Identifying inscribed stones and fragments
Letters in stone, from Roman tombstones to boundary markers.
Inscribed stone surfaces in fields and old walls: Roman tombstone and altar fragments (look for the formulae D M — Dis Manibus — or ligatured capitals), medieval grave slabs with crosses and blackletter, boundary stones with initials and dates, and mason's marks — simple geometric signs cut into building stone.
Letterforms date carving: neat Roman capitals with serifs, insular and runic scripts, gothic blackletter, and post-medieval numerals each have their period. A worn stone can be read in raking light — a torch held flat across the face at night reveals cutting invisible at noon.
Do not move built-in or standing stones — record them in place and inform local heritage bodies of anything Roman or early medieval; such finds are regionally significant. Photograph with raking light and a scale, transcribe letter by letter with gaps marked, and resist restoring missing text in your record.
More on religious objects
Identifying pilgrim badges and ampullae
Identifying scarabs and amulets