| Corpus Refs: | Davies/etal/2000:I3 |
| Site: | BAIS |
| Discovery: | arch excav, 1987 Guigon, P. |
| History: | Davies et al/2000, 271: `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. The only previously published account of the stone is the brief description by Guigon, who knew it only from a photograph which lacked a scale; he made a drawing of it from the photograph, and added a scale. The stone was examined by members of the CISP team in June 1999'. |
| Geology: | Davies et al/2000, 271: `slate'. |
| Dimensions: | 0.57 x 0.28 x 0.03 (Davies/etal/2000) |
| Setting: | unattch |
| Location: | on site Davies et al/2000, 271: `Private ownership, Bais'. |
| Form: | body-slab Davies et al/2000, 271: `The slate is 57.5cm long, 28cm wide, and approximately 3.25cm thick'. |
| Condition: | incomplete , some Davies et al/2000, 271: `All the edges of the slate are damaged, with more severe damage at top and bottom left, and bottom right'. |
| Folklore: | none |
| Crosses: | none |
| Decorations: | no other decoration |
| Guigon, P. (1994): | TVRTOV/ADVS Expansion: TURTOVADUS Guigon/1994 98 reading only |
| Davies, W. et al. (1999): | TVRTOV/A/LDVS Expansion: TURTOVALDUS Translation: Turtovaldus(PN) Davies/etal/2000 273 reading only |
| Orientation: | horizontal |
| Position: | n/a ; broad ; n/a ; undecorated Davies et al/2000, 272: `The inscription consists of a single line of eleven letters set along the long axis of the slate, on which this text is not placed centrally'. |
| Incision: | drill+cut |
| Date: | 550 - 699 (Davies/etal/2000) Davies et al/2000, 274: `Palaeographic criteria and the general context support a late 6th or 7th-century date for this carving'. |
| Language: | name only (rcaps) |
| Ling. Notes: | none |
| Palaeography: | Davies et al/2000, 273: `With the exception of the final letter, a half-uncial S, the inscription is written in capitals. There is one triple ligature, of V/A/L. The down stroke of the first T is comparatively short, giving the letter a squat aspect. The strokes of the first and second Vs come to a point, while in the third example the left-hand stroke continues downward. The D is made up of four straight strokes while the bar of the A is sloping down to the right, as is the foot of the L. The R is also angular and open-bowed, with a raised `foot', such as found on I1 [BAIS/1]. The final S is also made up of a series of straight strokes and has a wide gap between its extended ascender and the arm that goes off to the right. The distinctive lozenge-shaped O is shared with I2 [BAIS/2], although here it is considerably smaller than the other letters. This form of O, along with the angular D, and to a lesser extent the S and R, support a date of carving in the 6th or 7th century'. |
| Legibility: | good Davies et al/2000, 272: `It may be complete, but it is possible that another word or words has been lost. The lettering is crisp and well preserved...The inscription is fully legible'. |
| Lines: | 1 |
| Carving errors: | 0 |
| Doubtful: | no |