Next to the south porch of Gulval Church, near Penzance in Cornwall, lies a substantial block of granite. Local legend was that the “coat of arms” visible on the south side of the door belonged to local gentry, but it is known to be a medieval cross-base, once supporting a tall cross.

However, what is depicted on the stone is far more complex and interesting than first meets the eye. After hearing about it from the Cornwall Archaeological Society, Tom Goskar 3D scanned the cross base using photogrammetry. Capturing 3.5 million measurements across each 0.5m x 0.8m side, he used various techniques to enhance the detail of each surface. This led to the discovery and identification of the scene on each side – that the cross base depicted the Four Evangelists in their animal form – an early medieval scene unparalleled in the UK.

The results and a discussion of this find are to be included in the forthcoming Corpus of Early Cornish Sculpture.