 Insular art is the name given to the common style that developed in Britain and Ireland from the eighth century and which became highly influential in continental Europe and contributed to the development of Romanesque and Gothic styles . It can be seen in elaborate jewellery , often making extensive use of semi @-@ precious stones , in the heavily carved high crosses found particularly in the Highlands and Islands , but distributed across the country and particularly in the highly decorated illustrated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells , which may have been begun , or wholly created at the monastic centre of Iona . 
