50 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



Cappadocia, and Anatolia, and by sea with Egypt, Greece, Italy,, 

 JS'orth Africa, Ganl, and Spain." 



Page 22. — "It is at any rate certain that for a thousand years, 

 from the fourteenth century to the foui'th century b.c, a great and 

 remarkable nation, separate from all others, with striking and peculiar 

 characteristics, occupied the region in question, dr-ew upon itself the 

 eyes of the whole ciTilized world, and played a most important part 

 in histoiy ; while almost the whole world made acquaintance with its 

 hardy mariners, who explored almost all seas, visited almost all shores 

 — the people who first discoyered the British Isles, and made them 

 known to mankind at large ; the people who cii'cumnavigated 

 Africa, and caused the gold of Ophir to flow into the coffers of 

 Soloraon." 



The wandeiings of the ]\Iilesians in the Mediterranean prior to 

 their' arrival in jS'or'th "Western Spain, may indeed have been effected 

 by the aid of any one of the maritime nations of that sea ; but their 

 coming into Spain, and more particularly their settlement in the 

 ISr.W. corner of that country, would, fi'om the citations made, almost 

 imply the intervention of the Phoenicians, since the trade and 

 navigation outside the Straits is stated to have been entir-ely in their 

 hands, more particidariy as regards the precious metals. Hence it 

 would not be unr-easonable to consider the Milesian adventur-ers as 

 working in conjunction with the Phoenician merchants and navigators, 

 acting as colonists or explorers, and able to turn to advantage mining 

 discoveries. It must at an early date have become known to the 

 Phoenicians through theu- trade communications along the W. coast of 

 the Peninsula, that the Tagus carried gold in its sands, and probably 

 Lisbon, as it then existed, was a trading station for them in that 

 respect. In the same manner, they would have become acquainted 

 vsdth the fact of the Deur'o, also being auriferous, and would have 

 explored the valley of the Minho, and more particularly its upper 

 waters, the Sil and all its embranchments, and thus would have 

 acquired a knowledge of the remarkable gold district of the Sil. ISTow 

 it was at the gates, one might say, of this auriferous country, almost 

 the only one in Spain, that the Milesian Colony is described as having 

 been settled, after a contest with the natives. Bearing in mind that 

 this part of the Peninsula was then inhabited by Celtic tribes, as also 

 the experience the Phoenicians had acquired in the working of the 

 gold mines of Thasos, and their- noted intelligence as miners, it is easy 

 to conceive that an opportunity was presented to them of establishing 

 productive gold washings in the district in question. The ore was 



