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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 ]:

Introduction	Basque Connection	The VCV Formula	Encoding Ogam
Decoding Ogam	Translation Details	Conclusion	Illustrations

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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 In October of 1993, Jackson followed this work with an unpublished monograph called "Pictish Symbol Stones?"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 añu(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