Manx Crosses to be relocated

"The Manx Crosses are a group of 210 cross slabs carved of local slate on the Isle of Man from the late 5th century through the early 13th. The earliest examples were Celtic Christian high crosses. After the Norse conquest in the 9th century, the Viking population melded their tradition of carved slabs inscribed with runes and intricate designs of animals, people and deities with the Celtic crosses."

"Over the centuries were often recycled, used as lintels, in wall construction, even as hitching posts. In the Victorian era, antiquarians recognized their historic significance, and recovered them from their random locations, placing groups of them in kirkyards where they were no longer being used to bear loads and park horses, but they were still fully exposed to the elements."

"In the middle of the 20th century, many of the kirks moved their collections of cross slabs into the church buildings. Now they were indoors, but these moves were done with no concept of modern conservatorial principles like reversibility and the use non-invasive materials. The 11 slabs and fragments at Kirk Andreas were concreted directly into the floor of the church. They are close together, hard to view and hard to conserve."

Manx Crosses comprise 210 slate cross slabs carved on the Isle of Man from the late 5th century to the early 13th, beginning as Celtic Christian high crosses and later incorporating Norse runic and decorative traditions after the 9th century. Many slabs were repurposed over time as building materials and hitching posts. Victorian antiquarians recovered groups and placed them in kirkyards, then mid-20th century moves brought many indoors without modern conservation principles. Eleven slabs and fragments at Kirk Andreas were concreted into the floor, making viewing and conservation difficult; a decade of research has enabled agreement to relocate them into a new museum showcase.

Read at www.thehistoryblog.com