Brash — On an Inscribed Pillar-stone at Monataggart. 173 



according to my directions, been thoroughly cleansed, and that the 

 inscription stood revealed, thoroughly legible in every score. 



The monument at present stands 6 ft. 3 in. above ground : Mr. Cogan 

 informed me that its entire length was 8 ft. 6 in. It is of irregular form 

 and dimensions. At 2 ft. from the ground it is 18 in. by 12 in., and at the 

 top, 6 in. by 8 in. It is rather wedge-shaped towards the back, where 

 it is but from 5 to 6 in. thick. Its material is the hard, compact, fine- 

 grained clay-slate, so frequently chosen by the artists of these monu- 

 ments, evidently with a full knowledge of its hardness and capacity 

 of retaining for ages the legends engraved thereon. The inscription 

 is as usual on the left angle of the broader face ; it commences at 2 ft. 

 10 in. from the extreme end, and 7 in. from the present ground level, 

 and finishes within 6 in. of the top. There is a large spawl off the 

 bottom of the stone, but this appears to be original, as the legend is 

 perfect on the angle, and follows the curve of it, as shown on the ac- 

 companying engraving from my drawing. The characters are formed 

 in the usual manner, the vowels being oval dots punched on the angle. 

 The inscription is as follows : — 



in .,,,//// ■ „■„!„„ ■ ,.„// « .i mi. . / — uni »„m | | urn M . t|| i 



TENKENJIOISrOIGDtr Q, D E G G F 



Every score of the legend is perfect, and there can be no mistake 

 about the values of the characters. The first eleven letters are 

 broadly and deeply cut, and widely spaced ; the remaining ten are much 

 more finely cut, and spaced much closer, as if the engraver found he had 

 not sufficient room on the angle to complete as he had commenced. 

 Between the sixth and seventh characters there is a blank space of 4| 

 in., which is perfectly smooth and uninjured, but bears no trace of a 

 letter, and evidently never had any. 



The absence of the usual key- word, maqi, is here noticeable, and 

 raises a difficulty in the rendering of this inscription. The first five 

 letters seem to be separated from the rest of the legend, and may form 

 a proper name Tenren or Denren, the T and D being commutable. I 

 acknowledge my inability to give a reasonable reading of this inscription, 

 and much prefer making this admission, to attempting a spurious 

 one that might lead others astray. I have no doubt, however, 

 that gentlemen may be found who will not be intimidated, by the 

 difficulties of an obsolete language, or the absence of divisional points, 

 from giving a very off-hand reading of this legend. By the ingenious 

 system of manipulation, and crucial dissection, imported into the study 

 of this^ class of inscriptions, it may be made to read anything, at the 

 prejudice or caprice of the investigator. 



Ogham inscriptions are of the simplest and most straightforward 

 of their class, there is nothing about them either cryptic or mysterious, 

 and if we cannot read a certain number of them, the reason is, that we 



E.I. A. PROC — SER. II., YOL. II., POL. LIT. AND ANTIQ. 2 



