Ogham Script Not Only Found on Eurovision Contestants Bambie Thug

Bambie Thug have kicked up a storm for having a Palestinian protest message hidden in plain sight during their performances in the run up to the Eurovision final this Saturday. The messages were written in the little known early-medieval Irish script, ‘Ogham’, and to be fair it was a pretty smart disguise for the message.

Meanwhile, in the more tranquil setting of a Coventry garden, Graham Senior, a local geography teacher, has been celebrating a very rare Ogham stone find, made during what he thought would be a routine garden clean-up.

 In two very different situations, the obscure early-medieval Ogham text has been brought to light.

Hidden Message in Ancient Ogham Script

Bambie Thug knew the rules of the Eurovision song contest prohibited any kind of political messaging, but they probably thought what with the profusion of symbolism in their act, including a satanic looking performance and even a pentagram projected on the floor (one of the duo is a witch), a few scribbles of a hard to read script would go unnoticed. But one eagle-eyed Reddit user deciphered it about a week ago, posting:

The Ogham script on Bambie’s face spells out “Ceasefire”

Irish here – the photo quality from the first rehearsals was just a bit too blurry to be sure, but now there’s no mistaking it:

Left; Ogham script on Bambie Thug’s face during rehearsals. Right; translation of Ogham text, revealing the word ‘Ceasefire’. (Reddit)

The ogham writing system is comprised of groups of parallel lines, so you wouldn’t recognize it unless you had prior knowledge of it.

Once aware of the meaning of the messages – “Ceasefire” and “Freedom for Palestine” – the officials at Eurovision told Bambie Thug to remove them, which they did before their live performance on Tuesday night which has won them a place in the final.

 The artist known as ‘Bambie’ said:

“It was very important for me because I am pro-justice and pro-peace. Unfortunately I had to change those messages today to “Crown the witch” only, in order from the EBU.”

The Ogham Discovery Not in the Spotlight

When Mr Senior decided to clean up his garden, little did he know, he was about to unearth a piece of history that would link this old English city to early medieval Ireland.

According to the Guardian, Senior noted, “I was just clearing a flowerbed of weeds and stones when I saw this thing and thought, that’s not natural, that’s not scratching of an animal.”

These scratches were later identified as the Ogham script in question, an ancient form of writing used predominantly in Ireland around 1,600 years ago.

The ogham stone, 11cm long and weighing 139g, was found in an overgrown garden. (The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum)

Deciphering the Stone’s Origins and Purpose

The markings on the stone, which have been dated back to the fifth or sixth century AD, offer a rare glimpse into the use of the Ogham script before the widespread adoption of Latin insular script.

Ancient Origins writer, Kerry Sullivan explains,

“ [Ogham] is the ancient Celtic Tree Alphabet known as Ogham (pronounced owam). Archaeological linguists have managed to translate the symbols, yet no one knows for certain how or why this language came into existence…”

Measuring 11cm (4.3 inches) in length and weighing 139 grams, the stone is inscribed on three of its four sides with what appears to be a commemorative message involving a person named  Mael Dumcail.

Teresa Gilmore, an archaeologist and liaison officer, highlighted the rarity of finding such stones outside Ireland or Scotland, suggesting the stone could have been brought to Coventry by early medieval monks or Irish settlers.

This discovery, at just 10-13 centimeters (4 or 5 inches) below the surface in a Coventry garden is not only rare, but enlightening, providing valuable insights into the mobility of peoples and ideas during the early medieval period.

The stone, identified as possibly a portable commemorative item by Gilmore, raises questions about the cultural and physical exchanges between the British Isles and Ireland during a time of significant monastic movement.

On Display: A New Home for an Old Relic

The stone now finds its new home at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry, where it is set to be a highlight of the upcoming “Collecting Coventry” exhibition. This exhibition aims to bring to light the many layers of Coventry’s history, enriched by unexpected finds such as this Ogham stone.

Top image: Left; Ogham script on Bambie Thug cheek, Middle; translation, Right; Ogham stone found in Coventry. Source: Left, center; Reddit Right; The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum

By Gary Manners