Mullamast stone
The approximately 0.85 m high Mullamast stone (also Mullaghmast , Irish Mullach Maistean ), was discovered near Ballitore, County Kildare , Ireland when a castle on Mullamast Hill was demolished. It had been reused as a lintel there. Its original location was likely the royal Dun Ailline Hillfort near Kilcullen. In the vicinity there are earthworks, ring forts, burial mounds, a menhir and the all-dominating Rath Mor . Mullaghmast was one of the O'Toole fortresses and the site of battles.
The incised Celtic Latène Age spiral motifs and triskeles date the stone to the 5th or 6th century AD. Its symbolism is a reminder that the arrival of Christianity in Ireland did not mark a break with the past. Instead, he speaks for the continuity of Celtic rituals: "the sword in the stone". The idea was that whoever can pull the sword out of a stone is the real king.
The Mullamast stone was certainly the place where the kings of Leinster , inaugurated were. It has four grinding grooves on the left and two deep grooves on the top. The new king seems to have sharpened his sword on the stone as an essential part of the inauguration.
The idea of the "sword in stone" seems to have existed at least from the 5th or 6th century until the 12th century. This is central to the legend of King Arthur . It is noteworthy that such an important object does not show any Christian symbolism. The stone is now in the National Museum of Ireland .