Cross-slab in Carrowntemple

Thirteen Early Christian slabs and a slab rough-out were found in various locations around Carrowntemple graveyard (SL044-056002-), mainly to the S and E of the church (SL044-056001-), and were described by Wallace and Timoney (1987, 43-61). Nine of the thirteen are cross-slabs, two are decorated with triskeles, one with a maze pattern and a fragment of one with an inscription. Six of these slabs are now in the NMI. The remainder, apart from one which is concealed in the graveyard, are in the care of Sligo County Council, some being on display in Sligo Museum. Replicas of twelve of them have been erected against the S wall of the old graveyard and there is a duplicate copy of one on top of the wall. The following description is based on Wallace and Timoney (ibid.) and the numbers assigned to the slabs in that publication have been retained. Slab 10: a roughly rectangular slab (1.21m x 0.47m; T 0.06-0.10m) with a rounded top and a tenon at the base. Both faces are decorated. The smooth slab face features a human figure which comprises a face enclosed by an outer circle, a short naked body with long arms and short legs with relatively large feet. The other face has a cross with a fret pattern below it. The cross comprises a pair of triple-strand ribbons crossed at right-angles and knotted at their extremities. The design below the cross has flaked off leaving only the vestiges of a rectilinear or fret pattern on the upper section. A plinth stone (diam. 0.75m; T 0.19m) with a subrectangular mortise-hole (26.5 cm x 10.5cm) probably held this double-sided slab (Timoney 2002a, 142). This slab is in the National Museum of Ireland (DU018-231----). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Revised by: Paul Walsh Date of revision: 10 March 2010