Cross-inscribed stone, Lullymore, Co. Kildare
Co. Kildare |
Crosses & Monuments
Somewhere in the bogland of Lullymore, in the flat, peat-rich landscape of north Kildare, a cross-inscribed stone once stood, or lay, or leaned, in a spot that can now only be described as presumed. That word carries considerable weight in archaeology. It signals that the object and its original context have become separated, that something was moved or recorded imprecisely, and that what remains is an educated inference rather than a confirmed fact.
Cross-inscribed stones are among the more quietly compelling survivals of early medieval Ireland. Typically simple in form, they carry incised crosses cut directly into the surface of the rock, and are associated with the marking of sacred ground, pilgrimage routes, or monastic boundaries. Lullymore itself has deep early Christian associations, its raised ground above the bog having supported religious activity from a very early period. The stone in question was catalogued by M. Kelly, who identified it as "Cross 4" in a 2006 study, assigning it a place within a group of related monuments in the area. The location recorded here is understood to be where the stone originally stood before it was moved to a nearby site, now separately recorded.
