Romanesque ornament appears in Ireland in the first half of the twelfth century and consists of a various motifs such as a chevrons, lozenges, zoomorphic devices, Urnes ornament, and a plethora of other motifs. It is a high status style of ornament and its presence suggests a church that was well endowed. It is found on the continent on routes associated with pilgrimage and may have found its way to Ireland as an off-shoot of pilgrimage. It may be discovered in a medieval graveyard as a single fragment (often of sandstone) but this fragment is enough to add a layer of significance to a hitherto plain church.
