THE BRITISH THREAD II

From memory, it was not an original source but in a book on the origins of the Minoans as being of Jewish descent . It was proposing that going by the amount mined in SW England coinciding with an unknown large source of tin in Minoan civilization and that the origins of the Phoenicians were at that time, then the origins of the word Brit Ain also came from that period . This is where Massaliote Periplus would have used a well established word .

The basis of Minoan trade is thought to have its origins on the Phoenician coast when Jewish sailors explored and inhabited Mediterranean Islands, giving rise to Minoan and later Phoenician cultures . That sailing tradition kept them pushing outwards .

The book is by a linguist in Linear A and ancient semitic languages .

My understanding is the word Briton was coined by the Romans . It referred to a Celtic tribe in the south of England who invited the Romans in...if they weren't invited, they picked a lousy place to invade, there are much better landing sites...and the term stuck for all of the Celtic tribes in general . This may be because of a perceived connection with the inhabitants of what is now Brittany France . It is hard to determine which came first . The Romans may have named the Celts in the area of Brittany as Bretons first, out of a mistake .

bump

And again

Thanks.

If I think of the name of the book or the author I will PM you . Sorry, I am having trouble remembering it .

I still find it amazing that the Jews have traded British tin before the Phoenicians got that monopoly ("Britain, Phoenicia's secret treasure" as it is said). There surely must be more traces of Jewish seafarers before 1100 BC.

On the other hand, look at the ship of Oniyahu (part of the Hebrew seal from the First Temple, 8th Century B.C.E. )
Though the Phoenicians were the best known Mediterranean sailors, Jews acquired a high level of seafaring skills from them as well as shipbuilding knowledge. (Source: Bank of Israel, leaflet "An Ancient Hebrew Ship - Special Coin Issue, 5745/1985")

We are looking at 3000 BC . When I say Jews I mean the common ancestors of the 'Ibri (Hebrews), Phoenicians, and Canaanites . Perhaps Semites is the word to use ? I prefer to use the word Jews because they have a continuous history through to today, whereas all the others are now obscure . Anyway, these people had a common ancestor who started sailing the Mediterranean and formed the Minoan Commonwealth . That's the theory and it has some contestors who support the out of Anatolia theory for the Minoans . I dont see why there werent Anatolians in the Minoan Commonwealth, especially as Troy seems to be a native city .

Recent DNA testing suggests out of Anantolia but I am not convinced that the destruction and migration at the end of the Bronze Age (the Sea Peoples) did not dilute and intermingle whatever DNA might be available . They also would have had 1500 years to party on together as members of a trading block .

So we are looking at the ancestors to the Phoenicians and the earliest ship building techniques .

That leads to another question: since actually yesterday (when I looked at the Exeter library via my university library card) the earliest know tin mining in Cornwall (and Devon) is known to be about 2500 BC. Your date is from the book you quoted?

That is a bit confusing for those who use the commonly known terms. (And you used different names as well: "This is interesting because the Jews and later the Phoenicians traded with the British Isles for tin.")

Thanks for clarifying.

(I just noticed that one of my former universities now has a "Centre for Mediterranean Studies" - 40 years ago, it this was only covered by a chair for pre- and protohistory.)

My fault, I wasnt very clear . I was trying not to take over the thread with a topic some might find boring so I have been trying to be very short with words . The Semites (did we agree to call them that?) set out to sea and formed the Minoans around 3000 BC . I couldnt tell you when they started trading with Britain, but I accept your date for the earliest known tin mining .

There are no end of terms for these people . Most names have been taken from the Bible and confirmed by archaeology . I came across all this from researching Abraham . Perhaps you can help me remember the book or the author ? He stated he was the only person qualified in Linear A and early Northern Semite Languages . He also stated there was no doubt Linear A is a Semite script, thus proving the Minoans (the Atlanteans?) were a Semite people . The book was about the origins of the Minoans and the start of trading ushered in by mining on Mediterranean Islands .

Meantime, I've been pleased to read about a politician I hadn't known about that I'm pretty sure I would have liked, appreciated a lot. Pleased, except that what I've been reading are basically obituaries..

Rest in Peace, Charles Kennedy.


Also,
Rest in Peace, Beau Biden.
I did know about him.

He'll be remembered for being right on Iraq and opposed to the coalition. He may have had an alcohol problem but he got the big things right despite overwhelming pressure not to.

Ditto, what Izzy said.

CK said the coalition would damage the Lib Dems greatly, and was he ever right about that.

Among the things I read was that his personality was tempered to kindness and understanding, not raging (those are my words trying to summarize, I've none of the articles right at hand this minute) and his mind was especially sharp; the alcohol was a fight he fought.

Charles Kennedy's 10-year old son Donald was in the Commons yesterday, with his mother and her brother, to hear the tributes paid, by MPs of every stripe, to his father.

A very nice touch. And such tributes.

Just a heads up for those Brits near to a Sainsburys.

I stumbled across a half price offer on Harry Ramsdens 4 battered cod fillets (frozen)......half price at two quid.
50 pence per fillet! Blimey!

Big fillets as well....if you have two, it is about the equivalent of a really large cod you'd get in a chip shop.

Had two tonight with red rooster chips and it was delicious. I'll stick to one in future. Oink oink, and all that.

Burp.

Danish politician calls for tax on English words

This will please izzy, I'm sure:

Portsmouth Spinnaker Tower in Saint's colours

Are we sure it's a spinnaker?

I think it's a partner for the Cerne Abbas Giant.