Western Arris. 
_—_—_—$$$$— P——————————— —— ees 
Top. 
nts es s-- 
Uninscribed. 
fea att et 
R 
a —- 
eS 
Eastern Arris. 
fm 
Frreuson—On the Kenfig Inscription. 349 
| of them compounded with m, and that the reading of the 
+ = earlier part of the legend, as the characters originally stood, 
E« probably was Pompe, or Poper Carantoral, the residue 
bemg smeq.... Ul... ... n. 
t In the autumn of 1874 I visited the Kenfig Stone, 
but not under favourable circumstances for observation, 
| and failed at first to see what I now believe to be its full 
significance. I perceived, however, that the compound 
— , triradial character taken for mp stood at the head of the 
‘~~ legend, and was followed, after some vowel points, by the 
= uncompounded one, so that a literal echo of Pomprrus 
ou could not have been intended. It was also apparent that 
= the vowel preceding the k comprised too many points for 
A, and was E or I, but apparently 5; that there was no 
trace of any vowel between R and 1; and that what had 
been taken for s preceding magi included a fifth digit, 
which probably had been regarded as a natural indenta- 
tion, but which struck me as sculptural, making nN. 
Coupling the group E R L with the terminal N, I could 
not but be struck with these elements of the name Merlin; 
but the E R L were separated by a long lacuna which I 
could not then account for from the N, and my impres- 
sions, although highly stimulatory of the imagination, 
remained perplexed and obscure, so that I soon began 
to desire an opportunity of seeing the Monument again, 
and satisfying myself on various doubts excited by con- 
tinuing reflection. Accordingly, on the 29th June, 1875, 
I again visited Pyle and made the paper cast of the in- 
scription, which I now lay on the table. It has suffered 
a good deal by rubbing and carriage in the interval, but 
is sufficient to justify me in stating to the Academy that 
what remains of the inscription affords the sequences of 
ascertainable characters and letters indicated in dark lines 
in the subjoined diagram. The text begins on the eastern 
or left-hand arris, disappears altogether along the top, 
which appears never to have borne any inscription, and is 
continued down the western arris to the ground level. 
The eastern group consists of the two triradial characters 
resembling the broad arrow, separated and followed by 
vowel points now much abraded, but seemingly consisting 
of one group, between them, of two points, and another, 
following, of six distinguishable and (two?) abraded 
points. After these, and a lacuna extending the length 
of the top, come the letters E R L, and then a long 
abrasion, from which the characters have disappeared, all 
save obscure vowel points following L, apparently five in 
number, leading up to what may be the remains of three 
stem-crossing digits (N G), but of which the last one only 
2Q2 
[III 
Q 
N M 
L 
B 
M 
