Inscribed JIomax Stones of DrMFRiESSHiRE. 113 



and this reading- of his has given rise to a number of conjectures 

 as to tlie proper expression and meaning of the supposed IMP i. 

 But what he took to be an I is almost certainly either part of the 

 line of a narrow moulding- or an accidental flaw in the stone. 

 Fig- o, pi. I., is an enlarged view of the inscription. Leaving- the 

 IMP out of account, we may translate : — •• Sacred to Brigantia. 

 Amandus, the architect (erected this), bj' command . . ." 



Amandus, as a proper name, appears in England and on the 

 Continent. 



3. Same recent history as 2. 



This altar-shaped stone is 2 ft. 6|- in. high and 1 ft. C| in. 

 broad at the base. In its top there is a hollow space 13 inches 

 long by 8 inches wide and 2 inches deep. On the left side are 

 sculptured a/atera, or libation pan, with a plain handle, and an 

 unrus, or pitcher ; while on the right is a patera-like disc with a 

 rosette in its centre ; and slightly above, but not quite in line 

 with them, a bird quietly resting on a ball. 



There are several ligatures and contractions in the inscription, 

 which, however, presents no difficulty except cOLLlGlf, cut on 

 the stone without any stop. Dv Mommsen expands them into 

 COL {umna) LIG {ned), which gives the most 

 ^f-? ;.*i^ r.oL satisfactory explanation that has yet been 



CENS siGiLL proposed. According to this view the whole 



coLLiGN . cvLT should be read and translated thus : — Deo 



V . s '. L . M . Afeni(rio\sacnif?i\. Jid{ius)Crescens sigilliiitn'), 



coliiimnani) Iig{neaiii), cult{pribiis) ejus d{e) 

 s(uo) d(edit). V{ottim) s(olvit) I(ibens) m(erito) ; i.e., " Sacred to 

 the g-od Mercur}^ Julius Crescens, from his own means, pre- 

 sented this small image, a wooden column, to the worshippers of 

 that god. Willingl}', deservedly, he fulfilled his vow." 



If this expansion and translation be correct, the hollow in 

 the top may have been intended to receive a statuette of Mercury 

 resting on a wooden column, or a pillar of wood surmounted by 

 the head of that god. 



In the Museum of the Yorkshire Philosophical Societ}' there 

 is a small but richly-ornamented altar which was found in 1880 in 

 the garden of St Mary's Convent, York. It is dedicated to the 

 goddesses of the house and hearth by C. Julius Crescens, who may 

 be the same as the Julius Crescens here mentioned. 



