Buried partly in the ground against the west wall of Kilteel graveyard in County Kildare, a squat granite stone sits in quiet ambiguity, neither fully identified nor entirely dismissed. Measuring roughly 75 centimetres long, 65 wide, and 44 high, it was uncovered during conservation works at the graveyard site, and the question it raises is a straightforward one with no clean answer: is it a baptismal font, or simply an old farmyard trough?

The uncertainty was noted by Manning, writing in 1981 to 1982, who examined the stone and found it difficult to place with confidence. A font, in the ecclesiastical sense, is a vessel used to hold water for baptism, and medieval examples typically have a drain outlet positioned at the centre of the base. This stone's outlet sits to one side rather than the centre, which is irregular for a font and nudges interpretation towards something more utilitarian. Granite troughs were common enough in farmyards, used for watering animals or other agricultural purposes, and the stone's crude finish does little to argue against that reading. Yet its presence inside a graveyard, partly buried as though it had been there a long time, keeps the ecclesiastical possibility alive. Kilteel itself has a recorded medieval church and graveyard complex, which means the stone, whatever it is, ended up in company that at least allows for a religious function.