Originally carved to lie flat as grave markers, the stones were repurposed at some point and stood upright to serve as headstones, a practical recycling that has had unintended consequences. Because they were designed to be read horizontally, much of the carved detail on each slab now sits below ground level, hidden by the very soil they were thrust into. The result is a graveyard full of ancient stonework that reveals only part of what it knows.

The slabs cluster in the southern portion of the graveyard, where 18th and 19th century burials are concentrated. That distribution is not coincidental; the stones were pressed into service precisely where new graves were being dug and markers were needed. Most are of schist, a locally available metamorphic rock with a fine, layered quality that suits carving, though four of the twenty, including the one known as Cross-slab 16, are of granite. That particular stone stands immediately to the south of Aghowle church, towards its western end. Square in section at 32 centimetres by 32 centimetres and standing 46 centimetres above ground, it carries a splayed cross carved in low relief on its south face. The upper arm of the cross is notably elongated at 24 centimetres tall, with the lateral arms stretching the full width of the stone. The shaft, only 4 centimetres wide and apparently not splayed like the arms, continues downward beneath the surface, its full extent unknown. It is one of those details that rewards attention precisely because so much of the object remains out of reach.