| Corpus Refs: | Macalister/1949:929 Okasha/Forsyth/2001:Roscrea 1 Petrie/1878:52 |
| Site: | ROSCR |
| Discovery: | first mentioned, 1870 Boxwell, Miss |
| History: | Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 214: `The stone was found `in the churchyard of Roscrea' and was known in 1870 when it was drawn by a Miss Boxwell .. No further details of the circumstances of discovery are recorded. In 1878 it was in the possession of Stokes. It later formed part of the Royal Irish Academy's collection, which was transferred to the NMI inh 1890'. |
| Geology: | Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 215: `medium-grained sandstone'. |
| Dimensions: | 0.55 x 0.415 x 0.05 (Okasha/Forsyth/2001) |
| Setting: | unattch |
| Location: | National Museum of Ireland (Cat: reg. no. x2903) Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 214: `The stone is in the National Museum of Ireland ... in the store'. |
| Form: | name-slab Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 215: `The stone is the middle portion of a recumbent cross-slab'. |
| Condition: | incomplete , some Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 215: `side edges intact but broken at top and bottom'. |
| Folklore: | none |
| Crosses: | 1: latin; outline; ind; ind; curved; angular; inner curv; ind; plain |
| Decorations: | Macalister/1945, 103: ' a wheel cross in relief upon it'. |
| Macalister, R.A.S. (1949): | R || E | CHT || A[B] | RA Expansion: RECHTABRA Macalister/1949 103 reading only Petrie/1878 39 reading only |
| Okasha and Forsyth (1996): | R || E | CHT || A[.] | RA || [--] Expansion: RECHTA[B]RA[--] Okasha/Forsyth/2001 216 reading only |
| Orientation: | horizontal |
| Position: | inc ; broad ; within quadrants ; separated Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 215: `The text is incised in three horizontal lines across the two quadrants below the cross-arms, between the ring and the bar. ... Enough of the upper quadrants survive to indictae that they were not inscribed'. |
| Incision: | inc Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 215: `substantial and deeply cut'. |
| Date: | 898 - 898 (Petrie/1878) 898 - 898 (Okasha/Forsyth/2001) See Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 216. |
| Language: | name only (rbook) |
| Ling. Notes: | Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 216: `Irish male personal name'. |
| Palaeography: | Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 215: `The text uses half-uncial script of maximum letter H. 4.5 cm'. CISP: The lettering is Insular half-uncial. The As are both in the 'OC' form and the Rs and H have wedge-shaped finials. The E is in the open uncial form with an extended central stroke, the H has a flat top stroke and the initial R is in an open majuscule form. The second R is much closer to the half-uncial form and is like that found on MONAI/4. The T is curved. |
| Legibility: | some Macalister/1949, 103, `the AB is now injured by a fracture'. Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 215: `That part of the text in the left quadrant is legible but that in the right quadrant is damaged'. |
| Lines: | 3 |
| Carving errors: | 0 |
| Doubtful: | no |
Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 216: `The Irish male personal name Rechtabra is well attested .. It is a compound of recht `straight' and abra `eye-lash', perhaps meaning `straight-browed' .. Petrie pointed out the death notice in the Annals of the Four Masters s.a. 898 of Reachtabhra of Roscrea ... Although the name is not uncommon, the explicit identification with Roscrea makes it possible that this is the individual commemorated here'.