Architectural feature

The National Monuments Service's description

Located in a graveyard (MA071-142002-), to SW of a medieval church (MA071-142001-).
This architectural fragment was discovered in 2009 during a survey of the graveyard (Burke 2009). It consists of a carved block of sandstone (H 0.4m; Wth 0.2m; T 0.15m) which has been reused as a gravemarker and is set upright in the ground. A human head is carved in false relief across an angle of the square block so that it spans the width of two sides of the stone. The strong, austere face is oblong in shape, flat at the top of the head, with a robust, rounded chin. The facial features are simple but well defined: round eyes, a large, straight nose flaring slightly at the nostrils, and a horizontal groove for the mouth, with well-shaped ears flanking the top of the head. Vertical rows of small decorative bosses are carved into the sides of the stone on either side of the head. The stone was originally a capital of a Romanesque doorway and suggests a 12th-century date for the now ruined church (pers. comm. Con Manning, March 2009).

Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 13 September 2021

References

Burke, R. 2009 Possible architectural fragment at Kinaff graveyard, Co. Mayo. Report compiled for: National Museum of Ireland & Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Unpublished report submitted to NMS, 2009.