What it carries is simple enough: a Latin cross carved in slight relief, meaning the cross rises only fractionally from the surface of the stone, giving it a quiet, almost reluctant presence rather than the bold statement one might expect from monumental carving. It is the kind of object that rewards a slow look.

The site known as Sevenchurches is the popular name for the monastic complex at Glendalough in County Wicklow, one of the most significant early Christian settlements in Ireland. The slab was recorded by Patrick Healy in 1972 as part of a supplementary survey of ancient monuments at the site, carried out for the Office of Public Works. Healy measured the stone precisely, noting its dimensions as 1.08 metres by 0.42 metres, and identified the material as mica schist, a metamorphic rock with a characteristic layered, slightly glittering surface that was locally available and commonly used for early medieval grave markers and cross-slabs across the east of Ireland. Cross-slabs of this type, flat stones incised or carved with a cross, were among the earliest forms of Christian memorial marker used in Ireland, predating the freestanding high crosses that Glendalough is better known for. The slab sits 2.70 metres north of the east jamb of the doorway in the north wall of the Cathedral, a location precise enough to suggest it has been in a known, recorded position for some time.