On May 6, 9:05 am, "Digger" <p.du... at (no spam) hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
"David" <pchristain... at (no spam) yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3abcb924-a858-4ed5-84a1-10830e8f52bb at (no spam) c58g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
On May 5, 11:27 pm, "Searles O'Dubhain" <odubhain at (no spam) *comcast*.net
wrote:
"David" <pchristain... at (no spam) yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:91a9645a-6741-43f5-9bb1-f6ff782c414e at (no spam) e53g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
BTW are you aware of any archaeological evidence that the
Welsh originally came from Spain and Portugal?
There is certainly genetic evidence that might suggest a link the "Celtic"
people of Western Britain with the people of NW spain. There is also direct
evidence (i.e. Beaker sherds) from Ross Island linking some people of SW
Ireland with NW Spain.
I'm not saying the evidence is conclusive but I wouldn't dismiss the
possibility.
David's probable source of wisdom.
Our Celtic roots lie in Spain and Portugal
May 5 2008 by Darren Devine, Western Mail
THE Welsh have more in common with sun-kissed glamour pusses like
actress Penelope Cruz and footballer Christiano Ronaldo than pale-
faced Germans like Helmet Kohl, according to an academic.
Professor John Koch suggests the Welsh can trace their ancestry back
to Portugal and Spain, debunking the century-old received wisdom that
our forebears came from Iron Age Germany and Austria.
His radical work on Celtic origins flatly contradicts the writing of
Sir John Rhys, who in the late 19th century established the idea that
we originally came from central Europe.
Sir John believed the Celts were the remnants of a great culture that
extended here from modern-day eastern France, Switzerland, southern
Germany and Austria.
But Professor Koch, of the University of Wales Centre for Advanced
Welsh & Celtic Studies, in Aberystwyth, says archaeological
inscriptions on stones show we came from southern Portugal and south-
west Spain.
He said: “Celts are said to come from west central Europe – Austria,
southern Germany, eastern France and that part of the world.
“That’s been the theory that everybody has grown up with for at least
100 years.
“There is evidence that the Celtic languages were spoken there because
of place names and people’s names.
“But the assumption was that was where they came from. I think they
got there later.
“There is evidence in Spain and Portugal indicating they were there
500 or more years before.”
Professor Koch says there are Celtic texts in Portugal and Spain way
before they started springing up in central Europe during Roman times.
One key piece of evidence is the earliest written language of western
Europe – Tartessian, found on inscribed stones in Portugal and Spain
dating back to between 800BC and 400BC. The professor maintains this
language can be deciphered as Celtic.
Expert on Welsh history and archaeology Dr Raimund Karl, says there is
also biological and genetic evidence to support professor Koch’s
theory.
He said: “In the last couple of years there have been a number of
genetic studies of human DNA indicating that the population of much of
the western part of the British Isles is related to other communities
along the Atlantic seafront. These include Brittany, northern Spain,
Portugal and the French Atlantic coast. That’s their genetic origin.”
See Brian Sykes, in fact see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_people
