Identifier: archaeologicales01simp (find matches)
Title: Archaeological essays
Year: 1872 (1870s)
Authors: Simpson, James Young, Sir, 1811-1870 Stuart, John, 1813-1877
Subjects: Archaeology
Publisher: Edinburgh : Edmonston and Douglas
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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eed few ancient inscriptions inthis country, not protected by being buried, are better preserved,—a circumstance owing principally to the very hard and durablenature of the stone itself, and the depth to which the letters havebeen originally cut. The accompanying woodcut is taken from aphotograph of the stone by my friend Dr. Paterson, and very faith-fully represents the inscription. The surface of the stone uponwhich the letters are carved has weathered and broken off in someparts ; particularly towards the right-hand edge of the inscription.This process of disintegration lias more or less affected the terminalletters of the four lines of the inscriptions. Yet, out of the twenty-six letters composing the legend, twenty are still comparativelyentire and perfectly legible; four are more or less defective; and twonearly obliterated. The two which arc almost obliterated consist of ON THE CAT-STANE, KIRKLISTON. 149 the first V in TVJViVLO, constituting the terminal letter of the first
Text Appearing After Image:
Fig. 16. The (Jat-lStaue, Xii-kliston,/j-owi a Photograph. line, and the last vowel I, or rather, judging from the space itoccupies, E in JACIT. A mere impress of the site of the bars of 150 ON THE CAT-STANE, KIRKLISTON. the V is faintly traceable by the eye and finger, though the lettercame out in the photograph. Only about an inch of the middleportion of the upright bar of I or E in JACIT can be traced bysight or touch. In this same word, also, the lower part of the Cand the cross stroke of the T is defective. But even if the inscrip-tion had not been read when these letters were more entire, suchdefects in particular letters are not assuredly of a kind to make anypalasographer entertain a doubt as to the two words in which thesedefects occur being TVMVLO and JACIT. The terminal letter in the third line ^ was already defective inthe time of Edward Lhwyd, as shown by the figure of it in hissketch. (See woodcut. No. 15.) Sibbald prints it as a K, a letterwithout any attachable meanin

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