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Object type: Fragment of cross-shaft
Measurements: H. 51 cm (20 in); W. 27 cm (10.6 in) (bottom); D. 21.5 > 19.5 cm (8.5 > 7.7 in) at top
Stone type: Limestone, buff, soiled, coarse bioclastic debris in a finer matrix of ooidal grains. Laminated fabric evident along the length of the piece. Permian — Cadeby Formation. [G.L.]
Plate numbers in printed volume: Ills. 144-5, 148-9
Corpus volume reference: Vol 8 p. 124-5
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Collingwood (1927, fig. 131) reconstructed this as the incomplete shaft and commencement of the head of a wheel-head cross, but the evidence for the head, let alone its form, is inconclusive.
A (broad): Part of a flat border survives on the lower left, but the edge is hacked away above this and the whole of the right side edge is missing. This face has a tangled irregular interlace, rather loose with a large area of background space. Part of the pattern at the mid right has been hacked away. Collingwood interpreted one of the curved strands above as part of the edge moulding for a wheel-head. It is possible that it is the curved edge of the lower arm of the head, otherwise the form of that head cannot be determined. Above this concave curve are further elements of a loose interlace.
B (narrow): Hacked away
C (broad): Although very worn this appears to be an open irregular interlace as on face A. The twisted loop seen by Collingwood in the top right corner is not apparent. The border, though worn, survives on the right. There is again a convex curving strand or border near the top, possibly the end of a cross-arm, as on face A.
D (narrow): Three volutes of a heavy spiral scroll, each terminating in a large fruit or flower, too worn to classify. There are traces of leaves in the spandrels on the left.
This fragment represents a mixing of styles, the irregular interlace being usually classified as late, but the persistence of Anglian forms is shown in the spiral scroll. It is possible that this stone would have been very like the sculptures from Frickley, some of which have the irregular interlace, and Frickley 3 has a very similar scroll (Ill. 273). Both sites are in the Don/Dearne area.
