172 



NOTES ON THREE OGHAM-INSCRIBED STONES IN 

 CORNWALL. 



By the Rev. W. lAGO, B.A., Co-Editor, Sec. and Past-Pres. R.I.C., Hon. Local Sec. 

 for Cornwall of the Society of Antiquaries, London. 



Professor John Rhys, M.A., now the Principal of Jesus 

 College, Oxford, (whose valuable researches with regard to 

 ancient memorials are familiar to antiquaries) rightly claims 

 to have been the first to discover an inscription in Ogham 

 characters in Cornwall. 



In the Autumn of 1875 he informed me that he had been 

 searching for Oghams on many of the stone monuments in the 

 county, and had just been successful, he believed, in finding 

 the remains of an Ogham-written legend on one of them, viz. : 

 the well-known " Slovaens, or Slaughter Bridge" inscribed stone, 

 at Worthyvale by Camelford. 



Subsequently, in that year, in the October number of the 

 " Archseologia Cambrensis," the result of his visit to that stone 

 was published. In it he wrote as follows : — " Perhaps the most 

 " important fact connected with this stone is, that there are the 

 " remains of Oghams on its left edge. These end with five 

 ** notches, for ' i,' which are perfect, and are preceded by longer 

 " ones, probably for ' r.' — Are there any other Oghams known 

 "in Cornwall?" 



In 1876 a further record of the discovery was published by 

 Professor Hiibner of Berlin, at page 6 of his work entitled 

 " Inscriptiones Britannise Christianse." His words are these : — 

 " In Worthyvale, . . cippus . . . dictus . . the slaughter bridge. 

 " . . . » J. Rhys, qui nuper vidit, . . . .litter arum Celticarum vestigia 

 " superesse primus observavit, in angulis, prsesertim in dextro 

 " latere superiore, — quae ei visa sunt efl&cere hsec : — , .ri." 



When the Cambrians and some of our Members lately 

 visited the stone, the five notches forming the letter ' i ' were 

 plainly seen. 



