The Coolaghmore
sheela na gig was discovered in 1975 at the 13th century church at Coolaghmore (also Cooliaghmore or Cooliagh More),
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...
, Ireland during clearance work at the graveyard.
It is thought to have been buried in the 19th century.
According to local sources, it had been found in a well in Kyle previously and been brought to Coolaghmore Graveyard.
It was then donated to
Rothe House
Rothe House is a late 16th-century merchant's townhouse complex located in the city of Kilkenny. The complex was built by John Rothe Fitz-Piers between 1594–1610 and is made up of three houses, three enclosed courtyards, and a large reconstr ...
Museum via
Kilkenny Archaeological Society
The Kilkenny Archaeological Society is an archaeological society in County Kilkenny, Ireland.
History
The Kilkenny Archaeological Society was founded in 1946.. An older society with the same name existed,. which developed into the Royal Society ...
where it is on display in a bricked up window in the shop of the first of the three houses
since about 2012. The sites and monuments records number (at Rothe House) is KK019-026170.
Description
The sheela na gig is on display in an upright position, but since it has been moved from its original location, this might not have been the original orientation. The sheela's head is pear-shaped and earless (other examples have very large ears) with a calm expression on her face. She has a thin neck with the collar bones protruding, in accordance with the often
emaciated
Emaciation is defined as the state of extreme thinness from absence of body fat and muscle wasting usually resulting from malnutrition.
Characteristics
In humans, the physical appearance of emaciation includes thinned limbs, pronounced and protrud ...
depiction of the upper body. The ribs are slightly incised. While her left arm is hanging/ lying by her side, her right hand is touching the vulva which has a deep hole below. Other than that, the vulva is not exaggerated like many other examples. Barbara Freitag believes that the larger left hand might be holding an object.
[ The right leg is bent with the foot touching the upper inner thigh of the left leg and the heel pointing towards the vulva with the left foot turned inwards.
]
3D model
In 2018, Gary Dempsey created a photogrammetry
Photogrammetry is the science and technology of obtaining reliable information about physical objects and the environment through the process of recording, measuring and interpreting photographic images and patterns of electromagnetic radiant ima ...
model of the sheela-na-gig in Rothe House which is accessible on Sketchfab
Sketchfab is a 3D modeling platform website to publish, share, discover, buy and sell 3D, VR and AR content. It provides a viewer based on the WebGL and WebXR technologies that allows users to display 3D models on the web, to be viewed on a ...
.
Gallery
File:Coolaghmore Graveyard.png, View unto Coolaghmore Graveyard and church ruins where the sheela-na-gig was discovered
See also
* Fethard Abbey Sheela-na-gig
The Fethard Abbey Sheela-na-gig is located in a wall on the grounds of the former Augustinian Abbey in Fethard. Its National Sites and Monuments number is TS070-040030. One of its earliest mentions is in the School Collection which also includes ...
* Liathmore Sheela-na-gig
* Kiltinan Church Sheela-na-gig
References
{{reflist
Sheela na gigs in Ireland
Archaeological sites in County Kilkenny