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Cross-Slab in Llanhamlach Church

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NPRN420544
Map ReferenceSO02NE
Grid ReferenceSO0894326437
Unitary (Local) AuthorityPowys
Old CountyBrecknockshire
CommunityLlanfrynach
Type Of SiteCROSS
PeriodEarly Medieval
Description
Previously used as a lintel for a window in the ruined medieval rectory south of the parish church, the stone was placed in the rebuilt rectory in 1874 before being moved to the east side of the church porch and finally to its present position against the south wall of the nave of the church in c.1960. The stone is roughly rectangular and stands 1.1m tall, although a significant part of the top has been broken off. There is a fracture in the middle of the stone under a bore hole and the edges have been chamfered by use as a lintel.

The main face of the stone depicts a Latin cross with bifid terminals, the top of which has been broken off. On either side of the lower portion of the cross are two figures, the left one male, the right female. The male is holding a rectangular object, possibly a book. The female has prominent circular breasts with three rays descending from each and hoops on either side of her head, possibly hair or earrings. To the left of the female is a small four-legged animal, possibly a lamb or dog. Underneath the figures are interwoven geometric patterns. There is a similar interwoven geometric pattern on one narrow side. The other narrow side bears the vertical inscription `[I]OHANNIS | MORIDIC SUREXIT HANC L[A]PIDEM?. From this inscription, the stone is also called the Moridic stone and likely dates to the tenth or eleventh century.

(Sources: Cadw SAMs Database, BR122; Mark Redknap and John M. Lewis, A Corpus of Early Medieval Inscribed Stones and Stone Sculpture in Wales (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2007, vol. 1, pp. 210?13)
A.N. Coward, RCAHMW, 04.01.2018