lections of National Antiquities: it was, however, destined to be removed to the Sydenham Crystal Palace. The Rev. Thomas Hugo stated that vestiges of another pavement had been found adjoining that first discovered, and apparently even of greater antiquarian interest.
Mr. Westwood remarked that the recent excavations in the city had brought to light some vestiges of another period, deserving of mention. Upon the site of the church of St. Benet's Fink, portions of two sepulchral slabs had been found, one of them with riband ornament of Anglo-Saxon character; this lay at a depth of ten feet, and five feet lower was discovered a fragment of a slab with a foliated cross, and part of an inscription on the edge, as follows—LEM : BRVN : PRIEZ : PATER : ✠, supposed to have been the memorial of Willem or William Brun.
Mr. H. O'Neill resumed his remarks upon sculptured crosses in Ireland, and produced rubbings from certain details upon those at Monasterboice and Termonfechin. The latter presents a very singular example of the serpent-ornamentation; the crucified figure of the Saviour appears on one side of the head of this cross, and on the other is a naked figure holding a cross in the left hand, and a staff with a double volute in the right: on the transverse limbs are introduced human heads, possibly representing angels. This sculpture may possibly typify the Ascension, in accordance with the notion to which allusion was made by Mr. Westwood at a previous meeting. (See p. 64, ante.) Mr. O'Neill sought to demonstrate, by certain examples selected from the materials of his work on Irish Crosses, that the origin of the interlaced or riband ornament had been, as technically termed "zoomorphic," or derived from animal forms, and that the serpent-patterns had been suggestive of the singular "triple-whorl" ornament.[1] He illustrated this curious subject of enquiry by details taken from the crosses above mentioned, showing first, intertwined serpents, then interlaced designs, in which serpent-forms are partially combined, and lastly, interlaced ornaments and triple-whorls devoid of any trace of animal forms.
Dr. Todd, in reference to the curious symbol of a staff with double volutes, shown upon the cross at Termonfechin, described a very curious relic which ho had recently seen in Ireland, and of which a full account would soon be given in the Transactions of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society. This unique object had excited much attention; it is a short staff of metal, originally of longer dimensions, richly wrought in the same style as the shrines and sacred objects, with interlaced work chased and partially enamelled. The head is formed like a crutch, of which the handle or cross-piece presents two animal heads turned upwards and recurved. By some antiquaries this singular object, of which Dr. Todd showed a sketch, had been regarded as analogous to the pastoral staff used by the bishops and abbots of the Greek church. Mr. Westwood remarked that examples of objects of this description now used in the Russo-Greek church, are represented in the magnificent work on the Antiquities of Russia. Mr. Nightingale stated that the pastoral staff which he had seen commonly used in the oriental churches, bears much resemblance in its general form to that lately found in Ireland; the construction of that staff, however, appeared rather to indicate that it had served as the handle of a cross or other sacred object, which was fixed between the dragon-like beads of the cross-piece above mentioned.
- ↑ See Mr. Westwood's memoir on Irish ornamentation, in this Journal, vol. x. p. 297.
