| Corpus Refs: | Davies/etal/2000:I4 |
| Site: | BAIS |
| Discovery: | recognised, 1999 Thorigné, C. |
| History: | Davies et al/2000, 275: `See above [BAIS/1], for excavation of the Merovingian cemetery at Bourg Saint-Pair, Bais, from which this inscribed slate came. The grave to which it belonged was dismantled after the archaeological excavation and hence the precise details of its location and context are unknown. There are no previously published accounts of this stone. The stone was examined by members of the CISP team in June 1999'. The inscription was discovered by on the under side of a stone about to be incorporated into a garden path. Members of the CISP team were shown this stone, and allowed to record it in 1999. |
| Geology: | Davies et al/2000, 275: `slate'. |
| Dimensions: | 0.39 x 0.21 x 0.025 (Davies/etal/2000) |
| Setting: | unattch |
| Location: | on site Davies et al/2000, 275: `Private ownership, Bais'. |
| Form: | body-slab Davies et al/2000, 275: `The slate is 39cm long, 21cm wide, and approximately 2.5cm thick'. |
| Condition: | incomplete , good Davies et al/2000, 275: `All the edges of the slate are damaged, with more severe damage at the left-hand edge'. |
| Folklore: | none |
| Crosses: | none |
| Decorations: | Davies et al/2000, 275: `a simple cross |
| Davies, W. et al. (1999): | [--][.]RTVS+ Expansion: [--]RTUS+ Translation: [--]rtus(PN) + Davies/etal/2000 277 reading only |
| Orientation: | horizontal |
| Position: | n/a ; broad ; n/a ; undecorated Davies et al/2000, 275: `The inscription consists of the right-hand part of a single line of letters, followed by a cross, set along the long axis of the slate'. |
| Incision: | drill+cut Davies et al/2000, 277: `The lettering, which has been scratched, is clear and well preserved; the incision is very narrow. Holes have been drilled at letter ends to prevent splitting'. |
| Date: | 500 - 650 (Davies/etal/2000) Davies et al/2000, 278: `Palaeographic criteria and general context support a late 6th- or early 7th-century date for this carving'. |
| Language: | name only (rcaps) |
| Ling. Notes: | none |
| Palaeography: | Davies et al/2000, 277--278: `This short inscription is in capitals. The first visible letter is an R similar to those found on [BAIS/1] and [BAIS/3], except on this stone the bow is closed. The `foot' of the R is a shortened stroke, at an angle approaching horizontal. Before this there is a single drill hole still visible. This, presumably, formed part of a vowel, but we cannot know for certain which one. An I or V are both unlikely given the space available before the R, while if the letter was an O it would have to have been square in form like those from Plouagat [PLAGT/1], Saint-Michele-en-Grève [SMGRV/1], and [BAIS/1], also from Bais. The second letter is a T with the ascender continuing above the cross stroke. The presence of the drill hole makes clear that this was intentional, and again I3 [BAIS/3] provides parallels. The following V is considerably smaller than the other letters, and also appears to have a slight lean to the left. Small vowels can again be paralleled at Bais with the two examples of O from [BAIS/1] and [BAIS/3], while the first V from Visseiche [VSCHE/1] is also smaller than the other letters. The final letter, a majuscule S, has a larger upper and a smaller lower bow, and appears to be made of a series of straight strokes. The first S from Visseiche [VSCHE/1] provides another local parallel for this form. The position of the cross at the end of the inscription is unusual and elsewhere in Brittany, e.g. at Lanrivoaré [LRVOA/1], Plouagat [PLAGT/1], and Visseiche [VSCHE/1], the cross precedes the text. It has already been noted, however, that there may be a cross at the end of the name Maonirn [BAIS/2], the most likely explanation for the surviving fragmentary strokes on that stone, also from Bais. The date of this inscription is unlikely to be very different from I1 and I3 [BAIS/1 and BAIS/3] and should be placed in the 6th, or perhaps early 7th century'. |
| Legibility: | good Davies et al/2000, 276--277: `The beginning of the word has clearly been lost, as may have one or more preceding words; however, there may have been no more than the single name and cross. The lettering...is clear and well preserved'. |
| Lines: | 1 |
| Carving errors: | 0 |
| Doubtful: | no |