Graveslab, Rathmichael, Co. Dublin
Co. Dublin |
Tombs & Memorials
Propped against the buttress of a ruined church wall, a flat stone less than a metre long carries a decorative scheme that has puzzled and fascinated antiquarians for generations.
Two small cup-shaped hollows sit on a slightly raised central band, connected by a single incised line, while the spaces to either side are filled with a tight herringbone pattern. Both ends of the slab are fractured, so whatever the original dimensions were, and whatever may once have appeared at those edges, is now lost. The stone measures 0.95 metres in length and 0.65 metres in width, and it currently sits secured to the west face of a buttress on the south wall of Rathmichael church.
This is a Rathdown-type graveslab, a category of early medieval funerary monument found almost exclusively in the south County Dublin and north Wicklow area. The type is named after the historic barony of Rathdown and tends to feature geometric surface decoration, including herringbone designs and linear markings, though the precise meaning of the cup-marks and connecting line on this particular example remains uncertain. The slab was noted by Ó hÉailidhe in 1957, who recorded it at its present location at Rathmichael church, a site that occupies the eastern slopes of Carrickgollogan, the hill that rises behind the coastal plain between Shankill and Loughlinstown. The church itself is a roofless medieval structure, and the graveslab is one of several early carved stones associated with the site.
Rathmichael church is accessible on foot, though the site sits in a semi-rural setting and visitors should be prepared for uneven ground. The slab is fixed to the exterior of the south wall, so it can be examined without entering the ruin, though the buttress position means the light can fall awkwardly depending on the time of day. Coming in the morning, when sunlight rakes across the surface from a low angle, brings out the relief of the central band and the herringbone carving far more clearly than flat midday light. For those unable to visit in person, a 3D model of the stone is available online at skfb.ly/oH8wR, which allows the surface texture and carved detail to be examined in considerable depth.
