Ogham stone

The National Monuments Service's description

Recorded by Cuppage (1986, 328, no. 863, ogham stone 1) as follows: 'This slab lies prostrate in the NW part of the graveyard [KE053-053004-]. It measures 1.8m in length, .33 to .52m in width and .12 to .16m in thickness. The ogham inscription which runs along 1 side and across the top of the stone was read by Macalister (1945, 182-3) as: SANGTI LLOTETI AVI SRUSA.'

Rhys (1898, 235) wrote the following account about the inscription; 'me the second instance of finding the character for the guttural nasal. The other instance occurs in the genitive Sangti on a stone at Kinnard East, near Dingle, in Kerry. I read the whole inscription as Sangti Llotuti avi Srusa "(the grave of S. Li. descendant of Sru"; but Mr. Macalister (pp. 64-66) inserts an a, and reads in the other direction, as did also Mr. Brash. The fact is, the Ogam, begins in a very unexpected place, and the explanation is, as I thought when I saw the stone years ago, that the inscriber was probably ignorant what he was writing from a copy on a stick, and that consequently he chanced to begin the Ogam at the end. N.B. - I have examined the stone again: the a is impossibe'.

Ogham stone described by Macalister (1945,182-3; Stone 189 (No. II); 'Grit, now lying flat and half buried in the middle of the graveyard [KE053-053004-], 5' 11" [1.8m] X 1' 7" [0.48m] X 0' 6" [0.15m]. Inscription, much worn, on the dexter edge and top. It begins, exceptionally, at the top, and reads downward : SAnTI LLOTETI AVI SRUSA. The angle is broken at the first I, but there is plenty of room for the necessary five notches. Rhys has equated SAnTI to the Latin sancti : compare the inscriptions at Llanfyrnach (439) and Kilfountain (186). I do not find any recorded saint with a comparable name ; but, in any case, this stone, like its companion, appears to show Latin influence, and must be a Christian monument, though it bears no cross. Windele records a quaint piece of folklore which he picked up here. One Murphy told him that if two children, born of the same mother, with no other child between, were kept without speaking until they were nine years of age, and then put into Kinard graveyard, they would speak the language of these inscriptions. It sounds like a far-off echo of the famous experiment of Psammetichus. Even apparently trivial scraps of local tradition like this have their place in a completed picture, and no apology is needed for recording them'.

In 2011 a graveyard survey carried out by Ann Frykler and Robert Hanbidge of Headland Archaeology Ltd. recorded the following details about this ogham stone (Miscellaneous No. 15): ‘Not in original location and now lying horizontally on ground surface within graveyard. Rectangular shaped slab, tapering towards the original upper surface with ogham inscribed to side‘ (Hanbidge 2011, 13)

See attached drawing of Ogham Stone taken from Macalister 1945 and 3D image of stone taken from http://www.corcadhuibhne3d.ie/node/63

See attached plan of graveyard showing location of Ogham Stone (no. 15) courtesy of Robert Hanbidge

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 1 July 2022

References

Graves, C. 1847-50 On the Ogham Character and Alphabet. Part II. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy Vol. 4, 356-68.

Hanbidge, R. 2011 Archaeological Survey of Kinard Burial Ground, Lispole, Dingle, County Kerry. Unpublished report by Headland Archaeology Ltd. for Kerry County Council.

Macalister, R.A.S. 1897 Studies in Irish Epigraphy. A collection of revised readings of the ancient inscriptions of Ireland, with Introduction and Notes. London.

Cuppage, J. 1986 Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne.

Rhys, P. 1898 Some Ogam-Stones in Connaught. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 28, 230-36.

Macalister, R.A.S. 1945 Corpus inscriptionum insularum celticarum. Dublin. Stationery Office.