“I see.” Brophy rubbed his chin. “So this silphium—or Apium of Faras—protected the slaves Habiru from the plague. And if you find the grave of Meritaten, you find the apium.”
“It’s possible,” Summer said. “There seem to be other parties also interested in the discovery.”
“We know it sounds improbable,” Dirk said, “but can you tell us of any links between Princess Meritaten and Ireland? Julian said there was something in the historical record.”
Brophy smiled. “Have you ever considered the origins of Scotland?”
Dirk and Summer looked at each other with raised brows. “Not specifically,” Summer said.
“The name Scot is the Latin word for ‘Gaels.’ Scotia means ‘land of the Scots.’ It came into common use in the Middle Ages to refer to the Gaelic-speaking region of northern Britain.”
Dirk looked at his sister again. Had the archeologist enjoyed too much stout before they’d arrived?
“But centuries earlier,” Brophy said, “the name Scot referred to Ireland. There are references to Ireland as Scotia major, and to Scotland as Scotia minor.”
“I thought Ireland was called Hibernia?” Summer admired a shamrock the barmaid had formed in the foamy head of her Guinness, then took a sip.
“Indeed,” Brophy said. “That was its classical Latin name, derived from a Celtic word, Iveriu, by which Ireland ultimately took its name.”
Summer set down her pint. “Who were the Gaels?”
“Aye, the Gaels were the first peoples to settle Ireland in the Neolithic Age. Gaelic as a language comes from one of the later Celtic tribes that roamed the land. It evolved into our current Irish language, while Scotland developed its own form of Gaelic. What I think you’d be more interested in knowing is the origin of the word Gael itself.”
He reached for his beer, drained half the glass, and wiped the foam from his mustache. “The name Gael derives from the Old Irish word Goídel, which some say means ‘wild men’ or ‘warriors.’ Yet Irish legend says Gaels originates from one Goídel Glas.”
“Sounds like a fragile character,” Summer joked. “What’s his story?”
“For that, we must go to the Chronica Gentis Scotorum, the first written history of Scotland, which dates to around 1360. In the Chronica,” Brophy said, “our friend Goídel Glas is known by the name of Gaytheus or Gaythelos. He is described as a young Greek prince who was cast out of his homeland. He traveled to Egypt, moved to Spain for a period, then sailed to Britain.”
“He was in Egypt?” Summer asked. She and Dirk leaned closer.
Brophy took another sip of his beer and nodded. “He was. And while there, he took a bride. The daughter of a pharaoh, no less. She was later called Queen Scota, in the Irish history books.”
Dirk and Summer looked at each other.
“Could she have been Princess Meritaten?” Dirk asked.
“The name of her pharaoh father isn’t identified, and Scota is obviously not an Egyptian name. Other contemporary accounts refer to a pharaoh named Achencres. It turns out,” Brophy said, “that is a Greek rendering of Akhenaten. So if the early accounts are true, it’s likely that Princess Meritaten and Queen Scota are one and the same.”
“We discovered evidence,” Summer said, “that Meritaten fled Egypt at great risk to her life.”
“The Irish accounts say Scota—or Meritaten—and her husband, Gaythelos, fled Egypt on account of certain plagues. They sailed to Spain, then took to the seas again and ultimately landed in Ireland.”
Summer shook her head. “It seems remarkable they could have sailed this far.”
“Aye, there’s much we don’t know about that age of seafaring. What
evidence we do have suggests that even back then, trading occurred between our isles and the Mediterranean. Once our good princess arrived, she appeared in multiple historical accounts, but, mind you, they vary in detail. If we look at a sixth-century rendition known as the Book of Invasions, the story says that she and her tribe of warriors arrived in Ireland with a fleet.”
Brophy tried to catch the barmaid’s attention. “The third day after landing, they engaged in battle with the indigenous people. Here, at the Battle of Slieve Mish, Queen Scota died. Her forces continued the fight, and were victorious. It is said the rule of the country was split between her two sons, and that the people became known as the Scottis. Their descendants later migrated to Scotland, but only after building, in the following centuries, something of a Celtic empire.”
“It seems almost unbelievable that an Egyptian princess and her heirs could have ruled Ireland and Scotland in the Bronze Age,” Summer said. “Any chance it’s more than a myth?”
Brophy placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “There’s usually a kernel of truth behind every myth. Unfortunately, we don’t have records in Ireland that go back thirty-five hundred years.” He smiled. “There’s no denying, though, that she’s a part of the earliest histories of Ireland and Scotland.”
“What about the archeological record?” Dirk asked. “Are there any physical clues that suggest contact with Egypt?”
Brophy nodded. “There are some intriguing links. A trio of Bronze Age ships were discovered years ago in Yorkshire, and another in Dover, that some believe are of Egyptian design. Language experts find some similarities between ancient Gaelic and the Phoenician tongue. And recent DNA studies have shown a proportion of Irish Celtic blood originated from Iberia and North Africa.” Brophy leaned closer. “The most interesting connection is probably at Tara.”