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[Note:  All Basque words are in Italics and Bold-faced Green]

 

SCOTLAND’S OGAM INSCRIPTIONS *

 

A review derived from the following:

 

Nyland, Edo.  2001.  Linguistic Archaeology: An
Introduction.   Trafford Publ., Victoria, B.C., Canada.

ISBN 1-55212-668-4. 541 p.

 

----Please CLICK on desired underlined categories [to search for Subject Matter, depress Ctrl/F ]:

 

 

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Introduction

 

          An ancient language form that originated in the sub-Saharan West African area of our most ancient civilizations has been studied by Nyland (2001).  He found that many words used to describe names of places and things in Scotland were closely related to the ancient language, which Nyland called Saharan, and which later was predated by the Igbo Language of West Africa.  Fortuitously, the Basque Language is a close relative to the original Saharan.  Following is a discussion of this relationship:

 

          In his book "The Symbol Stones of Scotland" (1984), Dr. Anthony Jackson, anthropologist at the University of Edinburgh, illustrated and transliterated more than thirty Ogam inscriptions found in Scotland and found that the best of efforts by linguists and others had not resulted in even one translation. There had been few problems transliterating them, but no one had been able to do anything with the "meaningless" series of letters obtained. In October of 1993, Jackson followed this work with an unpublished monograph called "Pictish Symbol Stones?" in which he updated his earlier research. Probably referring to efforts of Henri Guiter, Jackson wrote, "There is a popular theory that they are Basque but this does not work either" (p.118). Jackson also commented:

 

          "It is curious that this small number of Ogam inscriptions has caused more headaches than all the other problems of the Picts put together. As one leading archaeologist put it: it is not really the fault of the Picts but the interpreters of the Picts that are to blame! (p. 117).

 

          This remark was so true by Nyland (2001), but Jackson decided to give up entirely on translating the puzzling writings.  He wrote: "All research along linguistic lines has ground to a halt, unsurprisingly" (p.135) and: "It is clear that the Ogam inscriptions are numerically based and not linguistic" (p.153).  In other words he thought they were numerical magic, possibly a form of numerology, inscribed on the ancient standing stones to overcome the pre-Christian magic: "thus we seem to have a battle between rival magics" (p. 154). Edo Nyland agreed with his suggestion that magic is involved, because the inscriptions are so complicated in design that it is hard to believe that they were intended to be read by the common people or even by most of the clergy; they belonged to a very different level of theology.

 

          In 1968 a Basque scholar from France, Henri Guiter, thought he could see Basque words in the transliterated inscriptions and tried to make sense of some of them. He published two papers in French, which received mixed reviews such as from Oliver  Padel who could not find the first paper, but "if one is to judge by the information supplied in the second, this is no great loss". Another person who criticized Guiter was Douglas Gifford, Dept. of Spanish of St. Andrew’s University in Scotland. In a 1969 radio talk, he said that Guiter had twisted the evidence, but also suggested that the Basque connection was worth a further look. Nyland then took this ‘further look’ and decided to include Guiter’s work in this article because his approach was so very different from anyone else’s. The reader will see that his translations appear to make little sense. The people who composed the inscriptions were a great deal more sophisticated linguistically and mathematically than our modern scholars have ever given them credit for. Guiter’s effort had also been published in Spanish in a booklet called "Garaldea" by Federico Krutwig and the Spanish translations of Guiter’s effort are shown here.

 

THE BASQUE CONNECTION

 

          Dr. Gifford’s suggestion that Basque could well be the language of the Ogam inscriptions was supported by genetic and linguistic evidence in Ireland and Scotland. Geneticist Dr. Cavalli-Sforza from Stanford University had published a world map in Scientific American (Nov. 1991), showing the distribution of the Rh-negative people. The populations with the highest proportion of their members with Rh-negative blood were found among the Berbers in Morocco, the Basques in Euskadi, and the dark featured peoples of Northern Ireland and Scotland, all with over 25% of the people with this blood peculiarity. He commented "... the resulting pattern roughly coincides with anthropological reconstructions of ancient migrations." Of these four groups, only the Basques still spoke their pre-Christian language. It was therefore reasonable to suggest that the entire migration had spoken this language. This possibility was crying out for proof. Fortunately a very large number of early inscriptions on stone, silver, brass, bone etc. were available; over 600 in Ireland and some 40 in Scotland. None of these inscriptions had ever been translated with certainty. Transliteration from the Ogam script had not been a problem, but only an apparently meaningless series of letters, mostly consonants, had been obtained. However, as considerable time and effort must have gone into making these inscriptions.  Edo Nyland assumed that some system of decoding had to exist.

 

THE VCV FORMULA

 

[= Vowel Consonant Vowel ]

 

          From the moment that Edo Nyland tackled the problem, it appeared likely that most of the vowels had been removed for some good reason, based on a certain pattern. After a great deal of experimentation, it was found that the basic pattern had to have been VCVCVCV etc. This letter-pattern looked strikingly like that of thousands of Basque words such as: "ohitura" (custom). But, Basque being an agglutinated language, this word in itself was composed of three other roots, ohi-itu-ura: ohi (habit) itungaitz (disagreeable) urratu (to break), meaning: "Break that disagreeable habit", creating a VCV-VCV-VCV pattern. In addition, the vowels on either side of the hyphens were always the same, completing the formula: VCV1-V1CV2-V2CV3-V3CV etc. Nyland called this the "vowel-interlocking" or "VCV Formula". Trial and error proved that this was indeed the formula used in every Ogam inscription examined to date, without exception. For more examples, see "The Saharan Language".

 

          Searching for linguistic evidence of Basque in the family and geographical names of these countries, in Scotland many family names immediately stood out, e.g:

 

          MacKenzie, kentze is the act of depriving, of taking away, to steal from, probably referring to territory. The MacKenzie tribe was therefore known by their neighbours as the people who had conquered or taken something that didn’t belong to them.


         
MacArthur, arturen means assets, possessions, and the tribe was therefore known as ‘well off’.


         
MacUen or MacEwen, from uhin (wave), was the tribe of the waves, the tribe of the navigators.


         
Stuart, a name of royalty, clearly came from stu-art, astu-arti, asturu (luck, fortune) arti/ardi (sheep):  "A fortune in sheep".

                          
         
Campbell, from kam-bel, kamaina (improvised bed) bela (sails); they were sailors and fishermen and slept on stored sails.

                              
         
Douglas, from dug-las, dugu (we have it) lasai (comfortable): "We have it comfortable, we have

 it easy".


          With these and many more examples of names, the search for the needed proof looked more promising. However, indisputable proof could only come from many successful translations
.

 

 

THE SYSTEM OF ENCODING AN OGAM INSCRIPTION

 

Procedures for encoding  and decoding Ogam inscriptions were

presented by Nyland (2001).

 

1).  In the sentence to be inscribed, use only those Basque words that start with vowel-consonant-

        vowel (VCV).


2).  Select only those VCV’s which have the vowels interlocking, as shown in the VCV formula:

        VCV1- V1CV2-V2CV3-etc.

       
3).  Agglutinate all these VCV’s into one line-up of letters: VCV1CV2CV3C etc


4).  Remove those vowels and H’s which do not contribute to the strokes and values of the magical

        system of prime numbers.   (See Jackson 1993, pages 117 - 152).


5).  Replace all B’s by V, the K’s by C or Q as dictated by numerology. Inscribe the results.

 

THE SYSTEM OF DECODING OGAM

 

1) Restore the original letters: V becomes B, C and Q become K.


2) Restore the original position of the letters by inserting them in the vowel-interlocking formula,

      placing dots where vowels were removed. In case of double vowels, an H has usually been

      removed. Keep in mind that every consonant represents a word.


3) Occasionally the first vowel of the first syllable is not used (e.g. in Birsay 1) and the first word

       therefore starts with CV.


4) Systematically list all likely meanings under each VCV, as shown in much greater detail in  

      <Translating Ogam >, and select the words that form the appropriate sentence.

 

 

ABOUT THE TRANSLATION

 

          In this section, all three interpretations by Guiter, Jackson and Nyland are brought together for each of the inscriptions .  Let the reader be the judge. The order in which the inscriptions are presented is taken from Jackson’s 1993 publication "Pictish Symbol Stones?” The transliteration used is also taken from Jackson because his interpretation is superior to any other efforts. Translating Ogam is certainly no exact science, it is only the best possible approximation. It may well be that some of the inscriptions were designed to be magical, yet when they were finally translated, most made good sense from the standpoint of evangelizing a "heathen" country. Two of the larger inscriptions, Brodie B and Golspie, in spite of several hours of work, have so far resisted the decoding process. Some like Altyre and Cille Barra describe natural disasters that do not refer to evangelism. Aboyne B and Altyre are grave markers. Strictly adhering to the vowel interlocking between the VCV roots is the key to decoding the inscriptions.

 

Map showing the location of the following inscriptions.

 

 

 

BRESSAY. A) CRROSCC- B) NAHHTVVDDADD - C) DATTRR -
                             D) ANNBENNISES - E) MEOODDRROANN.

 

Guiter: Basque reading: Berriz Enekoaren Kroska naiz Udak daragina.


            Spanish translation: De nuevo estoy en la Cruz de Eneko. La que el verano
            obliga a hacer.


            In English: Again I am in the cross of Eneko. The one that the summer obliged to do

 

Jackson: A) 28 7x4 75 5x5x3
                B) 30 5x6 96 12x8
                C) 19 prime 77 7x11
                D) 43 prime 110 11x5x2
                E) 42 7x6 132 11x6x2
                Total 162 9x9x2 490 7x7x5x2

 

Nyland:


A: KRROSKK


.k.     eka    ekarri        I bring
.r.     are
   arrera        welcome
.ro     ero   
erospen       redemption
os.     osa   
osasun        health
.k.     aka   
akatsbako     perfect
.k.     aku   
akuilaketa    motivation


I bring welcome redemption, health and perfect motivation.

 

B: NAHHTBBDDADDS


.na     ana     anaiak        religious brothers, wise men
ah.    
aho     ahozuriketa   adulation
.h.    
oha     ohartu        to observe
.t.    
ata     atadi         entrance
.b.    
abe     aberetegi     stable
.b.     ebe    
ebertar       Jew, Jesus
.d.    
ede     eder izan     to esteem, to revere
.da     eda    
edangura      thirsting for
ad.     ado    
adoratu       to worship
.d.     odo    
odolgarbiko   noble
.s.     ospe   
ospetasun     majesty, king


The wise men, in adulation, observed from the entrance of revered Jesus’ stable, thirsting to worship the noble King.

 

C: DATTRR


.da     ida     idazti        scripture
at.     ate    
aterapen      outcome
.t.    
eto     etorri        inspiration
.r.    
orai    oraingoz      on that moment
.r.     aire   
airegabeki    awkward


The scripture’s outcome gave inspiration on that awkward moment.

 

D: ANNBENNISES


an.     anai    anaideak      disciples
.n.     aina    
aina          as much as, as well as
.be     abe    
abeltalde     flock
en.     enu    
enulkeria     weakness
.ni     uni    
unibertsal    general
ise     ise    
isekatu       to ridicule, to mock
es.     estu    
estuasun      moment of tribulation

 

The disciples, as well as the flock (Mark 14:50), in general weakness were mocking during that moment of tribulation (Mark 15:17-20)

 

E: MEOODDRROANN


.me     eme     emeki         quietly
e.o     eho   
 ehorzleku     tomb
o.o     oho   
 ohorarazi     to praise, to honor
od.     odi   
 odieria       round opening
.d.     ido   
 idoropen      discovery
.r.     orai   
orain         presently, right then
.ro     airo   
airos         graceful
o.a     oha   
 oharkuntza    vigil
an.     anai   
anaiarte      gathering
.n.     ain   
 aingeru       angels


          Quietly at the tomb to praise by the round opening, (they made) the discovery and right then saw the graceful vigil of the gathering of angels.

 

BURRIAN. IDBMIRRHANNURRAC TEEVVCERROCCS

 

Guiter:       Basque reading: Don kuorari ańu(ti)ra dan kerroke.


                    Spanish translation: Duan koorariannu Iraktaen kerroke.


In English: The dog that goes to the shadow of this cross.

Jackson:    95 19x5 284 71x4

 

Nyland: IDBMIRRHANNURRAKTEEBBKERROKKS


id.       ide     ideki               to open
.b.     
eba    Ebanjelio      Gospel
.mi     ami   
amildu            to oust
ir.       iru    
iruzurkeria    false belief
.r.     
ure     urreraketa     drawing closer
.ha     eha   
ea                   (emphasis), wonderful
an.     ano   
ano                nourishment
.nu     onu   
onuste          good faith
ur.     uri     
urrikalmendu   mercy
.ra     ira     
irakatzi         sermon
ak.     aka   
akatsbako    perfect
.te     ate    
aterpe             refuge
ee      ee     
ee                    to call, pay attention
eb.     eba   
ebanjelari    evangelist
.b.     abi    
abiatu            to begin
.ke     ike   
ikertaldi        to visit
er.     ere   
errezibimendu  welcome
.ro     ero   
eroan             to suffer
ok.     oki   
okildu           frightened
.k.     eka   
ekarri            to bring
as      aska  
askamen      freedom


          Open your Gospel to oust false beliefs and get closer to the wonderful nourishment of good faith and mercy by hearing a sermon in our perfect refuge by paying attention to the evangelist who begins his welcome visit; he will bring freedom to (those who are) suffering and frightened.

 

WHITENESS. VNDAR

 

Guiter: No reading.
Jackson: 16 4x4 41 prime

 

Nyland: BNDAR.


.b.     ebe    ebertar        Jew, Jesus
.n.    
ene    eneganatu      to come to me
.da     eda   
edan           to thirst for
ar.     ara   
arraitasun     happiness


Jesus (says) come to me (those) who thirst for happiness.

 

LUNNASTING. A) ETTECUHETTS - B) AHEHHTTANNN - C) HCCVVEVV - D) NEHHTONN

 

Guiter: Basque reading: Etxekoez aiekoan nahigabe ba nengoen.


Spanish translation: El de la casa me encontraba sin voluntad en el dolor.


In English: The one of the house found me without will in the pain.

 

Jackson: A 36 6x6 140 7x5x2


B 30 6x5 108 6x6x3
C 25 5x5 43 43x1
D 26 2x13 93 3x31
Total 117 3x9 384 6x4x4x4

 

Nyland: A: ETTEKUHETTS

 

et.     eta    etariko         one of our group
.te     ate   
atera           to get away
eku     eku   
ekurugaitz      anxiously
uhe     uhe   
uherdura        confusion
et.    
etai   etaipa          period
.t.    
aita   aita            Father
.s.     aska  
askamen         freedom


With the help of the Father, one of our group anxiously got away to freedom during the period of confusion.

 

B: AHEHHTTANNN

 

ahe     aihe     aiher         full of anger
eh.     ehu   
  ehun          hundreds
.h.     uhe   
  uherdura      in uproar, confusion
.t.     eta   
  -eta          (emphasis of previous word)
.ta     ata   
  atako         outside
an.     anai    
anaitu        to gather
.n.     aina    
aina          as well as
.n      an   
   -an           inside


Hundreds, full of anger, were in uproar and gathered outside as well as inside.

 

C: HKKBBEBB

 

.h.     aha    ahal            I wish
.k.     ako   
akorduan euki   to remember
.k.     oka   
oka             fullness
.b.    
abo    abots           voice
.be     obe   
obeditze        obedient
eb.     eba   
ebanjelari      evangelist
.b.    
abe    abe             cross


I wish to remember the fullness of the voice of our obedient evangelist of the Cross.

 

D: NEHHTONN.

 

ne      ne     nebarrebak      brothers and sisters
eh. `   eha   
ea              do everything
.h.     aha   
ahalgarri       possible
.to     ato   
atonketa        preparation
on.     ona   
onarpen         admission, salvation
.n.     anai  
anaide          brother in Christ


Brothers and sisters do everything possible to prepare for the salvation of our brother in Christ.

 

The place name Lunnasting itself is interesting:


.lu-una-asti-ing


.lu     alu    alu              stupid
una     una   
unagarri         boring
asti    azti  
aztiatu          superstitious
ingu    ingu  
inguraldi        place


"A stupid, boring, superstitious place".

 

 

ST. NINIANS. BESMEQQNANAMMOVVVEZ

 

Guiter: Basque reading:     Eneko ba nago bez.


            Spanish translation: Yo Eneko me encuentro debajo.


            In English:  I Eneko I find myself under/underneath.

 

Jackson: 54 6x9 172 43x4

 

Nyland: BESMEKKNANAMMOBBEZ

 

.be     be     bedeinkagarri   blessed one
es.     ese   
eseri           to sit
.me     eme   
ementxe         right here
ek.     eka   
ekarri          to bring about
.k.     ako   
akordio         agreement
.na     ona   
onarpen         acceptance
ana     ana   
anaitu          to unify
am.     ama   
ama             priestess
.mo     amo   
amodiotsu       blessing
ob.     obe   
obeditu         to obey, to follow
.be     ebe   
ebertar         Hebrew, Christ
ez.     ez   
 ezikuntza       education, teachings


The blessed one (St. Ninian?) sat right on this spot to bring about acceptance of the unifying agreement, with the Priestess’ blessing, to follow Jesus’ teachings.

 

 

BIRSAY. 1) MBOLMVNORRALVRR - 2) BQIAB

 

Guiter: Basque reading: None.

 

Jackson: 43 prime 170 5x2x17

 

Nyland: Birsay 1) MBOLMVNORRALBRR

 

m.       ma    maisu           teacher
.bo     abo   
abots           voice
ol.     ole   
oles egin       to call upon
.m.     ema   
eman            to celebrate
.b.     abo   
aboskatu        to proclaim
.no     ono   
onon            (superlative)
or.     ora   
oraindanik      from now on
.ra     ara   
aratz           pure
al.    
ala    alatz           miracle
.b.    
abe    abe             cross
.r.    
eru    errukigabe      cruel
.r.    
uru    urruingarri     to despise


The teacher’s voice called upon (all) to celebrate and clearly proclaim the pure miracle of the cruel and

despised cross.

 

Birsay 2) BKIAB

 

.b.     be     bedeinkagarri   the blessed one
.k.     eki   
ekin            to continue
ia      ia   
 iaio            cheerful
ab.     abo   
abots           voice


The blessed one continued in a cheerful voice.

 

BUCKQUOY. ETMIQMSSALLC

 

Guiter: Basque reading: None.

 

Jackson: 36 6x6 135 5x3x3x3

 

Nyland: ETMIKMSSALLIK

 

et.     eti    etika           ethics
.mi     imi   
imitagarri      exemplary
ik.     ika   
ikasbide        teachings
.m.     amo   
amodio          love
.s.    
oso    oso             sincere
.sa     osa   
osatu           to heal
al.    
ala    alaitu          to fill with happiness
.l.     ale   
alen            total
.k.     eku   
ekurutasun      peace of mind


Exemplary teachings of ethics and sincere love will heal, fill with total happiness and peace of mind.

 

CUNNINGSBURGH. 1) IRO - 2a) EHTECONMORS - 2b) DOVHDDRS - 3a) ETTECA - 3b) VDATTVB 3c) RTT

 

Guiter: Basque reading A few individual words only.

 

Jackson: (1): 12 3x440 5x2x4
                (2a): 35 7x5 134 2x67
                (2b): 21 7x3 75 5x5x3
                Total 56 7x8 209 11x19
                (3a): 19 prime 52 4x13
                (3b) 16 4x4 57 3x19
                Total 35 5x7 109 prime
                (3c) 11 prime 55 5x11
                Total C:46 23x2 164 4x41

 

Nyland: 1: IRO (on stone slab)

 

iro      iro    irol           privy, outhouse


Outhouse. (It is gone, but the stone sign survives)

 

2a: EHTEKONMORS

 

eh.     ehu    ehun            hundreds
.te     ute   
uste            faith
eko     eko   
ekoitzi         to be fruitful, to be exuberant
on.     one   
onespen         blessings
.mo     emo   
emon            celebrate
or.     orai   
oraintxe        right now
.s      ais   
aiskide         friends


Hundreds who have faith will be exuberant and celebrate the blessings right now with friends.

 

2b: DOBHDDRS

 

do       do    doatsutasun     happiness
ob.     oba   
obakuntza       improvement
.h.     aha   
ahalguzti       almighty
.d.     ado   
adoratu         to worship
.d.    
odo    odolkidetasun   relative
.r.    
oro    orobatu         to come together
.s.    
os.    ospatu          to celebrate


Improve your happiness by worshiping the Almighty. All relatives come together to celebrate.

 

3a: ETTEKA

 

et.     eti    etikoa          ethical
.te     ite   
itegun          work performed, hard work
eka     eka   
ekandu          make it a habit


Make ethical behaviour and hard work a habit.

 

3b: BDATTBB

 

.b.     abe    abegitasun      fondness of
.da     eda   
edan            to drink
at.    
ata    atalbako        simple
.t.    
ate    aterapen        outcome, consequence
.b.     ebo   
eboluzio        development
.b.     obe   
oben            sin


The consequence of a fondness for simple drinking is the development of a sin.

 

3c: RTT

 

This last inscription has no identifiable vowel and therefore is not translatable with the vowel-interlocking method.

 

 

POOL. RVMVORC

 

Guiter: Basque reading: None.

 

Jackson: 23 prime 75 5x5x3

 

Nyland: Pool: RBMBORK

 

.r.     ara    arraro         strange, odd
.b.     aba   
abaildura      weariness
.m.     ama   
ama            priestess
.bo     abo   
abots          voice
or.    
oro    oroz           completely
.k.    
oka    okaztatu       disgusting


The strange weariness in the Priestess’ voice was completely disgusting.

 

GURNESS.    NEITTEMTOS M0CS

 

Guiter: Basque reading: None.

 

Jackson: 50 5x10 189 7x3x3x3

 

Nyland: NEITTEMTOSMOKS.

 

.ne     ene    enekin        with me
e.i     eja   
eia           come along, let’s go
it.     ita   
itaun egin    to ask questions
.te     ate   
aterpe        refuge
em.     eme   
emekiro       peaceful, gently
.to     eto   
etor          Come!
os.     osa   
osatu         to perfect
.mo     amo   
amodio        love
ok.     oki   
okitu         total
.s.     isu   
isurialdi     inspiration


Come along with me to our peaceful refuge and ask questions. Come to perfect love and total inspiration.

 

NORTH UIST. H QUNCENTC T

 

Guiter:    Basque reading: Belaskuanuk..ta


               Spanish translation: Parece que se encuentra el nombre antiguo vasco Belasko,  es decir, cuervo.


                In English: It seems that one finds the old name Belasko, is to say, crow.

 

Jackson: 37 prime 119 7x17

 

Nyland: HKUNKENTKT

 

.h.     ohi    ohitu          to get used to
.ku     iku   
ikurton        sacrament
un.     uni   
unibersal      universal
.ke     ike   
ikertu         to study
en.     ena   
ena            that
.t.     ate   
aterapen       result
.k.     eku   
ekurutasun     peace of mind
.t      ut   
 uts            pure


Get used to studying the universal sacraments that result in pure peace of mind.

 

 

WEETING. 1) VLVEVVUTE - 2) GEDEVIM DOS

 

Guiter: Basque reading: None.

 

Jackson: 1) 28 7x4 84 7x3x2x2
                2) 29 prime 84 7x3x2x2

 

Nyland: Weeting 1: Jackson: BLBEBBUTE, Nyland: BLBEBBETE

 

.b.     aba    abagadune      occasion
.l.     ala   
alai           joyful
.be     abe   
aberastu       to enrich
eb.     eba   
ebanjelio      gospel
.be     abe   
abestu         to sing
ete     ete   
etengabe       uninterrupted


Joyful occasion to enrich everyone with uninterrupted gospel singing.

 

Weeting 2: GEDEBIMDOS

 

.ge     age    agerpen        revelation
ede     ede   
eder           beautiful
ebi     ebi   
ebide/elebide  theme of conversation
im.     ima   
imatz          house with wicker walls
.do     ado   
adoratu        to worship
os.     oso   
oso            sincere


The beautiful revelation was the theme of the conversation in the house of sincere worship.


(There exists no VCV: "ebi" in Basque. Elebide is the closest word that applies.)

 

BRANDSBUTT 8/45. IRATADDOARENS

 

Guiter:    Basque reading: Iratakoaren.


                Spanish translation: De Iratako


                In English: From/of Iratako.

 

Jackson: 40 5x8 123 3x41

 

Nyland: IRATADDOARENS (two possible translations)

 

ira     ira    irakatsi      to preach a sermon
ata     ata   
atalbako      simple
ad.     ada   
adarkadura    consequence
.do     ado   
adoratu       to worship
o.a     oha   
oharkuntza    pay attention
are     are   
arrerosle     Redeemer
en.     ena   
-ena          (superlative) wonderful
.s.     asa   
azalpen       manifestation


Preach a simple sermon about the glory of worshiping and pay attention to the Redeemer’s wonderful manifestation.

 

Nyland:   IRATADDOARENS


ira     ira    irabazi       to earn, to deserve
ata     ata   
atano          better world
ad.     ade   
adeitsu        gentle
.do     edo   
edonoizko      for ever, from now on
are     are   
aren          please
en.     ene   
eneganatu      come to me
.s.     esa   
esan           advice


"You deserve a better, more gentle world so from now on, please come to me for advice."

 

 

INCHYRA - A1: OOTTLIETRENOIDDORS


INCHYRA - A2: UHTUOAGED


INCHYRA - B1: INEHHETESTIE


INCHYRA - B2: INNE


INCHYRA - C 41/44: SETU

 

Guiter:    Basque reading: Etorkoaren ...holoi...ina otsa utz diet dinua?


                Spanish translation: Muy poco segura.


                In English: Very little sure. (segura is feminine).

 

Jackson: A1) 60 5x12 225 5x5x5x3
                A2) 22 2x11 98 7x7x2
                Total: A: 82 2x41 323 17x19
                B1) 43 prime 123 41x3
                B2) 19 prime 40 5x8
                Total B 62 2x31 163 prime
                A+B 144 12x12 486 6x9x9
                C) 14` 7x2 62 31x2
                A+B+C 158 79x2 548 137x4

 

Nyland: A1: OOTTLIETRENOIDDORS

 

o.o     oho    ohoregabe       dishonored
ot.    
otoi   otoikatu        begging
.t.    
oitu   oiturazko       common
.li     uli   
uli             coward
i.e     ihe   
ihesarazi       to escape
et.     eto   
etorki          lineage, tribe
.re     ore   
orrenbesteko    just like the other one
eno     eno   
enora           warts
o.i     ohi   
ohinazedun      afflicted with
id.     ido   
idor            dry
.do     odo   
odoldu          to bleed
or.     oro   
oro             all over
.s.     osa    osaezin         incurable


          Dishonored and begging like a common coward who is escaping from the tribe, just like the others suffering from incurable bleeding dry warts all over.

 

A2: UHTUOAGED

 

uh.     uhe    uherdura        confusion
.tu     etu   
etsitu          to despair
u.o     uho   
uholde          flooding
o.a     oha   
ohartu          to become aware of, to be warned
age     age   
ageriz          obviously
ed.     ede   
eduki           to hold onto, to heed


The confusion and despair during the flooding is obviously a warning to heed.

 

B1: INEHHETESTIE.

 

ine     ine    inertzia        passive, downtrodden
eh.     ehi   
ei              they say
.he     ihe   
ihesari eman    to escape
ete     ete   
eten            to break
es.     esi   
esibarruti      fenced in area, bonds
.ti     iti   
itxiki          faithfulness
i.e     ihe   
ihes egin       to escape, to run away


To the downtrodden, they say to break the bonds and run away to faithfulness.

 

B2: INNE –

 

in.     ine    inertzia        passive, downtrodden
.ne     ene   
eneganatu       to come to me


Downtrodden? Come to me!

 

C: SETU

 

.se     ase    asetu            to be filled with
etu     etu   
etu/etsitu       to despair


It could be that B and C belong together, first C then B2, but the style of writing is quite different.


Filled with despair and downtrodden? Come to me.

 

 

KEISS 41/7: NEHTETRI

 

Guiter:    Basque reading: Nauke tagona.


                Spanish translation: Me tiene el que esta aqui.


                In English: The one who is here has me.

 

Jackson: 30 5x6 95 5x19

 

Nyland: NEHTETRI

 

ne      ne     negarreztatu    grieving
eh.    
eho    ehortze         funeral
.te     ote   
ote             might, may
et.     ete   
eten            to interrupt
.ri     eri   
errieta         fighting


Grieving at the funeral may interrupt the fighting.

 

 

LOGIE 8/5: CALTQU

 

Guiter:    Basque reading: Kalkakoa


                Spanish translation: Seguramente un nombre proprio.


                In English: Obviously a proper name.

 

Jackson: 18 6x3 70 5x2x7

 

Nyland: KALTKU

 

.ka     aka    akabu           death
al.     ala   
alabeharreko    unavoidable
.t.     aita   
aita            father, Jesus
.ku     aku   
akuilatu        to spur on


Jesus’s unavoidable death spurs us on.

 

 

ABOYNE A: NEHHTVROBBACC – ENNEVV

 

ABOYNE B: MAQQOTALLUORR

 

Guiter:    Basque reading: Lemako da lurrpe. Dator doaken enea.


                Spanish translation: Lemako esta debajo de la tierra. Viene el mio que se va.


                In English: Lemako is under the earth/soil. Come ? that goes away.

 

Jackson: A) 59 prime 149 prime
                B) 37 prime 169 13x13
                Total: 96 16x6 318 53x6

 

Nyland: A) NEHHTBROBBAKK – ENNEBB

 

.ne     ene    enetan         always
eh.     eha   
ea place       emphasis, spotlight
.h.    
aha    ahalguzti      Almighty
.t.     ata   
atalgabeko     simple
.b.     abo   
aboskatu       to proclaim
.ro     oro   
oroegile       Creator
ob.     obe   
obeto          perfect
.ba     eba   
ebanjelari     evangelist
ak.    
aki    akigarri       aging
.k.    
ike    ikertu         to visit


          Always place emphasis on the Almighty by simply proclaiming the perfect Creator, (said) the aging visiting evangelist.

 

en.     ene    enetan         always
.ne     ene   
eneganatu      to come to me
eb.     eba   
ebanjelari     evangelist
.be     abe   
cross          Cross.


Always come to me, the evangelist of the Cross.

 

B: MAKKOTALLUORR.

 

.ma     ama    ama            mother
ak.     aka   
akabu          death
.ko     ako   
akorduan euki  to remember
ota     ota   
otalurmendiak  wild mountains
al.     ali   
alienatu       to kill a person
.lu     ilu   
ilunbera       sad, tragic
u.o     uho   
uholde         flood, torrential rain
or.     ora   
orain          always
.r.     oro   
oroitu         to honor a memory


          We remember mother’s death in the wild mountains where she was tragically killed by the torrential rains; we will always honor her memory.

 

 

BRODIE A 31/5: VONECCO

 

BRODIE B 31/5: RAMINNGCHQODTOSLMBS

 

BRODIE C 31/5: EDDARRNONR TTI

 

Guiter:    Basque reading: Idarreko noa doa mokorra erala behar aikaz bedi.Du sutu  ocean iasoa lurreko karrak. Ba lo elhurra-be dago, haike, aikako ibaia du.


                Spanish translation: Idarreko me voy, llega malhadada. De esta forma la necesidad esta llena de lamentos. Ha dao fuego a la cama la llama. Esta  durmiendo bajo la nieve. Levantate. Tiene un rio de lamentos.


                In English: Arise ill-starred. In that way the need is full of lamentation. The  flame has given fire to the bed. He/she is sleeping under the snow. Get up.  He/she has river of lamentation.

 

Jackson: A) 24 8x3 58 29x2
                B) 51 prime 194 97x2
                C) 53 prime 169 13x13
                Total: 128 8x8x2 421 prime

 

Nyland: A: BONEKKO.

 

.bo     abo    aboskatu        to express
one     one   
oneraspen       devotion
ek.     eku   
ekurugaiztasun  worry
.ko     uko   
uko egin        to renounce


Express your devotion and renounce your worries.

 

B: RAMINNGKHKODTOSLMBS.

 

          This fairly long inscription is a complicated puzzle, which has not yet yielded its secret, probably because of the difficulties with reading the eroded inscription.

 

C: EDDARRNONR TTI

 

ed.     eda    edan             to drink
.da     ada   
adarkadura       ramification
ar.     arau  
araugabeko       irregular
.r.     aura  
aurantzeko       childish
.no     ano   
anormal          abnormal
on.     ona   
onartezin        unacceptable
.r.     ara   
aratusteldu      to corrupt
.ta     ate   
atxekimendu      loyalty, adherence
.ti     eti   
etika            ethics, ethical standards


          The ramifications of getting drunk are irregular, childish and abnormal behaviour, which corrupt loyalty to ethical standards.

 

GOLSPIE 17/31: ALLHHALLORREDDMEOO – NUUVALHNRERR

 

Guiter:    Basque reading: Aldalurrekoak hartza lotu zuan.


                Spanish translation: El de la tierre del lado ha atacado el oso.


                In English: The one from the land of the side has attacked the bear.

 

Jackson: 88 8x11 320 5x8x8

 

Nyland: This large inscription looks authentic and should have given up its secrets, but I didn’t succeed yet in decoding it.

 

 

LATHERON 40E/41: DUVNODNNATMAOONAHATO

 

Guiter:    Basque reading: Doana da Eneko t’ekaitsua


                Spanish translation: El que se va es Eneko y la preocupacion.


                In English: The one that goes is Eneko and the pre-occupation.

 

Jackson: 56 8x7 208 13x4x4

 

Nyland: DUBNODNNATMAOONAHATO

 

.du     edu    eduki           to have
ub.     ube   
ubelilun        bruised
.no     eno   
enora           wart
od.     odo   
odolusketa      bleeding
.n.     one   
oneik           these
.na     ena   
-ena            (superlative suffix)
at.     ate   
ateots          knock on the door
.ma     ema   
emanaldi        sermon
a.o     aho   
ahogarbi        eloquent
o.o     oho   
ohore           to worship
ona     ona   
onartu          to accept
aha     aha   
ahalguztidun    Almighty
ato     ato   
ator!           come!


          If you have these bruised and bleeding warts then knock on the door, (hear) the eloquent sermon to worship and accept the Almighty. Come!

 

SCOONIE -/31: EDDARRNOSN

 

Guiter:    Basque reading: udara zan onsa.


                Spanish translation: La recolecta fue buena.


                In English: The crop was good.

 

Jackson: 35 5x7 106 53x2

 

Nyland: EDDARRNOSN

 

ed.     ede    eder egin       to give pleasure
.da     eda   
edan            to drink
ar.     ara   
arraitasun      happiness
.r.    
ara    aratz           pure
.no     ano   
ano             wine
os.     osa   
osatasun        unification
.n.    
ana    anaigo          congregation


It gives pleasure to drink happiness with pure wine to (celebrate) unification of our congregation.

 

ALTYRE: AMMAQQHTALLMVBVMAA-HHRRASSUDDS

 

Guiter: Basque reading: None.

 

Jackson: 66 11x6 281 prime

 

Nyland: AMMAKKHTALLMBBBMAAHHRRASSUDDS

 

am.     ama    ama              mother
.ma     ama   
amaitu           to end
ak.    
aka    akabu            death
.k.    
aki    akipen           exhaustion
.h.     ihe   
ihes egin        to escape
.ta     eta   
eta              and
al.    
alo    alor             farmer
.l.     ola   
ola              cabin
.m.    
ama    ama              mother
.b.     abi   
abilgabetasun     inability
.b.     ibi   
ibitu            to cross, to ford
.b.     iba   
ibai             river
.ma     ama   
amaika           many
a.a     aha   
ahaleginaz       anxiously
ah.     ahu   
ahurrea eman     to confront, face
.h.     uho   
uholde           flood
.r.     oru   
orru             roar
.ra     ura   
uramil           rising waters
as.     asi   
asi              to begin
.su     isu   
isurle           to overflow, to rise
ud.     udi   
udikan           get out!
.d.     ido   
idola            flood waters
.s.     osi   
osintsu          very/too deep


          Mother’s (life) ended in death from exhaustion, while escaping from her farm cabin. Mother was unable to cross the river where many anxiously faced the roaring flood which had begun to rise. She (tried) to get out when the flood waters were too deep.

 

ABERNETHY: QMI.

 

Guiter: Basque reading: None.

 

Jackson: 11 prime 37 prime

 

Nyland: KMI

 

.k.     ika     ikara          fears
.mi     ami     amildu         to oust, to throw off


Throw off your fears.

 

This is the first translation that appeared. KMI is very short, doesn’t leave much to work with, and cannot be translated with certainty.

 

AUQUHOLLIE: VUUNON - TEDOV – BB

 

Guiter:    Basque reading: Hila du ileko obiak.


                Spanish translation: El muerto lo tiene la cueva de la colina.


                In English: The cave of the hill has the dead.

 

Jackson: 37 prime 138 6x23

 

Nyland: VUUNON. The transliteration of this inscription is a problem. Only part makes sense, the VCV "uno" does not exist and "BB" has no vowel.

 

(TEDOV) should read: TSOLV

 

.te     ate    atedanbada       knock on the door
.so     eso   
esonde           advice
ol.     ole   
oles egin        to call upon
.b.     eba   
ebanjelari       evangelist.


Knock on the door and call upon the evangelist for advice.

 

NEWTON: Jackson: A: IDDARQNNNVORRENNIEUA B: IOSRE


                             Nyland:   A: IEARKNNNVDRRENNIEUA    B: IOSRZ

 

Guiter:    Basque reading: Idarkoari hor Eneko dio zagor.


                Spanish translation: A Idarko Eneko le dice "Zagor".


                In English: To Idarko Eneko he/she says "Zagor".

 

Jackson: A) 77 7x11 210 7x3x10
                B) 20 5X4 100 5x5x4

 

Nyland: A:  IEARKNNNBDRRENNIEUA

 

i.e     ihe    ihesleku       find shelter
e.a     eha   
ea             come on
ar.     aro   
aro            weather
.k.    
oka    okaztagarri    disgusting
.n.    
ana    ana            over there
.n.     anai   
anaiak         brothers
.n.     aina   
aina           as many as possible
.b.     abe    
aberrietsai    enemy of the homeland
.d.    
edo    edo            or
.r.    
ora    oratu          to grab
.re     are   
arretatu       to prevent
en.     ena   
ena            that
.ni     ani   
aniztasun      majority
i.e     ihe   
ihesgile       to escape
e.u     ehu   
ehun           one hundred
u.a     uha   
uharte         isle


          Come on, let's find shelter from this disgusting weather with our brothers over there or grab as many as possible of the enemies of our land to prevent that the majority escapes to the hundred isles. (The Shetland islands number 100).

 

NEWTON B: IOSRZ

 

i.o     iho    ihortziri       thunder
os.    
oso    osoro           completely
.r.     oro   
orroaldi        continual roar
.z      ozto  
oztope          impediment


The completely continual roar of the thunder is an impediment.

 

DUNADD A: AESD - T - V - LVA – TV

 

DUNADD B: L---VIRRAMDNA

 

Guiter: Basque reading: None.

 

Jackson: A) 29 prime 96 4x4x6
                  B) 35 7x5 100 5x5x4

 

Nyland: A: AESD - T - B - TB.

 

This inscription is too fractured to do anything with it.

 

B: L — BIRRAMDNAI

 

L ?            lagun?          friends?
.bi     abi   
abiatu          to start walking
ir.     ira   
iradoki         get away
.ra     ara   
arakintza       massacre
am.     ami   
amilkatu        to fall down
.d.     ido   
idortasun       thirst, dryness
.na     ona   
ona             here
a.i     ahi   
ahipen          fatigue


(Friends?) I started walking to get away from the massacre and fell down here from thirst and fatigue.

 

CILLE BARRA STONE   TIRTHURKIRTHUS;INRRISKURSSIARISTA:A

 

          This stone was removed in 1865 from the Cille Barra cemetary (Isle of Barra) and taken to the Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh. It was always thought to be a gravestone, which it obviously is not. The transliteration was copied from a local tourist pamphlet. The twin islands Barra-Vatersay are the most southerly populated islands in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The inscription is not found in Jackson’s or Guiter’s writings.

 

TIRTHURKIRTHUS

 

.ti     uti    utikan!        get away from here!
Ir.     iro   
irol           run-off
.t.     ota   
otamendi       brush covered mountain
.hu     ahu   
ahundiarazi    to enlarge, to get worse
ur.     ure   
ure            water
.ki     eki   
ekin           to continue
ir.     iru   
irudi          to look like
.t.     utsi   
utsitu         to empty, to surge
.hu     ihu   
ihurtzuri      thunder
us.     usta   
ustakatu       to scourge


          Get away from here! The run-off from the brush-covered mountain is getting worse and it looks like (the flood) will continue to surge and the thunder to scourge.

 

INRRISKURSSIARISTA:A

 

in.     ino    inor           everyone
.r.     ora   
orratio        dismayed
.ri     ari   
arritu         petrified
is.     isi   
isiltze        overwhelmed
.ku     iku   
ikustaile      eye-witness
ur.     ura   
uraldi         flood
.s.     asa   
asaldagarri    shocking
.si     asi   
asialdi        beginning
i.a     iha   
ihartu         to dry up
ari     ari   
arinari        to escape
is.     isi   
isiltoke       shelter
.ta     ita   
itaizur `      leaky
a       ?      ?

 

          Everyone is dismayed, petrified and overwhelmed to be eye-witness to this shocking flood from the beginning; to dry up we escaped to this leaky shelter.

 

CONCLUSION

 

          It must be pointed out that these are not Pictish Ogams; instead, they are Irish Ogams in Pictland because they were written by early Irish evangelists who came to Scotland to convert the Pictish "heathens" to the Irish form of Christianity. All of the Irish and Scottish Ogam inscriptions that Edo Nyland has translated, and he has done almost one hundred, are written in the Basque language, without exception. Many, if not most, geographical and family names of Ireland and Scotland can also be translated with the Basque dictionary using the technique demonstrated above. Considering the evidence, it appears certain that prior to the coming of Roman Catholicism in about 650 A.D., the Basque language, or an earlier form of it, was spoken as the popular language of the islands. This language was generally referred to by continental evangelists as the "Iron Language", also called Pictish in Scotland and Cruithin in Ireland. It seems to indicate that the Basque language hasn’t changed much over the past 1,500 years.

 

 

ILLUSTRATIONS:

 

Figure 1

Reprinted by permission from Anthony Jackson, ‘Pictish Symbol Stones ?’ 1993

 

 

 

  

Figure 2

Reprinted by permission from Anthony Jackson, ‘Pictish Symbol Stones ?’ 1993

 

 

 

 

Figure 3.

Reprinted by permission from Anthony Jackson, ‘Pictish Symbol Stones ?’ 1993

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4

Reprinted by permission from Anthony Jackson, ‘Pictish Symbol Stones ?’ 1993

 

 

 

Figure 5. Reprinted by permission from Anthony Jackson, ‘Pictish Symbol Stones ?’ 1993

 

 

 

 

     Bibliography