Cross-slab

The National Monuments Service's description

In the Balla village, incorporated into a doorway in a round tower (MA090-024004-).
This sandstone cross-slab has been reused as a flat lintel, and is built into a 15th/16th-century doorway on the N side of the round tower. The cross-slab has been modified to fit into the doorway, and its exposed surface is greatly eroded, but part of its decoration can still be seen as faint parallel incised grooves. Rynne (1989, 180) recorded the design as ‘a framed cross with expanded stirrup-shaped terminals. Only one of the cross’s terminals can now be seen: it is 15cm long and 7cm deep, and contains faint decoration, apparently a form of fret. Photographs seem to suggest a sort of simple interlace or linear twist between the outer groove of the frame, close to the edge of the slab, and the inner ones closer to the cross, but this is very uncertain and cannot be visually confirmed absolutely.’ He suggested a 10th-century date for it (ibid.).

Attached image: MA090-024008-_01.JPG

Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 25 June 2018

References

Rynne, E. 1998 The round tower, ‘evil eye', and holy well at Balla, Co. Mayo. In. C. Manning (ed.) Dublin and beyond the Pale. Studies in honour of Patrick Healy. Wordwell Ltd., Bray.