Provenance
Discovery: The ogham was first reported in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Journal in 1901 by Frederick R. Coles (Coles 1901, 230). The stone was broken up and used to build a field dyke at some time prior to the late nineteenth century. The large lower portion was recorded in the wall in 1899, and when shortly afterwards the wall was dismantled other fragments were found. The fragments were reassembled and cemented together sometime prior to 1950 (Forsyth 1996, 102-103).
Findspot: Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (National Grid Reference: NJ 75992 22403)
Last recorded location(s): Recorded in a small enclosure near the junction of Brankie Road and Gordon Terrace in the north-west area of Inverurie on May 19th 2022.
Support
Trove 18894
Object type: Class I Pictish symbol stone
Material: Whinstone
Dimensions: H 1.07 × W 1.27 × D 0.91 m
Decoration: The smoothest face of the stone is incised with two Pictish symbols, a crescent-and-V-rod and a snake-and-Z-rod. The pair of symbols are placed close together, one above the other, almost to the point of touching.
Condition: The stone is a large roughly triangular mass broken into several pieces. The bottom right corner is missing and portions from both the top and bottom have been lost, but other than that the side edges are intact. The stone has ‘suffered virtually no ill-effects from weathering’ and the extant inscription is well-preserved (Forsyth 1996, 104).
Inscription
Text field: The ogham inscription runs parrallel with the left edge (Forsyth 1996, 103). The inscription reads upwards and the stem-line is arranged vertically on the face, more or less straight, though it wavers slightly after the 12th letter (Forsyth 1996, 109). The stem-line is 30 mm across at the surface, but only 10 mm at the bottom of the channel (Forsyth 1996, 105).
Letters: The ogham strokes appear to have been pocked and rubbed (Gordon 1956, 44). According to Gordon’s (1956, 44) description, both the symbols and the ogham inscription were ‘improved to such an extent that its shallow grooves are smooth and regular, contrasting clearly with the flat but roughish surface of the boulder’. The letters are an average 25 mm at the surface and 5 mm at the base, with a tendency towards diminution (Forsyth 1996, 109). The individual letter strokes are very evenly and closely spaced, although ‘a gap sufficient to take a stroke has been left’ to distinguish successive letters of the same aicme (Forsyth 1996, 111).
Edition
Ogham text: ᚔ ᚏᚐᚈ ᚐᚇᚇᚑᚐᚏᚓᚅ ᚄ[---
Transcription: I RAT ADDOAREN S[---]
Critical apparatus:
- While the transliteration of the ogham inscription is unambiguous, the interpretation remains uncertain. The most likely interpretation is a single personal name, taking into consideration the length of the text. However, it is uncertain whether the thirteen letters are a complete text as they are, or whether there are any letters missing from the end (Forsyth 1996, 112-113).
Translation
Thomas Clancy (pers. comm.) suggested an Old Irish interpretation of the text i rath Aduarén s- of which the most likely translation is: this is the property of Adúarén.
Commentary
The original orientation of the stone is assumed to have been vertical. Given that the ogham inscription is situated vertically relative to the intact sides of the stone, it is further assumed that the original orientation of the inscription was vertical as well despite its current diagonal axis (Forsyth 1996, 104). Forsyth (1996, 103-104) noted that precise measurements of the stone are difficult to obtain given its irregular shape.
The ogham text and Pictish symbols are contemporary, but whether their messages are separate, equivalent or complimentary remains to be established. The inscription is on the same scale as the symbols and is given equal prominence (Forsyth 1996, 115).
Clancy (pers. comm.) notes that Aduar is an attested male personal name [Annals of Innisfallen 810, CGH], of which Aduarán or Aduarén would be ‘plausible diminutives’. Uhlich interprets Aduar as a compound of the intensifying prefix ad, and uar, meaning ‘very cold’ (Forsyth 1996, 114). While rath usually refers to moveable wealth, ‘property’, ‘fief, may be the meaning here, or perhaps rath as in ‘gift’, ‘something bestowed’.
References
- Allen and Anderson 1903, 506-507
- Coles 1901-11-30, 230
- Forsyth 1996, 102-116
- Gordon 1956-11-30, 40-44