Ogham stone discovered in Coventry garden excites archaeologists

The discovery of a small stone carved with an early form of Celtic writing has caused excitement among archaeologists after it was dug up in a garden.

It was found by geography teacher Graham Senior in Coventry during the 2020 lockdown while weeding, but its true value has only recently been understood.

Probably dating back to the 4th century, the stone’s Ogham script features a series of lines inscribed on three of its sides, and experts are trying to understand their full meaning.

Teresa Gilmore, liaison officer for Staffordshire and the West Midlands, said: “This is an amazing find, we are very lucky.”

She added: “Most of the Ogham inscriptions that you generally find in the more Celtic areas – Scotland, Ireland and in Cornwall – you generally don’t find in the Midlands.

Mr Senior told the BBC that he had a “fair idea” what the stone was when he found it, but was unable to find anyone to confirm his suspicions and “hit a brick wall”.

But he said that changed when Katherine Forsyth of the University of Glasgow “took the trouble to come up with a researcher” a few months ago.

She partially translated the script to reveal a name: Mael Dumcail.

Mr Senior said his theory was that it could have been a souvenir, possibly worn by a Roman soldier.

“It’s a very tactile thing – it feels like it was meant to be held,” he said.

The piece of sandstone measures just 11 cm (4 inches) in length and is believed to have been carved sometime between the 4th and 6th centuries AD.

Ms Gilmore said another theory was that it could have been used by Irish traders to get in touch with each other.

The team said Ogham was very unusual among the world’s writing systems, consisting only of parallel lines in groups of one to five.

They said it could provide an insight into the Irish language before the use of the Insular Latin script

She said the discovery took her by surprise, but discoveries like this can “leave more questions than answers.”

She hopes to learn more when the rest of the stone is translated.

It is due to go on display at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry on Saturday as part of a free exhibition called Collecting Coventry.