PE152

Inscribed Stone in Churchyard  

29/04/1947  

Designated  

Pembrokeshire  

Wolfscastle  

196880  

227993  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Inscribed Stone  

Early Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument consists of an inscribed stone, a commemorative monument from the early medieval period dating to the end of the fifth or the first part of the sixth century. It was first located in 1875 reused as a gatepost on the east side of a road on the east side of Treffgarne Gorge a few hundred metres from Little Trefgarne Farm and was moved before 1922 to its present position in the churchyard of St Dogwell’s Church, Sealyham. The stone which has either been shaped or undergone prolonged weathering might have been a prehistoric standing stone, derived from a local outcrop it is is a tall, five-sided pillar of about 1.9m high tapering towards the top. There are two gate-hanger holes in the broadest face and four in the narrow face adjacent on the left. On the broad face part way down on the left side is an incised roman-letter, Latin inscription in two lines reading vertically downwards: HOGTI[.]ISFILI DEMETI, interpreted as Hogti[v]is fili / Demeti or Hogti[n]is fili / Demeti and translated as ‘of Hogtivis (or Hogtinis) son of Demetus (or Demetius)’. On the same face along a ridge on the stone to the right of the roman inscription is an inscription in ogam: OGTEN[AS], interpreted as Ogten[as]. The personal names Ogtenas and Hogtinis of Brittonic or Irish origin might be cognate. The patronym Demeti may refer in some way to the kingdom of Dyfed which continued to be spelt Demetia, etc. in old Latin texts. The dates of the inscriptions are ascribed on epigraphic grounds. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of the organisation and practice of medieval Christianity. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. An inscribed stone may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.