Cadaver

I'm feeling marginally better today and as a result of a tasty dinner and the iminent need for walking some of it off, the fact that it is a stunningly beautiful sunny evening here and of course, some Blippage, I decided to explore the streets immediately surrounding my hotel.
Towards the end of my meanderings, I discovered a very old graveyard and these two characters.
This carved stone slab is what is known as a Cadaver Tombstone Slab. In it's current location, it is built into the perimeter wall and has a further stone at their feet with very old Latin inscriptions.
The Drogheda Heritage Trail plaque I subsequently discovered on leaving states that this is a rare example of funerary sculpture that was popular in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The downside of the sunny evening is that some of the topography of the carving is hidden by the sunlight, but the cadaverous bodies, I assume, represent the interees and is a pretty gruesome sight. I'm glad I discovered it in daylight!
The streets around the hotel are very old and I've discovered lots of stuff that I haven't seen before, even after forty years of coming to the Drogheda area on holiday. I may explore more here this weekend, rather than my fortnightly train trip into Dublin.