Possible Early Medieval Cross-Slab in 3D
Text and Models by Seán Sourke
Overview
Recorded monument as a ‘Cross-slab‘ (KD019-024004-)
This possible early medieval grave-slab of granite was discovered in the churchyard of Furness Church in 1968. It was reused as a grave marker and buried deep in a vertical orientation with only its upper section exposed. Furness Church is a medieval parish church dating from c.1200 located in the townland of Forenaghts Great, Naas, Co. Kildare.
The slab is described in the Record of Monuments and Places notes as “A gently tapering granite slab (dims. L 1.62m; Wth 0.37-0.53m; T 0.22m) carries a broad shaft and transom of a cross carved in low relief, with the head of the cross formed by a circular disc from which an incised line runs down the centre of the shaft.”
This grave-slab is the only potential evidence for an early medieval ecclesiastical site at Forenaughts – a townland divided in two (Great and Little) during the middle ages. Each of these townlands had a small church located just 0.5 Km apart. Remains of the church at Forenaughts Little exist as part of the farm building complex of Forenaughts House. The the church at Forenaughts Great, which contains this grave-slab, stands alone on a site directly behind Furness House.
NOTE: This model requires good bandwidth and a reasonably powerful computer to view successfully, as the download size is 87MB.
Possible Early Medieval Cross-Slab (Monochrome)
The model below was created without a “texture” (photographic data mapped onto the surface geometry) in order to enhance the visibility of the carvings and true form of the monument without the distraction of colour staining and lichen, which can easily mislead the eye and give a false reading of the detail and form.
NOTE: download size is 46MB.