caldragh idol

An early, possibly one of the oldest extant examples of Irish figure sculpture, standing forlornly in the gloom of an old burial ground near the south-west shore of Boa Island in Lower Lough Erne. It depicts two dwarfish figures gazing in opposite directions and probably represents a Celtic deity. But while the influence of the pagan Iron Age seems unmistakable, it is doubtful if the carving can be as early as the first century AD date sometimes claimed for it. Nonetheless, the stone evidently personifies and ancient pre-Christian cult which may have survived here in isolation into the Dark Ages. The idol is 29 inches high and comprises tow back-to-back figures with disproportionately large heads and flat pointed faces. The coarse features are delineated by boldly incised lines, the eyes wide and expressionless, the mouths open. The arms are crossed diagonally in front of the belt-girt torsos, on one of which a phallus is indicated. On the top of the stone is a shaped cavity, 5 inches deep, usually interpreted as a slot to receive a missing part of the sculpture, such as an antlered headpiece, if it is not a receptacle for blood offerings. Close by is another carved figure, brought here from Lustymore Island.