Ruthwell Cross

The Ruthwell Cross (/rɪvl/) is a stone Anglo-Saxon cross probably dating from the 8th century, when the village of Ruthwell, now in Scotland, was part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. It is both the most famous and elaborate Anglo-Saxon monumental sculpture, and possibly the oldest surviving "text" of English poetry, predating any manuscripts containing Old English poetry. It has been described by Nikolaus Pevsner thus; "The crosses of Bewcastle and Ruthwell ... are the greatest achievement of their date in the whole of Europe."