RAHAN MONASTIC SITE - Offaly County Council

Saxon Coin Hoard3.0 PHYSICAL EVIDENCEAccording to Petrie, in the first half of the nineteenth century people discovered in the immediate vicinity of Rahen,not only an extensive hoard of pennies of the Saxon chief monarchs of the ninth century, but also, subsequently, aconsiderable number of pennies depicting Egbert who reigned between 801-837. 49Bullaun Stones (SMR No. OF016-015014; OF016-015019)At the mass rock site in Killina, there is a bullaun stone reputedly from Rahan monastic site. A second possiblebullaun stone, of which only half survives, can be seen lying in a ditch to the north of the Church of St Carthageclose to the river.Whetstone, Knife and Copper MountIn the National Museum of Ireland, there are three artifacts found inside the ‘eastern church’ or small church,donated by James Loonam in 1950. They are a stone whetstone, an iron knife and a copper alloy mount. Thecopper alloy mount is currently on public display in the National Museum of Ireland and is labelled as a ‘copperalloy mount possibly part of a crozier (?), dating from eleventh or twelfth century’.Casts of Circular Window and Columns of Chancel ArchAround 1853 a cast was made of the circular window and the columns of the chancel arch so that they could go ondisplay in Dublin at the Great Industrial Exhibition of 1853. They were described at the Exhibition as a ‘circularwindow of the eighth century, which lighted a chamber between the chancel and stone roof of Rahan Church,King’s County; pillars of the chancel arch of the Church of Rahan, King’s County’. 50 The following year the Rahancasts were on display at the Great Exhibition in Crystal Palace. 51Plate 44. Landscape setting of Rahan monastery.51