Inchinnan 5

the discovery and reconstruction of an early medieval carved stone

Abstract

The site of All Hallows Church in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, had its foundations in the early medieval period, an interpretation supported by the identification of four carved stones from the site that date between the 9th and 11th centuries ad. Thanks to a recent community project ‘597 ad St Conval to All Hallows: 1420 Years and Counting’, led by Heather James of Calluna Archaeology and the members of the Inchinnan Historical Interest Group with Spectrum Heritage, a fifth carved stone has been discovered. Inspection of the photogrammetric three-dimensional models and the Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) files of the late medieval recumbent monuments at the site, produced by Spectrum Heritage, revealed that one worn specimen was originally an early medieval recumbent cross slab conforming to the ‘Govan School’ of carving. After identifying the remnants of carving and applying a novel digital analysis technique, it was possible to recover and identify many of the worn decorative motifs from Inchinnan 5. This reconstruction allows for Inchinnan 5 to be compared with other stones from the Govan School, especially those found at Govan and St Blane’s, Bute.