Forthcoming lecture in London (and live on YouTube apparently) on 1st April at the British Archaeological Association thebaa.org/events/lectu... #medievalsky #archaeology
09.03.2026 11:13
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Forthcoming lecture in London (and live on YouTube apparently) on 1st April at the British Archaeological Association thebaa.org/events/lectu... #medievalsky #archaeology
The Arthurlie Cross at Barrhead in East Renfrewshire. Dating to sometime between the 9th and 11th centuries, the cross-shaft is a product of the early medieval kingdom of Strathclyde. 📸 My own #StandingStoneSunday #ArthurlieCross #Strathclyde
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However - these pieces are dwarfed by this ...utterly incredible frieze, discovered in 1820 under the chancel floor being used as the lid of a tomb
dated to pre-692
unbelievable 😳
#SaxonSunday
#SundayStonework
In a mixture of #SaxonSunday & #SundayStonework thought we could use a thread of some of the fantastic things on display in St Mary's Church, Wirksworth in the Peak District
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Got to see the wonderful collection of carved stones at Groam House Museum, Rosemarkie today. A very special place #medievalsky big thanks to curator Aila
A stone high cross carved with figurative artwork depicting biblical scenes
The South Cross at Kells is also known as the Cross of St Patrick and St Columba, as it bears a Latin inscription dedicating it to the two saints.
Dating to c.900AD, it is a fine example of an early Irish high cross, intricately decorated with scenes from the Old and New Testament.
#Ireland
Kells Market Cross: A late 9th/early 10thC Irish high cross standing outside the old Court House (now Tourist Information Centre) in Kells, Co. Meath. The cross is remarkable for its figural panels on all four faces of base, shaft and head - a rarity among Irish high crosses.
A small piece of a stone cross with a runic inscription, it stands upright inside St Flannan’s Cathedral Killaloe
This fragment of the upper shaft of a cross can be found in St Flannan’s Cathedral in Killaloe, Clare.
Though small, the fragment bears an interesting story.
One face has the only known runic inscription on a Christian monument in Ireland:
Þorgrímr reisti kross þenna
‘Thorgrím erected this cross’
A sandstone pillar carved with an early cross that terminates in a boat like flourish - perhaps a symbol of St Brendan? At Riasc on the Dingle Peninsula
Riasc • Dingle Peninsula
Excavations at this early monastery led by Tom Fanning revealed the foundations of clocháns, a small oratory, and 42 lintelled graves.
The site is perhaps best known for its decorated cross slabs, including the Reask Stone.
#Ireland #Wildatlanticway #SpéirGhorm
Cross at St Barnabas, Bromborough
At St Barnabas, Bromborough, 15 fragments of Viking Age sculpture were found in 1863. Sadly, many were lost. In 1958, 3 pieces were incorporated into a reconstructed cross. The fragments show features of Viking Age design around the Irish Sea including the ring headed cross #archaeology #medievalsky
#SaxonSunday with the beautifully crafted Tunwini cross, Great Urswick
See more of it as well as more of the Lake District in the new episode >>>
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R_4...
An Angel from the ‘Wirksworth Stone’ - sculptured stonework from St. Mary’s Church at Wirksworth in Derbyshire. Comprising of biblical scenes & figures, the stone dates from the 7th to 9th centuries, and may have originally been used as a coffin lid. 📸 My own #StoneworkSunday
A cross slab on display at the Clonmacnoise Visitor Centre. A cross has been carved into the sandstone, with an inscription in insular Irish script.
Early Cross Slab • Clonmacnoise • Offaly • 7th—9th century
There are over 700 examples of cross slabs known to have associations with Clonmacnoise, making it the largest assemblage known from either Ireland or Britain.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm
For anyone who's interested @waterstones.bsky.social is running a special pre-order offer (no pun intended) on my new book about King Offa of Mercia, valid from Friday 20 Feb. eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
A haloed Christ holds a book.
Rothbury Cross c. 800 CE
Northumberland
Part of the shaft section of the Anglo Saxon cross. On one face a haloed Christ holds a book.
Now Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle
#SundayStonework
#SaxonSunday
I believe that the on church in England that continues the tradition is the St Mary of the Purification, Blidworth, Nottinghamshire.
A paper by Prof. Gordon Noble tackling the reasons why ‘Pictish’ period stone sculpture is rich in non-abstract images - objects, animals, humans.
St Madoes Stone - a Pictish cross-slab on display at Perth Museum and Art Gallery. The stone originally stood in the village of St Madoes, near Perth. St Madoes is the nickname for Aedan - a 6th century Irish Saint. 📸 My own. #StandingStoneSunday #SundayStonework #PerthMuseum
A black stone pillar, decorated with early Irish art with deep cuts on its upper surface
The Mullaghmast Stone • Kildare
The stone is believed to have once stood within the ancient royal enclosure at Mullaghmast in Kildare, where the Uí Dúnlainge kings of Leinster were inaugurated.
It is thought to date to around the 5th-6th century based on the art.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm
Coal, Great, Willow and Crested Tits.
One of the early medieval stones at Inchinnan Parish Church, near Renfrew in West Scotland. Dating to sometime between the 9th and 11th centuries, the stone is a product of the Kingdom of Strathclyde. 📸 My own. #StoneworkSunday #Inchinnan
#SundayStoneWork
In the porch of the church, horse?, donkey?, old saxon coffin,
St Helen, Darley Dale, #Derbyshire
Since the age of 10, I’ve hoped to see one of these beauties. Today was the day! (I’m a lot older than 10 now). Crested Tits.
Two very large composite standing stones, richly decorated and mounted on some steps. A waist high metal fence surrounds them. There are buildings in the background, one of which has scaffolding erected around it. It is a sunny day, with wispy clouds. For more information on the stones, visit: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/sandbach-crosses/history/
The magnificent 9th century #Sandbach Crosses, dominating the market-place. Originally erected somewhere else (but presumably nearby), they were moved there in the C16, broken up in the C17 & reassembled in the C19. #Cheshire #StandingStoneSunday #StoneworkSunday #SaxonSunday
📷 my own
A tall stone high cross stands in the foreground with the ruin of a 19th century church in the background at Killamery County Kilkenny Ireland
Killamery • Kilkenny
This high cross is one of a series known as the Ossory Crosses.
Rather than Biblical depictions, they are elaborately decorated with panels of interlacing spirals, geometrical shapes, and large rounded bosses, possibly representing earlier metalwork.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm
Many thanks 🙂
Thanks for your reply. The Eastbourne person was described as most likely a male skeleton, so there is uncertainty. Confirmation of chromosome based sex obviously reduces this uncertainty. I have heard that aDNA tests are so much cheaper now than a decade ago but the cost is relative I suppose.
An Anglo-Scandinavian hogback from the Church of St. Michael and All Angels at Addingham in Cumbria. Dating to the C10th, hogbacks are generally considered as grave markers or stylised 'houses' for the dead. 📸 My own. #TombTuesday #Addingham #Cumbria
