On the Celtic inscription of Briona.

I make some suggestions about the lapidary inscription written in the ‘Lepontic’ alphabet, found in San Bernardino di Briona in the 19ᵗʰ century and now preserved in the Lapidary Museum of the rectory of the Cathedral of Novara. The aim is to show just how much the traditional interpretation needs revision. This follows the re-assignment the stone of what must have been its original vertical position, with the short side placed into the ground, the ‘wheels’ arranged horizontally and ten of eleven lines of writing to be read from top to bottom. I wish to highlight some prag matic and linguistic difficulties in the traditional interpretation, while, on the other hand, I would like to show how the ‘verti cal approach’ has some advantages for the interpretation. The reassessment also leads to reflections on the relationship of the direction of writing with the sequence of reading of the vertical lines.