Chrisiian Monuments of WiKs/iire. 63 



biting Ihe ends of their tails. In the remaining two cases on 

 Ramsbury (B) the heads are shown in full face, instead of in profile, 

 and point towards the ground ; the tails being curved over the back. 

 No portions of the beasts are interlaced. The spandrils between 

 the circular medallions and the margin are ornamented with small 

 rosettes, or leaves. The ridge of the coped stone (E) at Ramsbury 

 divides into two branches at the hips and terminates in two beast's 

 heads whose tongues are united in a Stafford knot. On stone (F) 

 at Ramsbury is a beast with its neck bent over biting its back, 

 very much defaced. 



The zoomorphic designs on stones (A) and (C) at Ramsbury, and 

 (I) and (J) at Colerne are to some extent of the Irish type, but 

 present peculiarities found almost exclusively in the West of England. 

 The characteristic feature of the decoration of these stones is the 

 elaborate way in which the bodies of the beasts are ornamented with 

 various conventional patterns, probably intended to convey some 

 idea of the texture of the skin. Other instances of this occur at 

 Rowberrow ^ and West Camel, ^ in Somersetshire} at St. Oswald's, 

 Gloucester;^ and at Dolton, in North Devon. The same kind of 

 thing is also to be seen on the ivory casket in the Ducal Museum 

 at Brunswick, which, according to the Runic inscription upon it, 

 was carved by Nethii for the most noble Aeli in Montpellier of Gaul.* 



On the early Christian monuments of Scotland the bodies of the 

 beasts are either left quite plain, or at most have the outline of the 

 body emphasised by an inner line, and the junction of the legs with 

 the body conventionally indicated by spiral curves, but there is 

 seldom any attempt to represent the texture of the skin. In Ireland, 

 also, the surfaces of the bodies of the beasts are left quite plain. 

 The only instances I can find of beasts with scaly skins on pre- 

 Norman sculptured crosses in England are at Crofton,*in Yorkshire, 



* Pooley's " Stone Crosses of Somerset," p. 8. 



* Ihid, p. 157, and Somerset Archceol. Soc. Proceedings, 1890, Part II., p. 70. 

 ' Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucester Archceol. Soc., vol. 13, p. 118. 



* Prof . G. Stephens' "HandbooTc of Old Northern Runic Monuments," ^. 119. 



° Proc. Soc. Ant. Loud., 2nd Ser., voJ. 4, p. 33. 



