On reflection, the state of the sea tide, without error, implies (in my feeble mind) that many of the "hermitages" that became Chapels and Abbeys in sparsly populated areas must have been Schools of Navigation. The ones on the Atlantic Coast may have had the most demanding or advanced courses.

The raison d'etre for hermitages, chapels et al. to my mind would be signposting. They were so useful as seamarks that some (most?) have survived. Looking at the sites of modern lighthouses can prove quite illuminating. F'rinstance Muckle Flugga is on Unst, the northernmost inhabited island. The northernmost headland of Unst is Hermaness, a breeding site for sea birds including cormorants.



Muckle Flugga is one of Stevenson's lighthouses. Its legend, quoted by wiki, appears to belong to a tradition that goes further back than the nineteenth century

According to local folklore, Muckle Flugga and nearby Out Stack were formed when two giants, Herma and Saxa, fell in love with the same mermaid. They fought over her by throwing large rocks at each other, one of which became Muckle Flugga. To get rid of them, the mermaid offered to marry whichever one would follow her to the North Pole. They both followed her and drowned, as neither one could swim

'North Pole' may be a later interpolation. Dragonis would perhaps be more Megalithic-sounding.

The north Yorkshire port of Scarborough is supposed to be a Viking settlement ignoring the Stone Age and Bronze Age finds. Looks to me like some of the other almost-islands that have cropped up on Megalithic trade routes.



A 'Roman signal station' was found on top of Scarborough's distinctive headland. South of the headland is Bridlington connected by a prehistoric track to Rudstone, site of the tallest menhir in Britain.

'Scarborough' also features further north in the Orkneys. Known as Skara Brae, it was discovered under sand dunes after a particularly severe storm. It's thought to be one of the earliest excavated villages, dated back to the Neolithic. Some have argued it must have been a monastery or proto-university, presumably on the grounds that no-one in their right mind would choose to live on Orkney, despite looking like a village. Oops, I forgot, villages were 'invented' by the Anglo-Saxons. Better say it was built for ritual purposes then. In recent years, however, other villages in similarly inhospitable places have been found under sand dunes. Trade must have been pretty brisk in these parts.

According to local folklore, Muckle Flugga and nearby Out Stack were formed when two giants, Herma and Saxa, fell in love with the same mermaid.

This is the first time I have seen Herma and Saxa put together. As you know TME makes a great play of Hermes, as the tutelary god of Megalithia, but it is also supposed that salt was the commodity that gave rise to and held together the entire system. Years ago we put forward the idea that Saxa = Saxons = Salt Traders. Saxa is still the largest salt brand in the UK.

hvered wrote: Some have argued it must have been a monastery or proto-university, presumably on the grounds that no-one in their right mind would choose to live on Orkney, despite looking like a village.

Indeed they do.
http://unmyst3.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/l ... -brae.html
Even suggesting an Egyptian connection.

Strange that Herma(es) and Saxa are linked. And in the latter with salt.

Hecate is associated with Hermes. Another British salt firm is Cerebos which is linked by Graves with Cerberus. Hecate also has a close relationship with dogs.

'Dogs were closely linked with the Greek goddess Hecate (along with lions and horses). Indeed, at times she was depicted as dog-headed and was certainly linked to the Dog Star, Sirius. Her pet was the dog Cerberus (or Kerberos) who is the watchdog at the entrance to Hades. Usually depicted as triple-headed (a common trait to denote especial importance) he was originally fifty-headed, a topic which I shall return to. The Dorian Greeks explicitly associated Cerebos with Anubis in his role as psychopomp and Robert Graves (The Greek myths) writes that Cerebos '. . . seems to have been originally the Death-goddess Hecate . . .' '

Taken from: http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/bdogs.htm

Wiki even tells us that she was, according to some, the mother of Scylla

'As a virgin goddess, she remained unmarried and had no regular consort, though some traditions named her as the mother of Scylla.[43]
Triple Hecate

Although associated with other moon goddesses such as Selene, she ruled over three kingdoms; the earth, the sea, and the sky. She had the power to create or hold back storms, which influenced her patronage of shepherds and sailors.[44]'

Taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecate

Are our modern salt manufacturers in possession of arcane 'knowledge'?

I'll have to check youtube for the latest news.

Strange that Herma(es) and Saxa are linked. And in the latter with salt.

Herm(a) is usually translated as pillar. The best-known reference to pillar of salt is the story of Lot's wife (who she?) which has a distinct resonance with the story of Orpheus; he too broke the rules by looking back at Eurydice coming out of the underworld. Not sure what the Orphic rites were supposed to accomplish but they sound pretty arcane.

[Somewhat off track but herders, perhaps hunters also, have used salt licks to attract and maintain animals since I don't know when. Possibly designated sites on droving routes featured salt licks.]

What did Lot's wife do that was so terrible?
Did she look back? Or did she turn back, and get caught in a Pompeii-style volcanic eruption?

There was no major eruption. Fire and brimstone are the conventional expressions of divine wrath. It's a morality tale, the woman is disobedient and punished accordingly. Eurydice was left to die underground on account of Orpheus's weakness so either way a woman's lot seems not a happy one.

Lot is an interesting word, it's translated as 'wrap closely' or 'envelop' and written as "loot" or "lot" as in casting lots rather than a large amount, vowels in Hebrew being somewhat ambiguous. Without 'o', L-t is translated as 'magic tricks, juggling' but also 'secrecy' and 'covering'.

Perhaps not connected with Lot's wife but the Gaelic word 'Lot' has several translations.

'Wound, stab, pierce, hurt, bruise, whore .... etc.

lot pr pt a' lot & a' lotadh, va Wound, pierce, hurt, stab, bruise. 2 Disease.
lot gen -a & loit, pl. -an, sm Wound, hurt, stab, bruise. 2** Whore. 3** Wool.

http://dwelly.info/