Rude Stone Antiquities of Brittany. By Miss Russell. 511 



of sun-worship ; while the All- Seeing Eye is not necessarily a 

 heathen representation, and on the other hand the Eye of Osiris 

 is constantly introduced in Egyptian paintings, and found made 

 in pottery for an amulet. This however is not directly meant 

 for the Sun, as it is the outline of the eyelids that is chiefly re- 

 presented. It is the Mystic Eye, as it is called, of the Etruscan 

 vases, etc., which so much resembles the Cup-and-Eing cutting of 

 British rocks, though the eyelids are generally faintly indicated. 



In one case I observe regular rock-cuttings in Egypt ; in Mr 

 Villiers Stuart's curious engraving of one of the defaced portraits 

 of the heretical and unpopular king Khou-en-Aten, the eye only 

 of the bas-relief has been effaced, and the high royal cap has 

 been scratched over with small circles with and without central 

 dots. (See "Egypt after the War.") The original of the 

 portrait was probably supposed to have the " evil eye " in a high 

 degree ; while the circle and dot is the syllable symbol of Ea, the 

 Sun, and the modern Egyptians commonly wear a round spot on 

 their blue cotton robes, which is supposed to keep off the evil 

 eye, to which nearly all misfortunes are attributed. Though one 

 does not very often hear of it, this belief exists both in England 

 and Scotland ; and it may have something to do with the Cup- 

 and-Eing cuttings. Sir Arthur Mitchell mentions a very distinct 

 case which came under his notice in the Hebrides, and the charm 

 used against it, with a sovereign and a shilling put into water, 

 rather suggests a confusion between the powers of the sun and 

 moon, and those of gold and silver, or rather of the currency 

 generally. 



With reference to the water-jars, it may be pointed out that 

 the Earn is the first sign of the Zodiac, and presides over the 

 month of the spring floods, at least in Assyria ; and even in 

 England the year began in the end of March, till the last 

 century. The coins on which Alexander is represented as Jupiter 

 Ammon, which are still worn as amulets in the east, would help 

 to keep the symbol in use. I do not know of any spiral or horn- 

 like rock-cuttings exactly in the south-east of Scotland, but the 

 slab at Gilnockie tower has them distinctly. 



I observe a suggestion of Sir William Dawson's which I had 

 overlooked. He says: " Judging from American analogies, it may 

 be found that some of the unintelligible marks on old stone monu- 

 ments are intended to denote dates and numbers." (See " Fossil 

 Men, and their Modern Eepresentatives," p. 314.) However, 



