Clonfinlough Stone

Clonfinlough Stone
Native name
Irish: Cloch Chluain Fionnlocha
Type Rock art
Location Clonfinlough, Clonmacnoise,
County Offaly, Ireland
Coordinates 53°19′01″N 7°56′13″W / 53.317058°N 7.936997°W / 53.317058; -7.936997Coordinates: 53°19′01″N 7°56′13″W / 53.317058°N 7.936997°W / 53.317058; -7.936997
Built Bronze Age
Official name: Clonfinlough Rock Art
Reference no. 336
Location of Clonfinlough Stone in Ireland

The Clonfinlough Stone is a piece of rock art and National Monument located near Kinnitty, County Offaly, Ireland.

Location

The carved stone at Clonfinlough is located on the southern slope of the western end of Esker Hill, about 4 km (2½ miles) east of Clonmacnoise, south of Mongan Bog and on the east bank of the River Shannon.[1][2]

History

The carvings on the stone are believed to date back to the Bronze Age (2500–500 BC).[3] A settlement excavated nearby consisted of a large palisaded enclosure containing circular houses.[4]

However, recent studies have noted the similarity between the carvings and some found in Galicia, Spain. Clonmacnoise was connected into the medieval pilgrimage Camino de Santiago. This stone may have therefore been a stopping point for traveling pilgrims, and so suggests that the carvings, or some of them, could be by Christian pilgrims in the 13th–14th century.[5]

Description

The stone is a glacial erratic of Carboniferous Limestone and lies flat on the ground, measures 3 metres (9.8 ft) by 2.45 metres (8.0 ft) by 0.75 metres (2.5 ft) and weighs about 14 tonnes. Marks incised in it include crosses, cup-marks, the "split-year sign" (a circle divided in two), the letters DOD, and three impressions of feet.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Clonfinlough Stone". Irishantiquities.bravehost.com. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
  2. ↑ "Context and Chronology of the Carved Stone at Clonfinlough, County Offaly" - Elizabeth Shee Twohig, The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. 132 (2002), pp. 99-113
  3. ↑ http://www.offaly.ie/eng/Services/Planning/County_Development_Plan_2009-2015/Volume_II_-_Settlement_Plans/Clonfinlough.pdf
  4. ↑ Offaly (2007-09-01). "A History of Offaly Through its Monuments". Offaly History. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
  5. ↑ "Clonfinlough Stone, Clonfinlough. co.Offaly c.1000 b.c – 1400 a.d ?? | Curious Ireland". Curiousireland.ie. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
  6. ↑ PIP 2010. "The Clonfinlough Stone/Megalithic Monuments Of Ireland.Com". Megalithicmonumentsofireland.com. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
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