Provenance
Discovery: Discovered incorporated in the fabric of the N wall of Templenagriffin chapel at the probable early ecclesiastical site of Ard Ferta (Breanainn) (Moore, 2007, 37). Remains inside the walled burial ground include a cathedral building (St Brendan’s), dated variously from the 11th to the 17th century, based on a study of its architecture. There are two other churches on the site, a late 12th-century church called ‘Templenahoe’ and a 15th-century chapel called ‘Templenagriffin’. It is also the site of a round tower, which fell during a storm in 1771, and two ogham stones (Moore, 2007, 11, 37-38). Ardfert 1 (I-KER-001) is also from this location, though it was found in the middle of a nearby field.
Findspot: Ardfert (Ard Fhearta), Co. Kerry, Ireland (ITM coordinates: 478493, 621188)
Last recorded location(s): On site in the restored Templenagriffin chapel where it was examined and recorded for the Ogham in 3D project in 2014 in collaboration with the Discovery Programme.
Support
National Monuments Service SMR ID: KE020-046030-
Object type: Pillar
Dimensions: H 0.86 × W 0.23 × D 0.15 m
Condition: The stone has a rounded and smooth suface at the back. The front is flat with inscribed but badly damaged edges. It is also probably broken at the top, where further text may be lost.
Inscription
Text field: The remains of an inscription are found on two angles (up-down?). On one angle (left, following the chosen orientation), all that remains are two ogham letters before the break at the top. On the second angle (right), the surviving three letters are towards the middle of the angle with probable loss of letters from the B- aicme before and after.
Letters: The inscription is pocked in bold strokes where they survive. The four strokes of the final S are not touching the arris but are unusually positioned towards the centre of the face.
Edition
Transcription: [---]ỌS[---]GIS[---]
Critical apparatus:
- On the first angle, any preceeding lost characters (following the closen orientation) would have probably been vowels or consonants from the H- aicme (left of the stem-line: D, T, C or Q). on the second angle loss is mainly on the B- aicme side (right of the stem-line). 2. The surviving letters/strokes could also be read in the opposite direction as CIG and CO.
Commentary
The fragmentary -OS may be a primitive Irish ending of an o-stem name but this is very uncertain.
References
- Moore 2007, 37-38