Kilnaruane Pillar Stone
The Kilnaruane Pillar Stone is a carved monolith and National Monument located in County Cork, Ireland.[1]
| Kilnaruane Pillar Stone | |
|---|---|
| Native name Irish: Cill na Rómhán | |
| Bantry Pillar Stone, St. Brendan's Stone | |
 View of northwest face | |
| Type | high cross remnant |
| Location | Kilnaruane, Bantry, County Cork, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 51.671382°N 9.468068°W |
| Height | 2.13 m (7 ft) |
| Built | 8th century AD |
National Monument of Ireland | |
| Official name: Kilnaruane/Bantry Pillar Stone Shaft of High Cross | |
| Reference no. | 436 |
  Location of Kilnaruane Pillar Stone in Ireland | |
Location
Kilnaruane Pillar Stone is located about 1.6 km (1 mile) southwest of Bantry, atop a drumlin, in a square enclosure in a field.[2]
History
A monastery may have been founded here by Brendan in the 6th century AD.[3]
The pillar was erected in the 8th or 9th century AD. The name may refer to "Church of the Romans", and a community which accepted the Roman dating of Easter, a major controversy in the early Middle Ages.[4][5]
The monastic settlement on the site may have been destroyed by a Viking attack.[6]
Description
The stone is a thin schist pillar 2.1 m tall.[7]
On the northeast face:
- Celtic knot
- an orans (praying figure)
- Greek cross
- Saints Anthony the Great and Paul the Hermit meeting in the desert: both were important figures in Christian monasticism. A raven flies down from heaven with a loaf of bread to feed them
On the southwest face
- Celtic knot
- Two pairs of sheep/goats with interlocked horns — this is now the symbol of the Sheep's Head peninsula
- a currach boat with four oarsmen and one figure steering the rowers through a sea of crosses. This could be Brendan or Cessair.[8]
Mortises on either side of the pillar were probably for attaching arms of the cross.[9] Nearby are stone fragments, possibly a bullaun or the arms of the high cross.[10][11]
Arm of the cross?
Celtic interlace
SE face
References
- Day, Catharina (1 January 2007). "Southwest Ireland". New Holland Publishers.
- Johnstone, Paul (12 November 2013). "The Sea-Craft of Prehistory". Routledge.
- Map, The Megalithic Portal and Megalith. "St Brendan's Stone (Kilnaruane)". megalithic.co.uk.
- "The Kilnaruane Pillar Stone, Bantry, Ireland - BMD Notices".
- "Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society". The Society. 1 January 1978 – via Google Books.
- "Kilnaruane Stone - Museums and attractions - Bantry". ireland.com.
- "Some Spared Stones of Ireland". irishmegaliths.org.uk.
- McLaughlin, Barney. "Cork Cross - Irish High Crosses". irishhighcrosses.com.
- McNally, Kenneth (2006). Ireland's Ancient Stones - A Megalithic Heritage. Appleby Press. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- "Kilnaruane stone - Sheep's Head Places". sheepsheadplaces.net.
- "Kilnaruane Carved Pillar". irishantiquities.bravehost.com. Retrieved 10 June 2018.