Moone High Cross – Virtual Tour in 3D
Model and text by Seán Sourke
Moone, in Old Irish, Moen or Móin Cholm-cille (meaning ‘walled enclosure’ or ‘bog’ of Colmcille), was possibly founded by the important Irish monk, commonly known as St Columba, in the 6th century.
The virtual tour includes models of the famous and much loved Tall Cross of Moone (KD036-031002-), along with the fragmentary Holed Cross (KD036-031006-). Both crosses were relocated inside the medieval church walls in the mid 1990s to provide a better visitor experience and to protect the carvings from weathering. The crosses were not in their original positions as they were rediscovered in parts from the 19th century onwards. The six National Monuments Service information panels of 1997 are also recreated here in full to provide contextual information.
The church itself (KD036-031001-) is a multi-period structure. The original 10th or 11th century church with antae was retained as a chancel when the 13th century nave was built. Only the latter is modeled here.
Note: this model is best viewed in HD (High Definition) for details on the crosses and display panels. Instructions: to activate High Definition, place the mouse over the model once it is loaded and a menu of options will appear in the bottom right of the viewer. Select the settings button and change the texture from SD (Standard Definition) to HD (High Definition), allowing the blue loading bar along the top to complete load before viewing.
NOTE: This model requires good bandwidth and a reasonably powerful computer to view successfully, as the download size is 533 MB.
Moone High Cross – Virtual Tour in 3D – Monochrome
Model by Seán Sourke
Note: this model is best viewed in HD (High Definition) for details on the crosses and display panels. Instructions: to activate High Definition, place the mouse over the model once it is loaded and a menu of options will appear in the bottom right of the viewer. Select the settings button and change the texture from SD (Standard Definition) to HD (High Definition), allowing the blue loading bar along the top to complete load before viewing.
NOTE: This model requires good bandwidth and a reasonably powerful computer to view successfully, as the download size is 399 MB.
Both models above are available on Seán Sourke’s ‘Kildare Heritage‘ Sketchfab page.
Other models of the Moone High Cross are available from another creator, Eachtra Archaeological Projects, via their Sketchfab page.