Casgliadau Arlein

This curious pebble has been highly decorated with carved symbols and characters. It was found unstratified and probably dates to the 20th century. It may be an example of a modern devotional deposit or random grafitti.

The pebble is flat and round, both faces have been heavily marked with incised images. One face has a compass drawn circle intersected with lines forming internal Vs. Above the circle are characters in Roman capitals 'BVM', underlined. Below the circle are the letters 'ZA[N[', underlined. Next to these is a slightly curved vertical line with a triangle and another, more faintly incised, circle. The other face has a compass drawn circle intersected by numerous diagonal lines and one heavy long straight line. Nearby is another heavy diagonal line and a triangle.

The meaning of any of these symbols is obscure. They may have been created together or may be a palimpsest added at different times. The three circles are all the same size. The initials 'BVM' have been speculated to stand for 'Blessed Virgin Mary', or they could be an individual's initials, or, following the tradition of roman capitals, the V could have been intended as a 'U' and 'BVM' suddenly reads as a different word altogether.