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.”
“The home of Scarlett O’Hara?” Summer said.
“Frankly, my dear, no,” Brophy said in his best Clark Gable voice. “The Hill of Tara, north of Dublin, is an ancient site regarded as the most sacred venue of the early Irish kingdoms. In the 1950s, a burial site was discovered there containing a Bronze Age skeleton that was carbon dated to around 1350 B.C.E.”
“That’s the same era as Meritaten,” Summer said.
“The body was adorned with a bronze necklace that contained turquoise-colored beads. Faience beads, they call them. They are believed to have originated in Egypt. They are, in fact, identical to faience beads in the gold collar piece worn by Tutankhamun.”
“Could the skeleton,” Summer asked, “have been Meritaten?”
“No, it was a young male. They refer to the lad as the Prince of Tara.”
“If his remains have survived,” Dirk said, “then so could Meritaten’s.”
“Where could she be buried?” Summer asked. “You said that she died at Slieve Mish. Is that a specific battlefield?”
Brophy shook his head. “It’s a mountain range extending along the Dingle Peninsula. The battle likely occurred over a long front and lasted for weeks, possibly months. The historical accounts suggest she was buried between Slieve Mish and the sea.”
“How big an area would that be?”
“Nearly twenty kilometers long. But we don’t have to search