dimensions: Height .72 m Width .385 m Cross slab. Rises to an assymetrical point at the top, tapers inwards towards the base. It bears a ringed cross with hollow angles in high relief. At the centre there are scrolls in a circle. The three upper terminals each contain a small human head, inside those in the lateral arms is a snake's head, that in the upper arm is held in a bird's beak. A similar feature encloses the head of a small human figure standing erect, hands raised, in the upper part of the cross shaft. The long swrirling bodies of the birds and beasts form a spiral around four scrolls at the centre of the cross. The lower part of the cross shaft contains a double outline panel with fretwork. The ring contains interlace and fretwork. Description taken from Inventory of Carved Stone, SMR. Kendrick, JRSAI 69 (1939) p. 9, plate iv, (A109) (Fig. 11)

Likely dating to the early medieval period, this cross-slab may have served a Christian commemorative or waymarking function. Its asymmetrical form and positioning suggest it could have been part of a small burial or ritual site.