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
282 PHGENICIAN ORIGIN OF BRITONS & SCOTS
associated especially with the tin mines worked by the ancient Pheenicians,
* [“ The boundary of each tin mine in Cornwall is marked by a long pole with a bush on the top of it. These on St. John’s Day are crowned with flowers. It is usual at Penzance to light fires on this occasion and dance and sing around them.
“ Still to this age the hills around Mount’s Bay are lighted at Midsummer eve with the bonfire, and still the descendants of the old Dunmonii wave the torch around their heads after the old, old rite.”* And similarly in Devon, etc., etc.
The Stone Circles, which we have seen to be early Phoenician, also appear to have been especial sites of these Bel-Fire rites, and for the production of the sacred Fire.‘ And we have seen that these rites were latterly held within a circle cut on the turf, which suggests that the Stone Circles were thus used as Sun temples. And we have found that the “ Cup-mark ”’ inscriptions on circles and their neighbourhood are prayers of the Sun-cult.
Altogether, the Phcenician origin and introduction of the Bel-Fire rites into Britain, as part of the old ‘“‘ Sunworship,” thus appears to be clearly established.
The Sun-wise direction of walking around a sacred or venerated person or object in the direction of the hands of a clock or watch, in the direction of the Sun’s apparent movement in northern latitudes, from east to west, is admittedly part of the “‘ Sun-worship”’ ritual. It is inculcated in the old Aryan Vedic hymns and epics for respect and good luck and is called ‘‘ The Right Way ” or “‘ Righthanded Way ” (pra-) Daxina, the ‘‘ Deasil”’ or “‘ Right-hand Way ’’° of the Scots, who call the opposite direction ‘“‘ Withersins ’’ or ‘‘ Contrary to the Sun,” which is considered unlucky. This sun-wise direction is that in which the votaries are usually figured walking on the old Sumerian sacred seals in approaching the enthroned “ Sun-god ”’ ; and it is the direction in which all Indo-Aryan votaries approached and passed
SELB SA7. SMI ISIIE ie 3 ELB.F., 44, etc., 347, etc.
‘for Circles at Stennis, Merry Maidens, etc., L.S., ror, ete.; and D. MacRitchie, Testimony of Tradition.
° Or Dessil, in Gaelic Deesoil, Deisheal, J.S.D., 150. The root of these words is Da, ‘the right hand "’ in Sumerian,