Avitus' Stone
Period: Medieval
NGR Easting: 231070
NGR Northing: 471150
Description: This slab was found in the foundations of the church in about 1782, subsequently lost, and then rediscovered in the late 1800s.
The stone is a roughly dressed, rectangular slab. One face is carefully dressed and into this is cut an inscription in Roman capitals, with the final ‘I’ placed horizontally: ‘AVIT− MONOMENT−’, translated as, 'of the tomb of Avitus.'
Monuments bearing lettering of a similar style are found in Cornwall, south west Wales and southern Scotland, suggesting contact between these areas during the early Medieval period, perhaps the later 6th century. The name, Avitus, may even indicate contact between the Island and continental Europe, as it was a popular name in northern France.
View map location on Archaeology Data Service
Site & Monument Type: inscribed stone
Category: National Monuments Record: Statutory Ancient Monuments
Site ID number: Manx Cross 29
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