Fig. 1.—Stone cist with ring marks. Found at Coilsford in Ayrshire.
But even admitting the possibility of this interpretation, there are still many points left unexplained. For instance, in the drawing, it will be seen that the cups with their rings are cunningly attached to each other, and the whole design appears as if it “means something.” No doubt some day further light will be thrown upon this curious form of record.
The Assyrian and Babylonian sculptures both in the round and in bas-reliefs are commonly covered with cuneiform inscriptions, and these are also plentifully found inscribed on stone stelæ and bronze figurines. The famous Rosetta stone is a familiar example of a tri-lingual inscription that will probably last as long as the world lasts. It is now in the British Museum, and bears an inscription in Hieroglyphic, Demotic and Greek. The Greek being understood, it gave at once the key to the interpretation of the Hieroglyphic. The date of the cutting of this stone is about the beginning of the second century before the birth of Christ. An earlier stone of a similar kind is known as the tablet of Sen; it contains a decree of the priests at Canopus in honour of Ptolemy Evergetes I. It was made in B.C. 238, but has not yet got to England.
The ten commandments were engraved on stone, and instances of inscriptions on small stones are very numerous. From Egypt to North America amulets bearing mystical sentences have been commonly made. Familiar to most of us are the turquoises engraved with Arabic words run in with gold, and the curious “Garuda” and other stones, with magical inscriptions and credited with magical powers, have been common in the East from time immemorial.
Fig. 2.—Garuda amulet.
In India inscriptions, holy names, invocations and quotations are cut on small flat pieces of jasper, agate, onyx, carnelian, amethyst, hematite, jade, and materials of less value like coral or glass, some of the old and some new. Musulman amulets of similar kinds are also sometimes found on gold, silver, iron, and even on small bricks of baked clay.
Many of these amulets have pierced ears for suspension, and they were worn as jewellery on the neck or ears or sewn on girdles. They were also fixed on weapons of war and horse furniture. Some of the stones are engraved in reverse so as to make impressions. These are seal stones, but the greater number are engraved simply so as to read straightforwardly. They are in Arabic, Persian, and rarely Turkish.
Greek and Roman cameos and intaglios are often found bearing short inscriptions as well as the names of their engravers. Even the diamond has not escaped, but inscriptions on this stone are very rare because of the difficulty of engraving it. Numbers of inscriptions, names and mottoes can be found on ring stones of all times as well as on real stones.
Curious Chinese books are made of leaves of jade, and in these inscriptions are cut in the decorative Chinese character, run in with gold.