No. 56.— 1905,] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS. 
351 
existence of one with " English letters on it, as forming 
part of the platform in front of the small " Muni Appar " 
shrine on the glacis of the Fort outside the moat. This 
shrine had been erected by men of the Ceylon Rifles when 
the regiment was stationed at Jaffna forty or fifty years ago, 
and had, since the disbandment of the Rifles, become a 
place of popular devotion, with a " Manager " all to itself. 
I found that the outer end of the platform was composed of 
a Portuguese tombstone. 
This stone was broken right in half and two of its corners 
had been rounded off, but fortunately this mutilation* had 
only cut off two letters of the inscription. I entered into 
negotiations with the "Manager," and he agreed to my 
suggestion that it should be removed. 
I obtained permission from Government for the erection 
of these four tombstones in the vestry of the Dutch church, 
and this has been done. The stones have been let into the 
wall, the letters blackened, and a framed copy and trans- 
lation of the inscriptions hung up in the vestry. Drawings 
from photographs of the other three tombstones are 
annexed. Their new position will at least ensure that they 
will not be used for culverts or drains by the Public Works 
Department, a destiny which some of them would very 
probably have attained had I not had my eyes open on that 
evening when I strolled about the old Fort of Jaffna. The 
inscriptions are translated as follows, taking them in the 
order in which I have mentioned them : — 
Plate No. 1. 
The translation presents no difficulty. The inscription 
reads " Sepultura de Antonio Alvres e de sens erdeiros 621," 
and the translation is : The tomb of Antonio Alvresf and of 
his heirs, 1621." The only peculiarities are the combination 
* In the sketch this does not show, as the corners have been re-made in 
concrete. 
t Possibly Alvares, but the form Alvres, says Mr. Ferguson actually 
occurs in Portuguese nomenclature. He has been unable to identify 
Antonio Alvres or Alvares, 
