| Corpus Refs: | none |
| Site: | IONAA |
| Discovery: | in/on structure, 1956 Steer, K. |
| History: | Steer/1969, 129, states that the inscription was first recognised by K. Steer in September 1966, when the stone was in the Museum in the nunnery at Iona. The stone itself, but not the inscription, had been seen by Charles Thomas in 1956 in a stone heap in the vicinity of the abbey. RCAHMS/1982, 182: `first recorded in a stone-heap at the abbey in 1956'. Fisher/2001, 128: `Columba Centre, Fionnphort'. |
| Geology: | |
| Dimensions: | 0.35 x 0.26 x 0.11 (Steer/1969) |
| Setting: | in display |
| Location: | Iona Abbey Museum (Cat: unnumbered) Steer/1969, 129, states the stone is in the nunnery Museum on Iona. |
| Form: | Incomplete Information RCAHMS/1982, 182: `Wedge-shaped grave-marker of Torridonian flagstone'. |
| Condition: | incomplete , good RCAHMS/1982, 182: `broken at the bottom'. |
| Folklore: | none |
| Crosses: | 1: latin; outline; expanded; plain; curved; none; none; none; plain |
| Decorations: | RCAHMS/1982, 182: `a Chi-rho monogram consisting of a compass-drawn cross with expanded arms, having a small hook (the rho) attached to the upper arm'. |
| Steer, K. (1969): | LAPISECHODI Expansion: LAPIS ECHODI Translation: The stone of Echodius (PN). Steer/1969 128--129 reading only Thomas/1971b 112 reading only |
| RCAHMS (1982): | LAPISECHODI Expansion: LAPIS ECHODI Translation: The stone of Echoid (PN). RCAHMS/1982 182 reading only |
| Fisher, I. (2001): | LAPISECHODI Expansion: LAPIS ECHODI Translation: The stone of Echoid (PN). Fisher/2001 128 reading only |
| Orientation: | horizontal |
| Position: | n/a ; narrow ; n/a ; undecorated RCAHMS/1982, 182: `Along the top edge of the stone is a half-uncial inscription'. |
| Incision: | inc |
| Date: | 600 - 699 (Thomas/1971b) 600 - 699 (RCAHMS/1982) 600 - 699 (Steer/1969) |
| Language: | Latin (rbook) |
| Ling. Notes: | none |
| Palaeography: | RCAHMS/1982, 182, notes the letters are half-uncial: `Prof. K. H. Jackson suggests on epigraphic grounds that the stone probably dates to the 7th century'. Fisher/2001, 128: `half-uncial'. Steer/1969, 129: `semi-uncial lettering...the a of lapis may be any date in the seventh to early eighth century; the s is seventh century, rather than eighth'. The inscription is half-uncial with some wedge-shaped finials to ascenders, such as on the initial L, and the D. The D, H, E, S, P and A are all distinctly half-uncial. |
| Legibility: | good The lettering is clear and well-preserved. |
| Lines: | 1 |
| Carving errors: | |
| Doubtful: | no |
Steer/1969, 129: `Linguistically the name would not be older than the later sixth century nor later than the quite early eighth. Echodi has the latin genitive termination -i. There are several characters Latinised as Echodius in Adamnan, and the genitive occurs as Echudi. The genuine Irish (sixth/seventh-century) form of the nominative occurs in the Appendix to Adamnan, Echoid, one of Columba's disciples who came with him to Iona in 563. The genitive in O.Ir. was Echdach (Latin Echodi and Echudi are based on the nominative); the name must have been something like Equodix, genitive Equodicos in Primitive Celtic'.