Ballintaggart Ogham Stones is a collection of

ogham Ogham (Modern Irish: ; mga, ogum, ogom, later mga, ogam, label=none ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish langua ...

stones forming a

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

located in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Location

Ballintaggart Ogham Stones are located inside a round enclosure (diameter 30 m / 100 ft), immediately east of

Dingle Dingle (Irish language, Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coas ...

racecourse and southeast of the town.

History

The stones were carved in the 5th and 6th centuries AD and served as burial markers. This was anciently the site of a church and old burial ground (''An Cheallúnach'' or'' An Lisín'').

Description

The ogham stones are rounded, made of water-rolled

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

. Eight of them form a circle, each one lying down pointing outwards. The ninth lies at the centre. Several have been inscribed with crosses. *CIIC 155: AKEVRITTI (presumably a personal name) *CIIC 156: MAQQI-IARI KOỊ MA/QQI MU/CCOI DOVVINIAS (Here is Mac-Iair, son of the

Corcu Duibne The Corcu Duibne, which means "seed or tribe of Duibhne" (the name of a goddess), was a notable kingdom in prehistoric and medieval County Kerry, Ireland which included the Dingle Peninsula, the Iveragh Peninsula and connecting lands. The tribe ...

) *CIIC 157: DOVETI MAQQI/ CATTI/NI (of Duibthe, son of Caitne). The language used here is primitive, lacking vowel affection, placing it around the time of

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

*CIIC 158: SUVALLOS MAQ/Q̣Ị DU/COVAROS (of Suvallos son of Ducovaros) *CIIC 159: ṂẠQI-DECC Ạ/ ṂẠQ̣Ị/ GLASICONAS (of son of Deichet, son of Glasiconas). The personal name Glasiconas means "grey wolf." *CIIC 160: TRIA MAQA MAILAGNI (of the three sons of Maílagnas) / CURCITTI (of Cuircthe). This stone bears a strange cross: with arms of equal length, two with "E" shapes on the end, one with a "Y" and one with a + *CIIC 161: INISSIO/NAS (a personal name); like CIIC 157 it dates to the 5th century AD *CIIC 162: CUṆẠMAQQ̣I/ AVI CỌRBBI (of Conmac, grandson of Corb) *CIIC 163: N TA-LAMINACCA KO/I ṂA/QQI MỤCOI DOṾ �� A�� (here is Laminacca's champion, son of the

)

References

{{Commonscat National Monuments in County Kerry Ogham inscriptions 5th-century inscriptions 6th-century inscriptions