Provenance
Discovery: The stone was first mentioned by Meyrick (1808, 191-192). The stone was discovered below the east wall in the ruins of Cappel Whyl (Crug-y-Whyl Farm) which was destroyed in 1796. The stone was acquired by the National Museum in 1950. Ogham was first identified by Brash in 1869.
Findspot: Llanwenog, Cardiganshire (Ceredigion), Wales (National Grid Reference: SN 4860 4241)
Current repository: Wales National Museum Wales (inv. no. acc no 50.279)
Last recorded location(s): Now in the National Museum Cardiff.
Support
Dyfed Archaeological Trust Historic Environment Record (PRN): 3033
Object type: Pillar
Material: Sandstone
Dimensions: H 1.82 × W 0.39 × D 0.20 m
Condition: Edwards (2007, 180) notes that the stone is in ‘good condition’ and there are two small drilled holes on two faces of the stone. Macalister (1945, 339) states that both the ogham and roman-letter inscriptions are also in ‘good condition’.
Inscription
Text field: The ogham inscription starts from the bottom left edge of the stone and continues upwards, along the top edge, and terminates two-thirds of the way along the top. The rectangular pillar is also inscribed with a roman-letter inscription in three lines reading vertically downwards (Edwards 2007, 180).
Letters: Both inscriptions are pocked and described as ‘deeply incised with a punch’ (Edwards 2007, 180). Edwards (2007, 180) points out that the tail of the first G in the third line of the roman-letter inscription extends over the angle of the stone, marking the beginning of the ogham inscription.
Date: Later fifth or earlier sixth century A.D. (linguistic)
Edition
Ogham text: ᚈᚏᚓᚅᚐᚉᚉᚐᚈ{ᚂ}ᚑ
Transcription: TRENACCAT{L}O
Critical apparatus:
- Sims-Williams (Edwards 2007, 180) maintains that ‘the ogham TRENACCATLO is probably an error (by the engraver or by modern readers?) in view of the preferable roman-letter reading TRENACATVS. Rhys (1879, 380) explains -LO as hypocoristic, but it has also been suggested that L may have been written in error for O’. 2. The Latin inscription consists of the ‘X son of Y’ formula, with the first name and FILIVS in the nominative and the second name in the genitive case, together with an abbreviated form of the Christian [h]ic iacit formulae.
Translation
Ogham: of Trenaccatus
Roman: Trenacatus, here he lies, the son of Maglagnus
Commentary
The ogham inscription consists simply of the name of the person commemorated, Trenacatus, the Irish equivalent of the Latin, presumably in the genitive case but with a spelling error.
Sims-Williams (Edwards 2007, 180) notes that the name TRENACATVS is distinctively Irish and not identical with MW Tringat. Regarding the second name, there are three examples of MAILAGNI > OI Máelán/Móelán in the ogham corpus (Macalister 1945, 64, 154-155, 253-254: nos. 60, 160, 258) and MAGLAGNI could be a Welsh rendering of this. Sims-Williams (Edwards 2007, 180) maintains that ‘it is more straightforward, however, to take MAGLAGNI at face value as an Irish name derived from *Maglas, “prince”, the source of the well-attested OI name Mál’.
References
- Edwards 2007, 178-181
- Macalister 1945, 339
- Rhys 1879, 380