The Clonfinlough Stone is a piece of rock art and National Monument located near Kinnitty, County Offaly, Ireland.
| Clonfinlough Stone | |
|---|---|
| Native name Cloch Chluain Fionnlocha (Irish) | |
 | |
| Type | Rock art |
| Location | Clonfinlough, Clonmacnoise, County Offaly, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 53°19′01″N 7°56′13″W / 53.317058°N 7.936997°W |
| Built | Bronze Age |
  Location of Clonfinlough Stone in Ireland | |
| Official name | Clonfinlough |
| Reference no. | 336[1] |
Location
editThe carved stone at Clonfinlough is located on the southern slope of the western end of Esker Hill, about 4 km (2 1⁄2 miles) east of Clonmacnoise, south of Mongan Bog and on the east bank of the River Shannon.[2][3]
History
editThe carvings on the stone are believed to date back to the Bronze Age (2500–500 BC).[4] A settlement excavated nearby consisted of a large palisaded enclosure containing circular houses.[5]
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.[6]
Description
edit
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.[7]
References
edit- ^ "National Monuments of County Offaly in State Care" (PDF). heritageireland.ie. National Monument Service. p. 1. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- ^ "Clonfinlough Stone". Irishantiquities.bravehost.com. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- ^ "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
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Offaly (1 September 2007). "A History of Offaly Through its Monuments". Offaly History. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- ^ "Clonfinlough Stone, Clonfinlough. co.Offaly c.1000 b.c – 1400 a.d ?? | Curious Ireland". Curiousireland.ie. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- ^ PIP 2010. "The Clonfinlough Stone/Megalithic Monuments Of Ireland.Com". Megalithicmonumentsofireland.com. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)