Romano-British Stone

A Romano-British carved stone dating to the late Fifth or early Sixth Century at St Martin and St Enfael’s Church, Merthyr, Carmarthenshire.

By the Revd Dr Caroline Jones, Diocesan Officer for the Year of Pilgrimage.

This church represents a place of unbroken Christian witness stretching back as far as the so-called Dark Ages. The present church is a mere 151 years old. But strikingly, on arrival, you’ll notice that it is set within a circular wall known as a ‘clas.’ This is a physical remnant of an ancient place where monks and nuns lived cheek-by-jowl with lay people. Its construction and usage dates back to the time of our patron St David himself.

Inside the church porch is where you’ll find the Romano-British carved boulder. This stone was rediscovered under two feet of soil by a nineteenth century grave digger. Fortunately for us he dug it out and placed it where it still lies today. Originally it was probably set as a grave stone marker for an early Welsh chieftain. Experts have dated it to the late fifth or early sixth century. This was a turbulent time when Roman occupiers were pulling out of Britain as their empire shrank and Rome was under attack. Donald Moore in Monuments of Early Christianity in Wales says there are relatively few stones like this one in existence today, and all are unique. There are approximately 400 scattered right across Wales with a concentration of them on the Llyn Peninsula and here in Carmarthenshire. Archaeologists agree that they confirm how sea crossings between Ireland and Wales resulted in a sharing of Christian doctrine and practices.

The inscription is in Latin. It states CARURGI FILI LOVERNACI. According to the philologist John Rees this means ONE WHO DELIGHTS IN BATTLE, THE SON OF HIM WHO ABOUNDS IN FOXES. However, despite this there is little known about the actual provenance of this wonderful Carmarthenshire-sited relic. It is quite big; it is handsome, even impressive. It shows certain skills too; of choosing that particular piece of dolerite and then selecting and hewing its shape and then, someone obviously literate, deciding on an inscription and then getting it carved onto the piece. The inscription tells us it commemorates a man and that he was a warrior. But the last part of the inscription is a puzzle. We can only guess at what it means. Perhaps it refers to actual foxes, or maybe it holds a different meaning altogether known only colloquially at the time. In the Gospel of Luke Jesus referred to the Roman tetrarch of Galilee, a man called Herod, as ‘that fox’. It was meant as an insult as a fox was thought of as an unclean animal in Jewish culture. Interestingly though, Jesus was not suggesting Herod was innately cunning or sly as has been perceived ever since.

Perhaps a clue lies in the word ‘abounds’ which alludes to a lot. So, maybe, this unknown happiest-in-battle warrior’s father had a reputation of being with men who were fox-like. Foxes in sub-Romano culture were revered as extremely clever creatures, brilliant at evasion. All we can be sure of is that this object is rare. The fact that no cross is visible is due to its age. At the time of its making Roman crucifixion had only recently ceased and presumably followers of Jesus didn’t want to use such a cruel sign in His memory.