souterrain – OG(H)AM

The Stone Corridor – ogham stones at University College Cork (Part 2)

Ogham stones in Stone Corridor ('Rúin na gCloch / Stories in Stone' exhibition), University College Cork (images by author).

By Dr Nora White, OG(H)AM’s Irish Postdoctoral Researcher In Part 1 of this blog post, I presented the first twelve ogham stones in the collection: six collected in the early 19th century (originally housed in the Royal Cork Institution) and another six from a single souterrain in the townland of Knockshanawee (Cnoc Seanmhaí, barony of… Continue reading The Stone Corridor – ogham stones at University College Cork (Part 2)

Recycled Ogham Stones

By Dr Nora White, OG(H)AM’s Irish Postdoctoral Researcher When we think of ogham stones, we imagine an ogham-inscribed pillar or standing stone in the landscape, possibly marking a burial or a territory boundary. However, a high percentage of our ogham stones were actually first found in secondary locations, rather than in their original position. Not… Continue reading Recycled Ogham Stones

This stone originally stood as part of the Bryn y Beddau monumental landscape, populated with up to six barrows and two stone circles. In the late fifth or early sixth century, the stone was reused to display a name in two scripts, Roman and Ogham.
Roman-letter: SIMILINI / TOVISACI
‘Similin(i)us Tovisacos’
Ogham: S[I]B[I]L[I]N[I] / [TO]VISACI
‘Sibilin(i)us Tovisacos’
Both inscriptions are simply a name, Si(m/b)ilin(i)us, followed by the title or patronymic Tovisacos, meaning ‘leader’ representing an early form of later Welsh tywysog and Old Irish toísech, Modern Irish Taoiseach. This could reflect a method of communicating identity and authority, a way of legitimising land claims, or perhaps an attempt to relate to myths and leaders important in the land.