The technique is incision, a line pressed or chiselled into the stone rather than built up from it, and the cross itself ends in expanded terminals, meaning each arm widens slightly at its tip in a form that appears repeatedly in early Irish ecclesiastical carving. The slab measures roughly half a metre in both width and height, modest enough to overlook if you are not specifically looking for it.

The site at Rossinver has long been associated with early Christian activity in this part of County Leitrim, and the cross-slab fits within a tradition of simply decorated grave markers that were in use across Ireland during the early medieval period. Cross-slabs of this kind, flat stones incised with a cross and little else, are among the more understated survivals of that era, lacking the elaborate figural carving of the great high crosses yet sharing something of the same impulse to mark sacred ground with a durable sign. The sandstone from which this example is made is a relatively soft material, which makes the survival of the incised lines notable given its exposure to the elements on low-lying ground just 140 metres from the lough shore.