What is recorded here

Gallen holds the largest known group of these cross-slabs, suggesting a busy workshop or sacred deposit rather than a single accidental loss. The new slab joins eight previously recorded pieces beside the abbey of St. Canoc, multiplying the chance that this was a centre for making or keeping arc-cross stones. Its triple circle and small central hollow may have guided a fixture, marked a threshold or completed a prayer aimed at the hidden Christ in the XP monogram.

Possible 8th-century cross-slab (dims. L 0.54m x H 0.35m x T 0.05m) with a four-lined cross-of-arcs (int. diam. 0.27m; ext. diam. 0.36m), also forming a cross pattée design, with small central hollow (diam. 0.025m) contained within a triple circle recently discovered from Gallen graveyard (OF014-029002-). The cross-of-arcs design may be based on the cross surrounded by a wreath, or on the XP monogram contained within a circle. The largest collection of this type of cross-slab comes from Gallen of which 8 were previously recorded (Lionard 1961, 112). Gallen abbey (OF014-029001-) stands in the centre of this graveyard that was built near the site of an Early Christian monastery (OF014-029008-) founded by St. Canoc in 492 AD. A group of early Christian cross-slabs (OF014-029003-) dating from the 8th/11th-centuries were uncovered along with the site of an early medieval church (OF014-029008-) during excavations in 1934-5 in a field to the north of the graveyard (Kendrick 1935). The cross-slab has been moved to the National Museum of Ireland for safe storage (NMS Reg. No. 2022:118). To see a 3D model of this cross-slab, visit; https://skfb.ly/oxsXI Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien Date of upload: 24 August 2022

Probably dating to the early medieval period, this cross-slab likely served a Christian commemorative or ritual function, its cross-of-arcs and central hollow possibly used for holding relics or as a focus for local worship.

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