Early Christian inscribed stone, Uphill

Historic England's scheduling record (list entry 1486968) describes an early Christian inscribed stone of about AD 550, free-standing in a field about 100 metres west of Uphill farmhouse. It is an earthfast brownish granite pillar, roughly rectangular in section, standing 1.75 metres high above the ground, up to 0.31 metres wide and 0.37 metres thick. Near the top of the south face are two wedge-cuts in the form of half-slots, 0.14 to 0.15 metres long. It lies in the parish of Buckland Monachorum, about 1.2 km east of Milton Combe.

On the east face, close to its left edge, is a string of letters over a metre long. The Latin text is clearly visible but worn, especially near the base. The letters are 0.06 to 0.08 metres high, read downwards facing left in capital script, and have been read as DAPANNICI NASC FI, with the second I horizontal. That could translate as 'the stone of Dapannicius, son of Nascus', though other readings are possible, including a reversal of the names. The inscription is worn because cattle used the stone as a rubbing post, and the north-east top corner has been knocked or chiselled off.

Sources: Historic England list entry 1486968, which cites Okasha, Corpus of Early Christian Inscribed Stones of South-west Britain (1993), pages 79 to 81, Pearce, 'Church and Society in South Devon AD 350 to 700' (Devon Archaeological Society Proceedings, vol 40, 1982), pages 1 to 18, Greeves, 'The start of history: two inscribed stones from Western Dartmoor' (Dartmoor Magazine 91, 2008), pages 8 to 10, the Devon and Dartmoor Historic Environment Record (MDV27785), the 1845 Buckland Monachorum tithe map, the Ordnance Survey 1885 map and RAF aerial photographs of 1946. Simon Dell has added photographs in a comment on the Historic England page; I have not used them.

• Status: Listed building (Historic England list entry 1486968)
• Grid reference: SX 5011 6595 (approximate, from the listing's coordinates)