Brit-Am Research Sources (7 March, 2013, Adar 25, 5773)
Contents:
1. Irish Ancestral Gods: Donn (Dan), Iar (Yair), Er (Er), Cian (Chiun).
SUPERNATURAL ANCESTORS OF THE GAEIL by Gerald A. John Kelly
2. The Englishman, Philip Beale, Re-Enacts Phoenician Voyages
Man's mission to prove Phoenicians discovered the Americas a thousand years before Columbus by Steve Robson
3. The Phoenicians in Spain by William McGrath
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1. Irish Ancestral Gods: Donn (Dan), Iar (Yair), Er (Er), Cian (Chiun).
SUPERNATURAL ANCESTORS OF THE GAEILÂ by Gerald A. John Kelly
Extract:
Coming now to the Celts, Caesar reported:
"The Gauls claim to be all descended from Father Dis and say that this is a tradition which has been
handed down to them by the Druids." (7)
Perhaps 'Donn' or its like was the true name for this Celtic god whom Caesar called by the Roman name 'Dis
Pater'. At any rate, Professor Proinsias Mac Cana, one of the greatest experts on Celtic mythology, believes that
'Dis Pater' of ancient Gaul was very similar to the god Donn of ancient Ireland. (8)
(8) Proinsias Mac Cana, Celtic Mythology. New York: Hamlyn Publishing Group. 1970, pp.42-44
A. In the Geography by Ptolemy
Dairini .. the Family of the god Daire. In our Seanchas, the Ulaidh
of Ulster and the Erainn of Munster descend from the Dairfhine.
Iverni. These are the Erainn. (14) Their name was written in old manuscripts as Iarna and Erna, i.e., the
Collective Descendants of the god Iar or Er. A number of tribes and families of Munster descend from them. (15)
Cianachta, Descendants of Cian ... The Cianachta are scattered in various
places in Ireland. Many families descend from them in Munster.
Brit-Am Comments:
Donn is another way of pronouncing the Hebrew Name Dan.
Both Iar and Er are Hebrew names found in the families of the Patriarchs.
Cian is another way of pronouncing Chiun who is described as the idolatrous god of the Israelites before their exile.
Amos 5:
26 You also carried Sikkuth your king
And Chiun, your idols,
The star of your gods,
Which you made for yourselves.
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2. The Englishman, Philip Beale, Re-Enacts Phoenician Voyages
Man's mission to prove Phoenicians discovered the Americas a thousand years before Columbus by Steve Robson
Former City fund manager Philip Beale built replica Phoenician vessel
Believes 50-tonne wooden boat could have crossed the Atlantic
Will set sail from Tunisia to try and prove the theory himself
Note: Philip Beale has already (year 2003) sailed to West Africa from Syria in a Phoenician vessel; and in 2010 circumnavigated Africa altogether in such a ship.
Extracts:
'Of all the ancient civilizations they were the greatest seafarers -- Lebanon had cedar trees perfect for building strong boats, they were the first to use iron nails, and they had knowledge of astrology and currents.'
The theory that an Israelite race discovered the Americas before Columbus was popular in the 18th and 19th centuries after several ancient inscriptions were found in North America which were said to be Hebrew.
But many historians still doubt that the Phoenicians were capable of such a treacherous journey.
Mr Beale has already been on an epic voyage in his 50 tonne wooden vessel -aptly named The Phoenician - after he sailed it around Africa in 2010.
He wanted to demonstrate that the Phoenicians - referred to in the Bible as 'rulers of the sea' - had the capability to circumnavigate the continent 2,000 years before the first recorded European which was Bartolomeu Dias in 1488.
Setting sail from Syria in 2008, he covered 20,000 miles over two years, battling everything from six-metre waves off the Cape of Good Hope to Somali pirates.
'The conventional wisdom is that Christopher Columbus discovered America.
But anyone who looks a little closer will see the Vikings were there around 900AD.
They've found Viking settlements in Newfoundland, it's undisputed,' Beale told CNN.
'So Columbus was definitely second -- at best. I put forward the theory that the Phoenicians could have been first and I hope to prove that was the case.'
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3. The Phoenicians in Spain by William McGrath
Extracts:
Along the eastern coasts of Andalusia, the area between the Guadalhorce river in Malaga and Abdera in Almeria, a group of Phoenician colonies followed a different pattern from the one described for Cadiz. Rather than one important city, a number of small settlements lined the coast at short intervals (most of them 1-7 km). Too short, in fact, to serve as stops for a shipping route.
From east to west, these colonies were Abdera (ancient Adra), Almunecar (Sexi), Chorreras, Morro de Mezquitilla, Toscanos, Malaga (Malaka), and Cerro del Villar. Beyond, both to the east and to the west, other Phoenician towns were spread much farther apart.
All the settlements were established on headlands which afforded good visibility. Every one of them met the conditions to serve as a port. They were all situated at the mouth of a river, the best means of reaching the interior through the Penibetica mountain range, which runs parallel to the coast at a distance of only 20 km. The rivers also provided irrigation and fertile land for agriculture.
Although the ancient sources don't give much information on this group of colonies, the archaeological record they have yielded in recent years has been spectacular.
From the beginning of the 8th century B.C. to the middle of the 6th, Phoenician immigrants settled in this zone in large numbers. The tombs excavated show that there were wealthy families that stayed in the area for succesive generations, which indicates permanent immigration rather than temporary commercial visits.
From the start, the colonists conducted intense commerce with the indigenous inhabitants of the hinterland, although on a much smaller scale than Cadiz. They also developed manufactures, such as purple-dyed textiles, as well as salted fish. The real riches of the zone, however, was agriculture, which was practiced on an intensive basis. There was also sheep, goat and cattle herding.
The results of the Phoenician activities can be seen even today. An area that was rich in plant life, including mountain forests, was overexploited to depletion. Alas, that is all too typical of most colonial ventures throughout history.