350 
JOURNAL, R.A.S, (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII. 
PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS IN CEYLON.- 
By J. P. Lewis, CCS. 
STROLLING round at the back of the Fort Church, JaflEna, 
one evening shortly after my arrival there in May, 1902, I 
noticed a long narrow stone lying on the ground against the 
wall of the church with a figure 3 tarred upon it — a mark 
of the Public Works Department. On further examination 
I found that it had letters engraved on it, and these I soon 
saw formed a Portuguese inscription, that the stone was in 
fact a Portuguese tombstone. Mr. T. R. Ward, the Provin- 
cial Engineer, as soon as he realized that this was the case, 
had the stone cleaned and removed into the vestry of the 
church. It was then discovered that under it lay another 
tombstone of a similar description with a longer Portuguese 
inscription. 
A third stone, cut square, with the lower portion of a coat 
of arms engraved on it, was found with the first two stones 
described above. Unfortunately no part of the inscription 
appears on this portion. The letters V D are to be seen on 
the field. The design of the arms is peculiar, and it is not 
easy to see what they are intended for. This peculiarity may 
possibly enable some one versed in heraldry to identify 
them, so I annex a sketch.t I have no doubt the stone is a 
fragment of a Portuguese tombstone. 
Having thus found three Portuguese tombstones within 
the Port at Jaffna, I thought it likely that there might be 
more in the neighbourhood ; and this turned out to be the 
case, for within a few weeks I received information of the 
* I have since appended some notes from a letter from Mr. Donald 
Ferguson in the Ceylon Ohserver of March 23, 1905, giving interesting 
information respecting some of these inscriptions and the persons they 
commemorate or may be conjectured to immemorate. — J. P. L. 
t See Plate No. 3. 
