Stone head in Killogilleen

Within Killogilleen graveyard (GA104-148005-). The stone stands c. 7.5m WSW of the church (GA104-148004-) and is described by Chapple (2005) as follows: ‘It is carved from a single block of limestone, measuring 0.29m wide, by 0.23m thick. At the front it protrudes 0.30m above the present ground surface, falling off to 0.42m at the back, where the ground surface is lower, beneath the recumbent slab. Although the stone is roughly square in section, the upper surface is in the form of a half cylinder, giving the front and back elevations of the figure a rounded, almost 'barrel-vaulted' appearance. As no distinct chisel marks etc. appear on this curved upper surface of the head, it is impossible to state whether a naturally shaped stone was chosen for the purpose, or whether the rounded surface was artificially wrought. Nonetheless, the sides of the stone appear to have been roughly dressed, though the visible portion of the back seems to be a naturally flat, un-worked surface. The carving itself depicts a face with ovoid or lentoid eyes (each 46mm wide x 23mm), set high in the head (just below the hair-line), a long and slightly splayed nose (74mm long, tapering from 10mm at the bridge out to 29mm at the junction with the upper lip); and an indented mouth (50mm wide x 14mm deep). The pupils of the eyes appear to have been marked as incised dots, though owing to some slight damage or weather-related spalling to the left eye, it is hard to be certain. These features, together with the slight detailing of the hair and the demarcation between the face and hair, and also between the neck and chin, are all executed as a series of incised lines. The only exception to this is the mouth which is carved deeper and wider than the rest. The area outside the mouth is carved slightly deeper, leaving a flattened o-shaped pair of lips in low relief; in particular the chin has been lowered to help accentuate the lips. . . The whole effect is to give the figure a slightly quizzical look of someone in the act of speaking or exhaling. The figure's face tapers steeply to a distinct and steeply rounded chin. A further incised line demarcates the chin from the neck below (35mm long x 65mm wide), presumably to provide a sense of depth between the two. . . . The areas between the jaw-line and the lower portion of the hair, and on both sides of the neck are deeply carved (c.50mm), which gives added depth to the composition. These two recessed areas continue down to the bottom of the visible portion of the stone, where they taper out, presumably to form the figure's shoulders. With the exception of these two areas, the face is carved in the flat. The hair is depicted as a semi-circular arch running across the top of the head. It is thickest at the top, where it measures 50mm, tapering down to 25mm at the extremities. Just like the facial features, the depiction appears to be highly stylised. At the highest point on the head, the hair is shown with two short, deeply indented, curving lines, the only discernable detailing within the entire hair-style. These lines are 35mm apart at the top, joining together to form a V-shape. Although these may have been intended to depict some form of hair ornament, it is most likely that they were carved to represent a centre-parting, though this does not continue along the top of the rounded head. The most striking feature of the head, however, are the incised lines running across the face. They are composed of two sets of four asymmetrical lines on both sides of the face. On each side, the lower two lines appear to join with the lowest portion of the figures' nose, forming a somewhat lop-sided moustache. Also, on the right hand side of the figures' face (the observers' left) there are a series of at least two, and possibly more, lines running at opposing angles to the previous. These may be evidence of later damage, though they may equally be an original component of the composition.’ Both date and function of this piece of figure sculpture are not known. Stylistically it is considered to date between the late Medieval and post-Medieval periods (ibid). Compiled by: Paul Walsh Date of upload: 10 January 2014 The attached images are uploaded courtesy of Robert M. Chapple.