The Phœnician origin of Britons, Scots & Anglo-Saxons : discovered by Phœnician & Sumerian inscriptions in Britain, by preroman Briton coins & a mass of new history : with over one hundred illustrations and maps

182 PHGNICIAN ORIGIN OF BRITONS & SCOTS

in the rough laborious life of bringing a new country into civilization and cultivation it doubtless suffered deterioration in Britain. This art, hitherto called “ Early Celtic,” is represented by numerous specimens, unearthed from tombs, ete., of bronze, gold and jet jewellery, decorated bronze shields and weapons and ornamented monuments, in which the esthetic use of the solar spiral ornament of Troy, the /Zgean and Levant, and the solar “ key-pattern ”’ swastika (still surviving largely in modern decorative art) and SunCrosses of the Hitto-Phcenicians is noteworthy (see Figures later). The identity of some of the Early Briton art motives with those of the naturalistic ‘“‘ New Egyptian art ”’ introduced into Egypt from Syria-Phcenicia in the period of Akhen-aten will be seen later on. The naturalistic drawing on the Early Briton coins especially, we shall find, much excels that of the Anglo-Saxon and medieval period in England.

As an instance of Early Briton art may be cited an inlaid dagger-handle unearthed from a tomb near Stonehenge, which is thus described by an expert: ‘ It could not be surpassed, if indeed equalled, by the most able workman of modern times.”

Works of public utility, such as the construction of arterial roads for commerce, etc., are referred to in the Chronicle records of descendants of Brutus.? The so-called ““ Roman roads” bearing the old Briton names of Sfane Street, Watling* Street, Erming Street, etc., are studded with Ancient Briton town sites, as we shall see, and thus presumably were roads mentioned in the British Chronicles which were engineered by the Ancient Britons in the pre-Roman period and merely repaired by the Romans, to whom they are now altogether credited by those latter-day writers who have erroneously believed that the Britons were savages.

1 Hoare, Ancient Wilts, 1, 202, pl. 27, 2, and E.B.I, 232.

HOACH. Sy Fy GUO.

*“ Watling ”’ is a variant of the Eddic Gothic’ OAdLing ” or “* Gidl-ing ” royal clan, with later variants of ‘Bthel-ing, etc., in which ing is the Gothic tribal affix. Other variants of this Early Briton name, in the time of Edward the Confessor, Harold and Canute are speit in charters ‘* Weedel,”’ “ Wadel,’’? « Edel,” “Adel,” « Udal,”’ ep. W. G. Searle, Onomasticon <lnglo-Savonicwm 473, 534, 582. Thenameis Sumer Etil‘ Lord” (Br. 1506).