A HISTORY OF CORNWALL 



ornament, so it is with the inscriptions, for Borlase tells us what the inscription was on the 

 Indian Queens stone, but now only a very few letters are legible. 



It is most desirable that proper archaeological maps should be prepared on a large scale, 

 with all the monuments marked thereon. These should then be carefully registered, and 

 included under the ' Act for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments.' Till some such steps 

 are taken, there will be no obstacle to the constant and deplorable shifting about 1 of these 

 ancient memorials, or still worse, to the spectacle of their use for alien purposes, or perhaps 

 even to a similar case of mutilation to that at Cardinham just described. 



Mr. J. Romilly Allen's remarks on this subject are much to the point 2 : 



'It may be worth while remarking that no other nation possesses such a wonderful 

 series of monuments, illustrating the history of Christian art at one of its most obscure 

 periods, and probably no other nation would have treated them with such scorn, or allowed 

 them to be so ruthlessly destroyed. Many of these priceless treasures have been lost altogether, 

 others have been damaged by persons ignorant of their real value, and the whole are perishing 

 miserably from exposure to the weather. Casts, or at least photographs should be taken 

 before every trace of the sculpture has disappeared. This is the more important, as many 

 fragments which have been preserved for centuries by being built into the walls of churches 

 are being brought to light from time to time in the course of modern restorations and 

 alterations, and these are now also in many cases exposed to the weather. A gallery of casts 

 of Celtic sculptured stones would be invaluable for purposes of archaeological research, and 

 might be the means of reviving the national taste for the art of sculpture, in which our own 

 countrymen at one time attained so high a standard of excellence.' 



SCULPTURED NORMAN TYMPANA 



There are eleven examples in the county, one of which, at Tremaine, 

 has unfortunately been entirely defaced. They fall into two classes, 

 namely, those with figure sculpture, and those with other ornament. In 

 the first class an Agnus Dei occurs at Egloskerry, No. i, St. Michael 

 Caerhays, Perranarworthal, and St. Thomas by Launceston ; a dragon at 

 Egloskerry, No. z, and Tremaine (defaced) ; and a tree between two 

 beasts at Treneglos. 



Only six retain their original doorways, viz., Cury, Egloskerry, 

 No. z, St. Michael Caerhays, Mylor (both), and Tremaine. The 

 remainder of the tympana, except in one case, have been found in the 

 walls of their respective churches during re-building. 



With regard to the method of executing the sculpture, it may be 

 briefly stated, that as a rule, it is in rather shallow relief, the general 

 effect being produced by sinking the back ground surrounding the 

 subject, but not to any great depth, a characteristic which is most 

 noticeable in those at Egloskerry and Treneglos. 



Egloskerry, No. i. This stone, Plate XIX, fig. I, was discovered during alterations to the 

 church in 1887. It had been used as building material in the wall of the south aisle, and is 

 now built into the inside wall of the church immediately over the south doorway. It is made 

 of a sandstone not known in the neighbourhood, and measures 3 feet 1 1 inches long and 

 I foot nj inches high. Within a curiously shaped recess having a moulded border is an 



1 By ' shifting about ' is meant being taken up and used, e.g., by private persons as tombstones 

 to someone or other, an object for which they were certainly never intended. One gentleman is 

 blessed with two on the large stone that covers his grave. 



* Early Christian Symbolism, 82. 



446 



