| Corpus Refs: | Okasha/Forsyth/2001:Loher 1 OSullivan/etal/1996:963 |
| Site: | LOHER |
| Discovery: | first mentioned, 1946 Henry, F. |
| History: | Henry/1948, 175--177 is the first publication of the stone. OSullivan/etal/1996, 307, states that the stone is still on site. Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 172: `The stone was found by Henry in `the course of field-work in Kerry in 1946 and 1947' and she recorded her indebtedness for its discovery to Kevin Danaher, and to T. Murphy of Waterville ... The stone was then on the leacht at the site, presumably in its present position'. |
| Geology: | |
| Dimensions: | 1.29 x 0.23 x 0.15 (Okasha/Forsyth/2001) |
| Setting: | in ground |
| Location: | earliest OSullivan/etal/1996, 307: `stands at the NW corner of the leacht'. Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 171: `The stone stands at the north-west corner of the leacht inside the ecclesiastical site'. |
| Form: | cross-slab Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 172: `square pillar'. |
| Condition: | complete , good Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 171--173, refer to no damage to the stone. |
| Folklore: | none |
| Crosses: | 1: latin; outline; expanded; plain; plain; none; none; none; plain |
| Decorations: | OSullivan/etal/1996, 307: `a finely executed outline Latin cross with expanded arms and upper shaft. Henry proposed that the design on this slab was based on seventh-century manuscript illustrations...though it has also been suggested that metal altar-crosses of Coptic type may have provided models for it'. Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 172: `The square pillar is roughly worked but its carved (west) face has been dressed slightly smooth. The incised design consists of an outline Latin cross 37.5 cm high with expanded horizontal and upper arms. Except for the bottom of the shaft, the whole cross is outlined by a parallel contour, at a distance of c. 6 mm. ... Immediately below the shaft are two `conical drilled holes' ... Herity stated that the `outer line at the right-hand corner of the upper limb is drawn out in a slightly more marked curve to the right and terminates in a short oblique stroke immediately right of a vertical crack in the stone'; he considered that this feature `subtly but clearly defines the cross as a Chi-rho' ... However, the present authors were unable to verify the existence of this feature'. |
| O'Sullivan, A. et al (1996): | {A} || {W} Expansion: ALPHA OMEGA OSullivan/etal/1996 307 reading only |
| Okasha and Forsyth (1998): | A || W Expansion: ALPHA OMEGA Translation: Alpha and Omega. Okasha/Forsyth/2001 173 reading only |
| Orientation: | horizontal |
| Position: | W ; broad ; within quadrants ; separated OSullivan/etal/1996, 307: `Its W face...bears a...Latin cross with expanded arms and upper shaft. Beneath its arms are versions of the alpha and omega symbols'. Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 172: `The two letters are incised in the lower quadrants of the cross; they are not joined to the cross but float free'. |
| Incision: | inc |
| Date: | None published |
| Language: | Greek (rcaps) |
| Ling. Notes: | none |
| Palaeography: | Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 172: `The alpha is an angular and elegant capital A which may be compared with the display capitals of insular manuscripts .. It has an x-shaped bar, with the free ends joined by a small horizontal line to create a triangular wedge. A mirror image of this triangle is formed in a similar way at the apex of the A. The omega is formed from three straight lines `fanning outwards from a single point at the lower end and terminating in triangular expansions similar in size and similarly placed to those of the Alpha at the upper ends''. |
| Legibility: | good Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 172: `The lettering is legible'. |
| Lines: | 1 |
| Carving errors: | 0 |
| Doubtful: | no |