II. NOTICE OF THE VARIOUS ATTEMPTS WHICH HAVE BEEN MADE TO READ AN0 INTERPRET THE INSCRIPTION ON THE NEWTON STONE, GARIOCH, . BY ALEXANDER THOMSON OF BANCHOKY, ESQ., F.S.A. SCOT. (PLATES X. AND XI.) Although no satisfactory progress has yet been made in reading and translating this mysterious inscription, it seems desirable to collect to- gethe preservd an r a briee f notic whaf es o hithert ha t o been donen i , e hopth e that scholarstimulatee b y ma s furtheo dt r exertionss i t I . provoking to have an inscription in our own country of unquestionable genuinenes antiquityd an s , which thio t sp u time, , seem havo st e baffled all attempts to decipher it, and that, too, in an age when Egyptian hiero- glyphics and the cuneatic characters of Persepolis, and Babylon, and Nineveh have been force reveao dt l their secret laboriouo t s s scholars. The greatest difficulty with regard to the Newton Stone arises from s beinit g unique otheo n ; r inscriptio knows ni preciseln i n e samyth e character, so that ther nothins ei g wit comparede hb whicn ca t I t hi . is in six unequal lines, and consists of forty-six letters, giving sixteen or seventeen different form t therreasoo n bu s s ; ei o suppos nt e that i t furnishes us with an entire alphabet of the language, whatever it may be. proo a littl w s i fho et I local antiquities were studie Scotlandn di , that so remarkabl monumenea t shoul t havdno e attracte attentioy an d n until the beginnin e presenth f go t century t I appear. havo t s e been first notice 1803n di shepherd y b , neighbourhoode th n si e latth e d Earan , l of went to examine it in 1804; and it was very much through s instrumentalithi y tha t i graduallt y became known e fortunatelH • . y preserve e exac th nota d f to e appearanc e stonth t thaa f eo et time, INSCRIPTIO NEWTOE TH N NO N STONE, ABERDEENSHIRE5 22 .

with the small lichens growing in the letters, as well as on the general surface of the stone, previous to the many tracings, and rubbings, and casting n plastesi f lato es whico rt yearha t i h s been subjected. (See "Sculptured Stone) 2. ,f d so an 1 . "pp e earliesTh t engraving t i appea f o sn Pinkerton' i r s Inquiry into e Historth f Scotlandyo , Edinburghr e giveou ar n o i n, tw 1814 d an , Transactions, " Arcbaaologia Scotica," . 316 Accoun volp n "n . i A , ii . t of some Sculptured Pillare Northerth n si n Par f Scotland,o t e th y "b late Professor John Stuar f Marischao t l College, Aberdeen a zealou, s and accurate antiquary. This paper was read in the Session 1821-22, and printe n 1823d i thu d an ,s dre e attentiowth f memberno r ou f o s Societ inscriptione th o yt . engravinge Nonth f eo altogethee sar r accu- largee th rate t f Professoro ,bu r Stuart' e best,—neitheth s i s f theso r e gentlemen give readiny san r translationgo r StuartM . , however, refers to what was the first attempt at translation, so far as we know, which was mad Generay b e l Vallancey e well-knowth , n Irish antiquariane Th . inscription was sent to him not long before his death, and he at once read lines,—firso e th tw t " Gilf Gommara, r "o " Princ e Gommara;e h t bu " could go no further. He appears to have read it through some fancied resemblanc charactere th f eo Eomao st n letters. Wilson give a mors e correct representatio e inscriptioth f no n than either Pinkerto Stuartalsor nhe o givebut , readinno s translationgor . valuabls Hi e work, publishe 1851n i d , assisted, however n makini , t gi more generally known. The late Earl of Aberdeen continued to take a lively interest in the inscription, and he and his son, the Hon. Arthur Gordon, brought it under the notice of the late Dr Mill of Cambridge, one of the most pro- found oriental scholars of the day; and before his death he had written mose th r bt yfa importan t dissertatio e subjecth n no t whic have t hw eye obtained. Dr Mill's paper is a remarkable example of bringing a vast amount of learning to bear upon an inscription in an unknown character. It would be unfaimemors hi o rt regaro yt attaine s resule dha th e th absolutels da y certain ; he probably did not so regard it. Dr Mill proceeds on the theory Phoeniciad tha inscriptioe ol th te th n i n s ni characte languaged an r . The frequent resort of these enterprising navigators of ancient times 226 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 1864.

Britaio t wels i searcn i n l ti known f ho d givean , t oncsa possibilityea , if not a probability, to the supposition, that some of them may have ven- tured in exploring voyages beyond the Oassiterides, and even reached the north-eas f Scotlano t n searci d f additionao h l supplie e valueth f o ds metal d tha e stonhavy an th ,t ma e been e inscriptioerecteth d an d n. engraven by some such party. Givin consideratioweighe e th du g o t t n that these Phoenicians were the only lettered people of whose intercourse, in the most ancient times, with our country we have certain knowledge, Dr Mill was further strengthened in this supposition by the oriental appearance of the in- scription e resemblancth confirmed y characterb e an , th t i f o n ei d o t s e ancienth t Phoenician, wit he cognat th whic d an eh s dialectwa e h s well.acquainted. e treateH e Newtoth d n Stone inscriptio s Barthelemya n , Swinton, Akerblad, Movers, and others had done undoubted Phoenician inscrip- tions found alon shoree Mediterraneane gth th f so , trusting especiallo yt laboure th f G-eseniusso e greatesth , f Phoeniciao t n scholars reae H d. inscriptione th f courseo , , from righ left,—ho t t e analyse speako t o d(s ) each letter, and assigned to it its letter in the Hebrew alphabet corre- sponding wit anciene hth t Phoenician thed an ,n translated into Latid nan English. e proces Th s laborious r Milwa sD ld broughan , a vast t amounf o t learning to bear upon his work; and it is to be hoped that his paper (which is known to be in type) will soon be published by his friend, the Eev. George Williams of King's College, Cambridge, to whose care Dr Mill's manuscript was intrusted by the Hon. Arthur Gordon. Hitherto s onli t yi know y havinb n g bee ny Mi b n abstracread-a , r it o , f o t Williams, at the meeting of the British Association at Cambridge in 1862. Mill'r resule D Th f so t wor Appendie gives ki th n i n thio t x s paper, Englise Th No h. II translatio. Eshmu, o "nis T n [Go f health]do y b , this Monumental Stone, may the wandering Exile of me thy servant go up in never-ceasing memorial: even the record of Han-Thanit- Zenaniah, magistrate, who is saturated with sorrow!" Eshmun is the Syrian Esculapius. The correctness of this translation was impugned at the meeting by Mr Thomas Wright, who, seeing the inscription for the first time, at INSCRIPTION ON THE NEWTON STONE, ABEKDEENSHIRE. 227

once declared it to be Latin, written in a debased character, of a date subsequent to the departure of the Eomans from Britain, and which he stated to be well known to English" antiquaries, but he does not seem to have pointed out any instances where it could he seen and compared. He, however, at once read the first two lines,—'' Hie jacet Constan- tinus," while in the following lines he said that he saw the word Filius, wit namfathee e hth th f Constantinf eo ro genitive th n ei s ewa casee H . followed by Simonides, who, with equal confidence, pronounced and read s GreeJe,a wha d t veri s an wa yt remarkable, extracte same dth e meaning from the Greek as Mr Wright did from the Latin ! These two critics may therefor fairle eb y hel havins da g effectually confuted each other. Cer- tainly they left untouche learnee dth d labour DrMillf so . Eve heref ni - afte t shouli r e founb d d tha r Mill'D t s translatio t correctno s i n , still s worhi k must ever continu valuabla e b o et e monumen patienf o t t labo- rious investigation, and an admirable example to other scholars. As I spent last winter in Italy, I thought it might be worth while to take correc t e inscriptiocopieth f o s n wit r thifo hs med purposan ; I e had very careful photograph . Eiddles A prepare thesr d M an , I ey b d showed and gave to persons likely to be able to throw some light upon differeno t doni tw d n ei ha t sizesI . ,it sen whicexhibitionw r dfo no hI , the smaller being the one which I prefer, and of which I made most use. Most of those who saw it, at once confessed their ignorance of the characters, and declined any attempt to read or translate. I met, however, with one learned padre in Borne, who at once pro- nounce t Celtic,i d I thad woul f an daysi t w woule dfe h , a allo dm whi . reatranslatd me dan r fo t ei This he did, and brought me the transcription and translation, after some week f worko s . (See Appendixm hi . IV.w . 232.sa No p ,, I ) repeatedly afted an gooa ;r d dea f cross-examinationo l e I foun,th t ou d processes arrive d whicresulty s b ha hi e t hdh a . firse H t restored inscriptione th , i.e., alteree h d various s letterhi t a s pleasure. Thia proceedin s i s g scarcely admissiblI casey d an an , n ei stoutly protested agains s applicatioit t Newtoe th o nt n Stone, seeing that composes i t hardese i th f o dt granit r gneisso e d retainan , lettere sth s precisely as they were originally cut. 8 22 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , FEBRUARY 1864.

The nex moderniseo tt stes pwa e inscription th , i.e., turo t t ninti o modern Celtic; this obviously opened a way to make it into anything he pleased. On examining the modernising, I pointed out to him that he had given different modern forms to the same ancient characters; he admitted this, but declared it to be of no consequence. "Not being a Celtic scholar, I got him to dictate to me the words in English letters resulte Th . , when translated into English, is,— " .Boundar Eoyae th f ylo l powerfu Fieldal e th ,Aremi0 l n (doubtful) this stone [erected floc]a sbeef ko placee p[h d domain].e onth " In Florence I met with Dr Davis, the well-known explorer of Car- thage. He at once pronounced the inscription to be Phoenician ; and his opinion on the question is entitled to great weight; for no other person has disinterred, copied, and published so many inscriptions in that lan- guage from the ruins of Carthage, Utica, and other adjoining towns. A large volume of inscriptions, the result of his labours, has recently been completed and published by the British Museum; besides his own more popular publications. , howeveris t I thine on copo ,g t y inscriptions correctly becomd an , e familiar wit charactee hth whicn ri h the writtee s variationsit yar d nan , and quite another to translate from a language at present so little known anciene asth t Phoenician. Dr Davis set to work on the same principle and in the same manner as Dr Mill, changing the characters into the corresponding Hebrew letters, and then translating fro Phreniciane mth t whe bu ;e broughe nh m o t t i t expressee h d himself ver yattaine d resule doubtfuha th d e o h an t d; s a l he had very little time to devote to the work, as he was on the point of starting on an exploring expedition into Abyssinia. endeavourss resule bi Th f o t , which differs widely from that obtained Millr b yD Appendix e gives i ,th n i n III. translatio s . 231No .,p Hi . n follows:s isa — ' : "monumenA places i t memorde departe[hereth e y th f yo ]ma d prove a blessing. He fell [in this] solitary place, and lay prostrate. " Guard [the grave of] Atalthan, son of Pazach, [a man of] renown. Behold mother lamenting the treacherous calamity they have inflicted on [her or him]." . <• At Mila I ngav inscriptioe th e e Abatth o et n Ceriani e learneth , d INSCRIPTION ON THE NEWTON STONE, ABBKDEENSHIRE. 229

libraria Ambrosiane firse th th f t n o glanc o d pronouncee an ,eh o t t di be Palmyrene. I immediately said, that I could scarcely see the possi- bilit f Palmyreniano y s having ever reache e nortdth f Scotlandho t bu , mucs wa h e interesteH t e inscription. i migho th t so y t e b db tse d an , work to decipher it. In a day or two, however, he came to tell me he was mistaken; that though lettere somth f eo s seeme Palmyree b o dt - nian, he could not identify all; and that he had compared it with all the alphabets in the library, but in vain. I gave him several copies for friendr himselfseno t fo s dwhod o t sthemwa e an ,e m on I h hav d . eha letter from him, but only to say that hitherto it had baffled them all. I expec heao t t wite rb againhy morhopd ma t an ,i e satisfactory tidings. I had heard in various parts of Italy that Count la Marmora, at Turin (brother of the commander of the Italian troops in Naples), was one of mose th t learned student f ancienso t inscription Italy n sreachini n O . g Turin I wrote to him, and sent him a copy. He was much interested by day, thougw it fe s a worunwelo o t hs d t studo k t an coulse e h , lt yit dno afterward diede h sI understan. d tha a great t amoun f antiquariao t n knowledge has been lost to the world by his death. I gave a copy to Signer Matteucci, Minister of Public Instruction, who laid it before the Accademia Beale, who, after examination and delibera- tion, came to the conclusion, that " the inscription must be the work or j'es somf o t e wag; iden "a a which momene cannoon r entertainee fo t b t d wh e see s monumente oon ha nth y byan . (See AppendixI gav ) e V. . ,No e Universitth o t copie t i f yo s librarian t Heidelbera s Bonnd d gan an , also to Monsieur Bainaud, keeper of the manuscripts in the Imperial Library at Paris. All promised to write to me as soon as they could say anythin importancgof matterthe eon sorr, but am say yto I , havI , enot themt f hearo ye e d.on froy man returOy nm Londo no Britist Vaue r th M f xe nwenI o h se Museumo t . He considers the inscription to be mediaeval Latin; but I did not feel at all convinced by his reasoning. He referred me to the Cross of St Cadfa beins na g inscribe same th en i d character comparinn o t bu ; e gth t Cadfan'platS f o e s Cross witNewtoe th h n Stone e I ,canno th e se t identity of the characters. Two or three are similar, but the others are as dissimilar possibles a . Mr Vaux adviseo writt o e Dt em r d Grave f Trinito s y College, 230 PBOCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBBUABY 1864.

Dublin, who has devoted special attention to ancient Irish monuments. r G-raveD s suppose Newtoe e edge th e lineth th f sn o so sn Stone b o et Irish waitd an , s photograph f theso mreneo t studiess whi e H . had studied the inscription on the face of the stone years ago, without then attainin satisfactory gan t withouno ys i resule tt h hop ye t tf ebu ;o t i wil , e deeplb l do succeeding e yh interestinf i d an ,r t onlou gno o y t Society, but to students of ancient inscriptions in all parts of Europe. Mr Westwood, of Oxford, well known by his antiquarian researches, suggestes ha possibilite dth inscriptioe th f yo n being Gnostic — an opinion whic founde hh s mainle spectaclth n yo e figure which occur mano s n yso sculpturer oou f d stones ,Newtoe althougth n o nt Stonhno e itself. From these brief notice t wili ssee e b l n tha have w tt presena e t five distinct theories as to the language of the Newton Stone,— Phoenician, debased Latin, Celtic, Irish Gnosticd an , . It is not for me to pronounce any judgment on their respective merits ; all that I wish to do, is to bring before the Society the present position investigatione oth f o exprest d e hopan ,s th e that competent scholars will not cease from their labours until the inscription be unmistakably read and translated. Appendix. I. See Plates X. and XI. for careful copies of the lettered Inscription, anOghamse dth Newtoe th n o , n Stone ; taken from photographs. II. Translation of inscription on NEWTON STONE, by the late Eev. Dr Mill of Cambridge, who regarded it as PHCENICIAN ; and, transferring the Phoenician characters into the corresponding Hebrew, • read and trans- latefollows a t di s : —

Line 1. Dttftf mshel cesculap-ad

Do. 2. "7D* • 1»X33 • "I Ity.bytsnb.n - ium lapidemper ascen- . O3 . ^"oy t• p y to . y •y wbd . shat .&.& - dot ceternumin circumnavigatio servi tui. INSCRIPTION ON THE NEWTON STONE, ABERUEENSHIRE. 231

Line 4. tDJHJFl • p3? tnthnkh . nrkz Memoria (sc.) Han-tlianiti

Do. 5. .fj'33? Zenanice. ^373-^3^-iDfl. . D6 o ^ shd kdbs. tphsh. h Suffetis repleti moerore. " To Eshmun [God of health], by this monumental stone, may the wandering exile of me thy servant go up in never-ceasing memorial : eve recore nth Han-Thanit-Zenaniahf do , magis- saturates i trate o wh , d with sorrow !" III. Translation of inscription on Newton Stone, by Dr Davis, the ex- plore f Carthagero regardo wh , inscriptioe sth s PHOENICIANna , whice hh also changes into the corresponding Hebrew letters, and gives the trans- lation with doubts : — Lin . e1 V? W A. monumen s placei t dmemore e [here]th th y f y[o ma , departed] prove a blessing. DO . 2 . j D* He fell [in this] solitary place and lay prostrate. DO. 3. Guard [the grave of] Atalthan. DO. 4 . yw DW ntfp l Son of Pazach [a man of] renown. Behold a Do . 5 . n»J DN Mother lamenting. DO . 6 . hy itorpD wy w treacheroue Th s calamity they inflicte [hen o dr him] o r . " A monument is placed [here], may the memory of the departed prove a blessing. He fell [in this] solitary place and lay 2 23 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , FEBRUARY 1864.

prostrate. Guard [the grave of] Atalthan. Son of Pazach, [a man of] renown. Behold a mother lamenting the treacherous calamity they have inflicted on [her or him]." IV. Translation of inscription on Newton Stone, on the supposition thaCELTICs i t i t Padry b , e ——, Eome. Inscription restored:—

Lin . e1 THETJF Boundary

. 2 . Do GOMMATOMACH Of the Eoyal Field Do. 3. CHOED Aatrs The All Powerful AREMI0 N Do . 4 , Aremi0 n (doubtful) Do, 5. CLOCH This Stone [erected] Do. 6. GOMODRACH A Floc Sheef ko placee Domain]e p[h th n do .

. DELIVERANCV SECTIOF EO ACCADEMIP NO A EEALE DI TORINO. To the excellent Commendator Matteucci, my illustrious Colleague. I have myself examined d presente an ,e examinatioth o t de th f o n Section (of the Academy), the photographic copy of the inscription found e countth f n Aberdeeni o y e kindnesth d , ha whico sent se u m dyo h lately. I copy the deliverance which I have placed in the minutes of the last meetin Academye th f go , which expresse e opinio sSectioth e th f no s na thio t s inscription. " The Secretary presents to the Section a photographic copy of an inscription found in the county of Aberdeen, which our colleague, Matteucci, lays before the Section from Mr Thomson, in order to have INSCRIPTION ON THE NEWTON STONE, ABEBDEENSH1RE. 233

our opinion of it. The Section fully concurs in the opinion expressed memberss it f o e Cavaliere byth on , e Amedeo Peyron,—tha , thatis e th t character f thio s s inscriptio t appeano o o correspont d nr d wity an h known alphabet thad e inscriptioan th ,t ne wor musth r jeske o f b to t some wag." judgmene Sucth s hi t whic I hmysel t onca f e formed whicd an ,s hi confirme authoritativn a y b d d competenan e t judge e Cavalierth , . eA Peyron. Accep assurancee th t , &c., . (SignedGORKESIOG ) . TUBIN, 1th June 1863.

Various admirable photograph e stonth f seo r EiddltakeM y nb e were exhibited to the meeting. verThe y irregular Newtoshapthe eof n Stone make impossiblsit eto take the inscription fully in one photographic view. The instrumen must be shifted about a quarter of the compass round, in order to give an equally correct full view of all the characters. The two engravings accompanying this paper are from photographs thus taken, and it is hoped will enable student woro st k satisfactorily. (See Plate XI.& . )sX Plate X. gives the greater part of the Inscription in full front view; and Plat . give eXI left-hane sth d portio , wit it e whole f th hth o n f o e Oghams, whic engravee har d alon Stone e edge th g th f eo . Ther evers ei y reaso hopo t n e thashale w e lont er l g hav a reliable e translation of these from some of our Celtic scholars. It may be that the Oghams contain a repetition of the Inscription, and that thus the monumen tha e Oghame b bilingualth mucs f ty i t o e ma h sar t i mor r o , e recent date than the Inscription, and if so it is a proof of a certain degree of respect and even veneration for the ancient Inscription, when the monument was employed to receive a second inscription without in any way interfering with or damaging the first.

r STUARTM made some observation e originath n so e stonel th sit f eo , nea whico t r h some grave beed sha n found aftean rd; alludin somo gt e of the Welsh stones, which had Eoman and Ogham inscriptions, and to the reading of the latter by Dr Graves, of Dublin, he expressed his belief VOL. v. PART ii. Q 234 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 1864. that we might look with hope to the result of Mr Skene's labours, who engagewa w Oghame s no th Newto e n th do f so n Stone. The Eev. Dr LINDSAY ALEXANDER stated, that he had for long taken an interes thin i t s curious inscription compared ha d an t wit,di e th h Phoenicia othed nan r alphabets t withoubu , t being abl fino et d anything beyond resemblances. More recently he had been struck with the simi- larit charactef yo r betwee lettere e Newtonth th n so n Stone thosd an ,f eo the Sinaitic inscriptions and of the caves at Ellora. Mr SKENE expressed his hope to be able to report the result of his labours on the Oghams ere long, and his belief that this was the line of inquiry most likelsuccessfule b o yt , fro knowledgr mou alphabete th f eo . So far as he had gone, he did not think that the Oghams on the Newton Stone presented any unusual difficulty. Professor SIMPSON joineexpressioe th n di f interesno thin i t s inscrip- tion hoped an , d tha efforte tth reao t sinterpretatios dit - re n e mighb t no t laxed. He mentioned that Professor Aufrecht and Mr Tales concurred in the opinion that the letters were Phoenician.