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
CIRCLES PHGNICIAN SOLAR OBSERVATORIES 235
Britain for many centuries. And even the round-headed Huns of the East Coast had been attracted to it, as evidenced by some round barrows with round-headed skulls.
They also appear to have been used at times as Law-Courts. Homer, in describing the famous shield of Achilles, which was probably made by the Phcenicians, like most of the famous works of art in the Iliad, states that elders of the early Aryans were represented thereon as meeting in solemn conclave within the Stone Circle.t And in Scotland the Stone Circle was also used at times as a Law-Court.* This supplies the reason, I think, why these Circles are sometimes called “ Hare-Stanes,’ as at Insch near the Newton Stone, and elsewhere. This term ‘‘ Hare’’ seems to me to be the ‘““Harri”’ or “ Heria”’ title of the ruling Goths in the Eddas, which I show is the equivalent of the Hittite title of “ Harri”’ or ‘“‘ Arri’”’ or “ Arya-n.’”’ It is thus in series with the title of the Circles at Keswick, etc., as “ Castle Rig ’’—“ Rig”’ being the title of the Gothic kings and princes. And the name ‘‘ Kes-wick”’ (with its ancient copper mines) means “ Abode of the Kes’’ ie., the Cassi clan of the Hittites.
We thus see that the great prehistoric Stone Circles in Ancient Britain were raised by the early Mor-ite scientific Brito-Phcenicians as solar observatories, to fix the solsticial and other dates for the festivals of their Sun-cult ; and that their descendant Britons continued to regard them as sacred places down to the latter end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Christian era ; and this sacred tradition survived until a few centuries ago.
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1“ The elders were seated on the smooth stones in the sacred circle,”’ TL, 18, 504.
+ In the Aberdeen Chartulary of 1349 is a notice of a court held at the Standing Stones in the Don Valley, ‘‘ apud stantes lapides de Rane en le Garuiach,” when William de St. Michael was summoned to answer for his forcible retention of ecclesiastic property (Regist. Episcop. Aberdon, l, 79); and again, in the Chartulary of Moray a regality court was held by Alexander Stewart, Lord of Radenoch and son of Robert II. at the Standing Stones of Raitts, stating ‘‘ apud le standard stanes de la Rath de Kinguey.”” And when the Bishop of Murray attended this Court to protest against certain infringements of his rights, it is stated that he stood outside the circle :—“ extracircum.” Regist. Episcop. Morav., p. 184.
* And Kirkurd, Peebles; Feith Hill, Inver Keithney, Banff. Yyans. Hawick Arch@ol. Socy., 1908, p. 26.