Provenance
Discovery: The fragment was found in the late 1960s or 1970s during ploughing, however the exact date of discovery is unknown.
Findspot: Leswalt, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland (National Grid Reference: NW 99 62)
Current repository: Scotland Dumfries Museum (inv. no. DUMFM:0201.71)
Last recorded location(s): Observed at the Dumfries Museum on 25th of June 2023.
Support
Trove 60396
Object type: Pillar
Material: Stone type unknown
Dimensions: H 0.420-0.540 × W 0.390 × D 0.410 m
Decoration: There are four small crosses lightly carved on the left-hand face of the pillar.
Condition: The stone is a fragment of an irregular five-sided pillar which is in poor condition with a severely abraded surface (Forsyth 1996, 519). There appears to be a lot of decay on the surface of the stone with portions broken off, especially at the right and back face of it which is too damaged to discern if any carvings where there initially. The surfaces that have been incised are also worn suggesting exposure to the elements before being buried.
Inscription
Text field: According to Forsyth (1996, 524), the lack of a defined edge on the pillar may have dictated the choice of face rather than arris for the inscription. The face of the fragment is home to some questionable ogham letters. It is impossible to know how long the stem was originally. As it stands, the drawn-in stemline is 0.390m long. There are gaps between each ogham stroke ranging from 0.025-0.080m and it is unclear whether other ogham strokes used to be there or if the gaps where intentional. Forsyth (1996, 522) notes that the ‘inscription, however, is so short and fragmented that it would be unwise to make too much of the spacing between strokes’.
Letters: An examination of the clearer patches on the stone suggests that the incisions were deeper, and that ‘when first cut, the lines had a broad, V-shaped section’, indicating that the inscription was v-cut (Forsyth 1996, 521). The first letter consists of a long stroke of 0.080 perpendicularly across the stem. The second letter is a short stroke of 0.045 to the left of and perpendicular to the stem. The third letter is a long stroke of 0.110 obliquely across the stem-line, sloping backwards. The fourth letter is a long stroke of 0.110 running parallel with 3. The fifth letter is a short stroke of 0.090 to the left of the stem, parallel with 3 and 4. The sixth letter is a short stroke of 0.080 to the left of and perpendicular to the stem. The seventh letter is a short stroke of 0.070 to the left of and perpendicular to the stem (Forsyth 1996, 521).
Edition
Ogham text: ᚐᚋᚋ̣ᚆᚈ̣[---
Transcription: AMṂHṬ[---]
Critical apparatus:
- There is no way to know that the present position of the stone is its original, the stone could potentially have been stood the other way around. Regardless of the direction in which the letters are read, however, the inscription does not yield a meaningful reading. 2. The authenticity and validity of the ogham inscription is still the subject of speculation. Although the inscription gives an initial impression of being ogham, the lack of vowel strokes and the direction of some of the oblique strokes are more serious objections than the real difficulty in determining a reading. Forsyth (1996, 522) maintains that the backwards slope of the long oblique strokes is opposite to the usual forward slope of the strokes on other ogham inscriptions found in Scotland. 3. Another issue that arises with the form is the use of both short perpendicular and short oblique strokes which otherwise one of the two is usually used. When both are in use, Forsyth (1996, 523) comments, oghamists ‘rarely differentiate so sharply between the two kinds, but rather have strokes which slope either a little or not at all’. As such if the lines are ogham, the oghamist ‘was either innovative or inept’ (Forsyth 1996, 524).
Translation
An exact translation of the inscription cannot be readily determined.
Commentary
In terms of its morphology, parallels with the Lochnaw ogham inscription are found along the western and northern seaboard of Scotland: the undecorated slab from Pool and the two oghams on the wall of King’s Cave, Blackwaterfoot (Forsyth 1996, 523). Moreover, Lochnaw is, according to Forsyth (1996, 524), ‘well placed to participate cultural dissemination along the sea routes between Ireland, Mann and the west Coast of Scotland’.
References
- Forsyth 1996, 519-525