Hi Hallie, thanks for reading! Yes, the inscription is read vertically from bottom to top. It's in ogham script, which was invented in Ireland, perhaps in the fourth century AD, for writing archaic Irish, but it was later used by people living in Britain as well. The actual language that the inscription is written in is the subject of much ongoing debate. There's a good introduction to ogham here: https://ogham.glasgow.ac.uk/index.php/about/
Just over a year ago I looked at the provenance of English place names (https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.12850). In a few months I will be starting on a Scottish version (as wells as Welsh and Irish). Hopefully this may be of use.
Thanks Michael, that is interesting. I like the fact that Harlington is the most English name possible! I'll be very interested to see the Scottish version.
Thanks Bernard, that would be a nice explanation. But this isn't a part of Scotland where Old Norse was spoken or used to form place-names - particularly not this far inland. (I could have considered G Ã th for ford, but then there wouldn't be an 'f'.)
That stone is amazing! So I presume that is Pictish writing, vertically ?!
Hi Hallie, thanks for reading! Yes, the inscription is read vertically from bottom to top. It's in ogham script, which was invented in Ireland, perhaps in the fourth century AD, for writing archaic Irish, but it was later used by people living in Britain as well. The actual language that the inscription is written in is the subject of much ongoing debate. There's a good introduction to ogham here: https://ogham.glasgow.ac.uk/index.php/about/
Thank you for this!
Just over a year ago I looked at the provenance of English place names (https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.12850). In a few months I will be starting on a Scottish version (as wells as Welsh and Irish). Hopefully this may be of use.
Thanks Michael, that is interesting. I like the fact that Harlington is the most English name possible! I'll be very interested to see the Scottish version.
Have you considered Old Norse vað 'ford'?
Thanks Bernard, that would be a nice explanation. But this isn't a part of Scotland where Old Norse was spoken or used to form place-names - particularly not this far inland. (I could have considered G Ã th for ford, but then there wouldn't be an 'f'.)
I don't mean it would have to come from Norse -- merely be a cognate; cf. Latin vadum.
OK, I see - but a cognate in which language?
Pictish
Ha, well that might be nice, especially as there's a ford just nearby, although the place-name of Fornighty seems to have wandered around a bit. The Old Welsh forms look like rit/rid, though: https://geiriadur.ac.uk/gpc/gpc.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawJRAhlleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHUWu9TDcGsPIK8KmRboPRHL2_TuLVR5vxmcapuvhVaVGxPegR7TQ8tUUaA_aem_lxC5eED2S4lu-yrT7XLT4Q (but I know your view is that Pictish was not Brythonic)
It's not just my opinion about Pictish. Pokorny, Sims-Williams, Hamp -- none of the major names in Celtic studies ever agreed with Watson & co.