Summary: Earliest Christian Period
Key dates:
From 432AD to the early years of the 7th century, important and distinctive items of bronze, enamel work, engraved stone slabs and the Cathach (copy of the Psalms) were uncovered. The earliest and most elaborate of these early objects is the Petrie Crown which was a bronze tomb decoration,
The earliest stone sculptures followed pagan style and the stones were not shaped but were simple slabs which had cross designs. It was only at the end of the 6th century that the cross appeared as a carved shape such as the Carndonagh Cross.
In the 7th century advances in technology facilitated new developments in art, sculpture and in illuminated manuscripts.
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