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| Rob at an Ogham Stone |
never heard of them before, you'll learn about them now!
WHAT DOES "OGHAM" MEAN? - According to Megolithic Ireland, Ogham is the earliest form of writing in Ireland, it dates to around 4th century A.D. and was in use for around 500 years. The Ogham alphabet is made up of a series of strokes along or across a line. Ogham is sometimes referred to as the "Celtic Tree Alphabet" as a number of the letters are linked to old Irish names for certain trees. The alphabet was carved on standing stones to commemorate someone, using the edge of the stone as the center line.
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| Explanation of the Ogham alphabet and markings |
WHAT IS ON THE STONES? There are roughly 400 surviving orthodox inscriptions on stone monuments throughout Ireland and western Britain; the bulk of them are in the south of Ireland, in Counties Kerry, Cork and Waterford. The largest number outside of Ireland is in Pembrokeshire in Wales. The majority of the inscriptions consist of personal names.
WHAT'S THE ALPHABET LIKE? - The twenty standard letters of the Ogham alphabet and the five forfeda. (Forfeda are 5 additional sounds not accounted for in the alphabet. They appear to have represented sounds felt to be missing from the original alphabet, maybe é(o), ó(i), ú(i), p and ch).
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| Gerard Scott, our amazing Tour Guide! |
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| An Ogham Stone |
NEXT: BLASKET ISLAND AND THE GREAT EVACUATION
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| View from the Dingle Peninsula |
