The Turoe Stone The Turoe Stone has been dated to about 50 BC.
l Form: This four-ton boulder, which is 1.68 m tall, is pink feldspar Galway granite (Fig. 22.8).
l Function: The purpose of these decorated stones is not known. They may have been boundary markers or ceremonial objects.
l Technique: The stone was carved with iron chisels to a depth of about 3 mm, leaving a pattern standing out in low relief.
l Decoration: The pattern on the Turoe Stone (Fig. 22.9) takes the form of semi-abstract leaf and vine shapes, trumpet ends and spirals, all flowing in a casual symmetry. The design has four segments. Two semi-circular areas of design take up most of the surface. Between these are two smaller, triangular segments of pattern which connect over the top of the stone. A triskele appears in one of the triangular segments. The flowing pattern takes up the domed top of the stone. Some of the spaces between the areas of raised pattern can be read as part of the design, showing the Celtic love of the play between positive and negative shapes. A brick or step pattern forms a band below the decorated dome and separates it from the plain base.
Compare the decoration on the Turoe Stone with that on the Castlestrange Stone in Figure 22.10.
Figure 22.10 The Castlestrange Stone. Stone Figures
Some stone figure carvings may also be from the Iron Age, but it is difficult to date them accurately. The triple head from Corleck, Co. Cavan (Fig. 22.11) is generally accepted as Celtic, as is the Tandragee Idol from Co. Armagh (Fig. 22.12). Other figures and heads once assigned to the Iron Age are now thought to be of a later date.
Triskele
Figure 22.8 (left) The Turoe Stone. In this photograph, we are looking at the right-hand part of the schematic drawing.
Figure 22.9 (right) A schematic drawing of the Turoe Stone.
Leaf and vine-scroll shape
314 NEW APPRECIATING ART IRELAND AND ITS PLACE IN THE WIDER WORLD
