butt have become definitely concave, the tang is thinner and always
without flanges, and terminates in a semi-hexagonal finial; the rivets,
which are usually found attached to the tang, are much smaller. The
blade is rather narrower than in most of the preceding types, but
the widest part is characteristically two-thirds of the way down the
blade. The parallel groove is close to the edge, and the edge ceases
before reaching the butt, as in the case of Type F. The section is
spindle-shaped, with a decided modification at the edge.
Some examples of Type G found in the west, especially in the British
Isles, vary in some details from the specimens found in Hallstatt. This
is especially the case with regard to the shape of the finial. But
speaking generally this type must have survived for a long time with
relatively little change, since it appears first in the oldest graves
at Hallstatt, while it is believed to have remained in use in this
country until the introduction of iron swords in the fifth century.
[Illustration: FIG. 17.
SPINDLE-SHAPED SECTION WITH MODIFIED EDGE.]
There are certain local variants of all or most of these types, and
it would be an interesting task to trace these out in all their
ramifications. To do so here would lead us too far away from the main
lines of our thesis, nor would it be easy to draw correct deductions
until drawings of all such swords found throughout Europe were
available. Here I must content myself with tracing out the broad lines
of the evolution of the leaf-shaped swords, and leave it to others to
work out the local varieties.
/Chapter VIII/
THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE LEAF-SHAPED SWORDS.
We have seen how the leaf-shaped sword was evolved from the ogival
dagger in the plain of Hungary, and passed through a series of forms
until it reached the Hallstatt type, which gave way to the iron sword.
We must now consider the distribution of each type, which presents
certain peculiarities which are very instructive, and then consider how
it was that leaf-shaped swords, of one type or other, became dispersed
throughout the greater part of Europe, and reached, in some cases,
beyond the confines of that continent.
Let us first deal with Type A, the distribution of which was summarised
in the last chapter. A very fine example of this type is in the
Museum of Archæology and Ethnology at Cambridge; nothing is known,
unfortunately, of its provenance beyond the fact that it came from
Hungary. Another, almost identical, is in the National Museum at
Buda-Pest, and has been figured more than once,[272] but the published
illustrations are not very accurate, and in Plate VII. I give one taken
from a drawing made from the original for this work. In this case, too,
the exact site is unknown. The third Hungarian specimen, a photograph
of which is in existence, was sold in London on 25th June, 1891. It was
the property of the late Dr. S. Egger, of Vienna, and the catalogue
states that it had been dredged from the Danube near Buda-Pest.[273]
These are the only examples which I have met with which have been
found in Hungary, and I have been unable so far to trace the present
ownership of Dr. Egger’s specimen.
Much more recently a very similar specimen, but with some slight
differences in the decoration, was found in the Friuli. It was dug
up in 1909 by Antonio Tommassin, near Castions di Strada, in the
district of Palmanova, in the province of Udine, at a place called
Selve, at the depth of about one metre. It is, or was, in the Museum
at Cividale.[274] Another, very unlike the others in decoration, and
varying somewhat in outline, was found in the neighbourhood of Treviso,
north of Venice, and is now in the Treviso Museum.[275]
Lastly we have one found in a grave somewhere in Schleswig-Holstein.
Splieth, who has recorded it, does not state exactly where it was
found, nor in what collection it was deposited at the time he was
writing.[276] He compares it with the second Hungarian specimen, but in
reality it more closely resembles that in the Museum at Cividale.
All these specimens, except that from Treviso, resemble one another so
closely that we may well believe that they were contemporary, and the
products of the same region; the type must have continued in use for
some little time in the Friuli, where it developed local variants like
the Treviso specimen.
Type B is rare in Hungary, or at any rate very few specimens occur in
the museums of that country. So far I have been able to find record
of only one, and this has been much damaged. It was found in 1884 in
a hoard at Orezi, in the county of Somogy.[277] A somewhat unusual
form of this type is in the Vienna museum, but its provenance seems
unknown. In Italy one has been found at Ascoli Piceno,[278] south of
Ancona, and Naue figures another from an unknown site. He mentions a
third, in his own collection, which is said to have come from Calabria,
but as he does not figure it one cannot be certain that this belongs
to Type B.[279] I can find no instances of the occurrence of this
type in France, and though three specimens have been found in Britain
which bear a superficial resemblance to it, a more careful inspection
convinces me that they are local variants of a later type, perhaps C
or D. This type does not appear to occur in southern Germany, but the
swords of this region have not yet been catalogued with thoroughness.
It has been found, however, in the Baltic region, and specimens have
been recorded from Brandenburg, Pomerania and East Prussia.[280] A
type closely resembling this occurs in Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark,
but most of the specimens show certain local features, some of which,
like the T-shaped finials, suggest a later date. In Schleswig-Holstein
Splieth mentions four examples,[281] all isolated finds, which he dates
considerably later than his example of Type A.
Type C, with the oval butt, is relatively common in Hungary. I have
been able to trace at least eight specimens. Three of these are
from unknown sites,[282] two from Kis-köszey (Battina) in Baranza
county,[283] one from Sajo-Gömör,[284] one from Hajdu-böszörmény in
Hajdu county, which was found with a hoard containing three of Type
D,[285] and one was dredged up out of the Danube at St. Margaret’s
island in Buda-Pest.[286] Two have been found in Lower Austria, one
at Petronell,[287] east of Vienna and the other, which was found in a
barrow with a skeleton, a long pin and two bracelets, at Winklarn.[288]
One has also been figured by Dr. Šmid as having been found in
Carniola, though its discovery is not described in the text.[289]
In Italy one specimen has been found near Lake Trasimene,[290] a
neighbourhood which has produced several examples of Type D, but this
type does not seem to have been found in France, and only one very
doubtful specimen is recorded for the British Isles. This type seems
also to be rare or absent from Germany, except in the extreme north,
for the only specimens which I can find recorded are from Mecklenburg
and Brandenburg.[291] One or two have been recorded from Denmark.[292]
Type D, as we have seen, does not differ much from Type C. It is one
of the commonest types found in Hungary, and I have been able to trace
seventeen examples. Of these two are from unknown sites,[293] three
from the Hajdu-böszörmény hoard,[294] two from the hoard at Podhering
in the county of Bereg,[295] two from Sajo-Gömör in the county of
Gömör,[296] two from Munkacs in Upper Hungary,[297] one, found with
two of Type E, at Rima-Szombat in the county of Gömör,[298] one from
Endrod in the county of Békés,[299] one, found with four others, from
Magyarorszag,[300] one from Gross-Steffelsdorf near Sajo-Gömör,[301]
one, found with a sword of Type E, from near Plattensee or Lake
Balaton,[302] and one from the Danube near Buda-Pest.[303]
One has been found at Bürkanow in Galicia,[304] one in Upper Austria,
one near Linz,[305] five in Lower Austria, two at unknown sites, one
at Mannersdorf,[306] one with a hoard including Type E swords at
Wollersdorf,[307] and one in a wood near Wimpasting. One comes from
Grübegg near Aussee in Styria,[308] and two from Carniola, one of which
is from Mihovo near St. Barthelmä, and the other from an uncertain
site.[309] Szombathy figures two fragments from a swallow-hole near St.
Kanzian, not far from Trieste.[310]
In Italy the type is of common occurrence, but in a definitely
restricted area. One has been found on the bank of the Chiano by the
bridge of Frassineto near Arezzo and is in the Arezzo museum,[311] two
near Lake Trasimene,[312] where a specimen of Type C was found, one
of slightly aberrant form at Alerona, in the commune of Ficulle, near
Orvieto, and which is now in the Prehistoric Museum at Rome,[313] and
another, which also presents unusual features, in Rome itself.[314] Two
specimens have been found at Lake Fucino,[315] and a third close by at
Dintorni del Fucino,[316] one a little to the east at Sulmona,[317] and
one rather further afield at Apulia.[318] Thus all these specimens,
ten of Type D and one of Type C, have been found in a very restricted
area, almost all of them lying in a valley or rather a fold of the
Apennines between the lakes of Trasimene and Fucino. This distribution
is of great importance for our thesis and will be referred to again in
a later chapter.
This type has been found, though very rarely in France, and six
specimens have been recorded in Britain, all from the mouth of the
Thames, or from the south and east coasts. I can find no records of its
occurrence in Germany or Denmark.
But if Type D occurs rarely if at all in the west and north, we
find it not uncommonly in the south-east. Two swords of this type
have been found at Mycenæ, one by Schliemann[319] and the other by
Tsountas,[320] one has occurred at Levadia in Boeotia, a few miles
south of Orchomenos, while two more have been discovered in a grave at
Muliana in Crete.[321] The upper half of a sword, which has probably
been influenced by this type, though the butt and tang are different,
comes from Cyprus, where it was rifled from a tomb some thirty years
ago.[322] Lastly, we have records of two swords of this type from
Egypt, both from the Delta.[323] One of these, found at Zag-a-zig,
is certainly of this type, the other, found at Tell Firaun in the
Delta, appears to be so also, but the butt seems to have been slightly
damaged. This sword bears upon it the cartouch of Seti II., which seems
to have been engraved upon it in or about 1205 _B.C._ These occurrences
of Type D swords in the south-east are specially interesting, and
will be referred to again, as they give us some basis on which to
establish a chronological scheme. They may also help us to bring our
archæological evidence into line with historical and legendary matter.
Type E is also common in Hungary, from which eleven specimens have
been recorded. These usually attain to very great dimensions. One is
from an unknown site,[324] three from Podhering, found with swords of
Type D,[325] two from Rima-Szombat, also with swords of Type D,[326]
one from Magyarorbzag,[327] one from Gyula-fehérvar in the county of
Fejér,[328] one from the Schatze near Hajdu-böszörmény,[329] one from
Oreszka in the county of Zemplén,[330] and one, also found with swords
of Type D, from near the Plattensee or Lake Balaton.[331] Three come
from Bohemia, from Gross-Tschernitz, Siebenburgen and Wodnian;[332] one
from Salza-Bach, near the Grübegg saw-mills in Styria,[333] and one
from a hoard, which contained swords of Type D, found at Wollersdorf in
Lower Austria.[334] One comes from Zuojuica in Herzegovina and one was
found in a lake-dwelling at Auvernier on Lake Neuchâtel.[335] The type
also occurs in Germany, though, I believe, not plentifully. In Greece
two specimens only have been discovered, in a hoard outside the city of
Tiryns.[336]
None have been found in Italy, but in France they occur abundantly,
and there are thirty-one specimens of this type in the museum at St.
Germain-en-Laye. They occur more abundantly still in these islands;
fifty-eight have been found in the Thames basin, fifteen in the Fens,
many of these in the famous Wilburton hoard, while fourteen others come
from other counties washed by the North Sea; from the rest of England
and Wales only eleven have so far been noted. In Ireland this type has
not been found, but there are a considerable number of swords, found in
that island, which are intermediate between this type and Type F, and
will be dealt with under that heading.
It seems likely that some swords of this type have been found in the
Rhine Valley, but so far I have failed to find any recorded, while
elsewhere in Germany, in Schleswig-Holstein and in Denmark, they seem
to be absent. This type, as we have seen, is found mainly in the
west, so that it is extremely interesting to find a single example
from an eastern site. This was found at the village of Zavadyntse,
near Gorodak, in the government of Podolia in South-west Russia.[337]
The occurrence of this sword so far east is strange, but taken in
conjunction with the distribution of a certain type of pin, with which
I shall deal in a later chapter, it will help to provide an important
link in the chain of our argument.
The most striking feature of the distribution of Type E is its sudden
appearance in Celtic lands, and in very great numbers. Up to this
date swords of these types have not been met with in the west, except
a few instances of Type D. As we must allow for a certain amount of
overlapping of successive types we may well believe that the few
examples of swords of Type D, found in Celtic lands, arrived there
during the time when Type E was the prevailing fashion.
Type F may be called the Proto-Hallstatt type. This has been found in
France, though not very commonly, and as far as I have been able to
test it mainly in the eastern departments, there are only two specimens
of this type in the St. Germain’s museum. It occurs more commonly in
Switzerland, and it seems probable that it originated in that country,
or at least in the mountain zone of Central Europe. From this centre it
seems to have spread in various directions, though it is not possible
at present to trace its distribution with precision. One has been
found in Italy, at Povegliano, S.W. of Verona, which seems to have
come from the mountains over the Brenner pass,[338] and one comes from
Donja-Dolina in Bosnia.[339] It seems to occur occasionally in the
mountain regions of Austria and south Germany, though I can find no
evidence of its further extension northwards.
It is not uncommon in the British Isles; seven have been found in the
Thames estuary, four come from the east coast of England, and two from
Scotland; 110 have been found in Ireland, of which forty-two are in
English collections and sixty-eight in the National Museum in Dublin.
The Irish specimens seem, as we have seen, to be of a very early form,
as in some features they closely resemble Type E.
The distribution of this type is somewhat curious, since it occurs
plentifully in the British Isles and especially in Ireland, while it
is rare or non-existent in the intervening regions. Since the British
examples, especially those found in Ireland, appear to be early
examples of the type, we may surmise that they belong to late waves of
the movement which carried Type E over the west.
Type G, the Hallstatt type, is so called because a few specimens were
found in the famous cemetery at this place.[340] It would be a mistake,
however, to consider it as having evolved in that region or dispersed
from that centre. It seems more probable that, like the previous
type, it developed in the mountain zone, and the evidence available
at present suggests for its centre the upper reaches of the Danube,
between Ulm and Sigmaringen;[341] but detailed work on the spot is
needed before this can be determined with accuracy. Déchelette says
that this type is generally distributed throughout Central Europe,[342]
and this is true if we confine that term to the mountain zone, for it
does not occur in Hungary. It is relatively rare in North Germany, two
occur in Schleswig-Holstein,[343] a few in Scandinavia,[344] and one in
Finland.[345]
In France the greater number occur in Burgundy, in the valley of the
Saone and down the Rhone Valley; also in the department of Lot on
the upper waters of the Dordogne and in the departments of Indre and
Cher. Several examples have been found in the Seine valley, in the
neighbourhood of Paris,[346] a point to which I shall have to refer in
a later chapter. In the British Isles nineteen have been found in the
valley of the Thames below and including Reading, and six elsewhere
near the east coast; twenty-four have been recorded from Ireland, of
which twenty are in the National Museum in Dublin. This type is, then,
found distributed fairly generally throughout the mountain zone of the
Celtic cradle, and over many areas in Celtic lands, though it only
occurs sparsely elsewhere. In the Mediterranean region it is entirely
absent.[347]
I have dealt at some length with these distributions, for there is
no better way of interpreting archæological evidence and making
it disclose, in broad outline at least, its historical content.
Unfortunately no accurate catalogue of the swords discovered in most
countries is in existence, though owing to the smallness of their
numbers the lists are fairly complete for Italy and Greece. It would
not be a very great undertaking to make an equally complete illustrated
catalogue for the area included in the former empire of Austro-Hungary.
In other regions the numbers are greater, and little has been done
to catalogue them. The formation of an illustrated card catalogue of
all the metal objects of the bronze age in the museums and private
collections in the British Isles is in progress, under the auspices
of a research committee appointed by the British Association for the
advancement of Science. The specimens deposited in English collections
have, for the most part, been already included in this catalogue, and
it is from this that the bulk of the statistical matter relating to the
British Isles has been derived.
As we have seen in some earlier chapters, distribution of certain types
of bronze implements may be taken as evidence of trade, and we have
to consider whether it was some form of commerce which carried the
leaf-shaped swords to Ireland, Finland, Podolia and Egypt, or whether
this wide distribution betokens some other form of movement. Before
the days of fairly large ships and highly organised industry it is
not uncommon to find implements, whether of flint or obsidian, copper
or bronze, carried from country to country, without apparently any
general movement of the population. On the other hand, when pottery
and heavier or more easily damaged goods pass from one centre to
another, it usually betokens migration. We have seen how this was so
when the beakers were carried from Bohemia towards Jutland and Britain.
Of course Roman pottery was shipped extensively for trade purposes,
as were red figure vases and other types of Greek ceramic wares. The
same is true, though to a less extent, of Mycenean and some Minoan
wares, for the Ægean traders exported oil and wine. But such export of
pottery betokens a relatively high civilisation and a well-organised
commerce. Under more primitive conditions we may, I think, postulate
that where metal implements or small cult objects alone were carried,
these are evidence only of trade, while when pottery is found, as it
were, on the move, this indicates a movement of the potters, hence a
migration of people. When pottery and weapons are both found moving
together, especially if the weapons are of a more advanced type than
those hitherto found in the land into which they are being introduced,
we may suspect, if indeed we cannot be sure, that we are dealing with a
hostile invasion and the arrival of conquerors.
It will be necessary for us, therefore, to determine whether these
swords, which have penetrated nearly the whole of Europe except the
Iberian peninsula, were carried by trade, by some other form of
peaceful penetration, or by conquest. The great suddenness with which
some of the types spread, apparently within the space of a few years,
for there is little if any modification of form, from the central
region to places many hundreds of miles distant, precludes the second
of these alternatives, for peaceful penetration by land is a slow
process, and we should expect progressive variation of type the farther
we pass from the centre. It seems, on the face of it, unlikely that a
people, especially a sporting and warlike people like our steppe-folk,
would engage in a trade which would provide their neighbours with a
weapon, superior to all others available, which they had produced for
themselves after generations of experiment; nor is it likely that
they would permit their Alpine subjects to do so, even if the fear of
the unknown and the dislike of adventure had not been sufficient to
prevent these home-loving people from setting out on so adventurous a
task, involving, as it sometimes did, the passage across northern seas.
Such a practice, then, seems at first sight unlikely, but if the other
alternative, the hostile invasion, were true, we should expect to find
evidence of the arrival of fresh people in the presence of new types of
pottery and fresh burial customs.
If we examine the British evidence, we shall find reason to believe
that the leaf-shaped swords arrived with a new culture and a fresh
element in the population. In a recent paper Mr. O. G. S. Crawford has
dealt with this subject, and pointed out that the leaf-shaped bronze
swords of the Hallstatt period, our Type G, arrived with an invasion
of people who came from Central Europe.[348] Crawford seems to include
in this movement all bronze leaf-shaped swords of whatever type, but
the evidence on which he depends is only applicable to Type G. It will
be well, therefore, for the moment to postpone consideration of the
arrival of the Type E swords.
Crawford has shown that not only did these swords arrive in
considerable numbers, but with them came a number of other objects,
such as razors, sickles, and other tools, which have been found at
various occupied sites, such as Llyn Fawr, South Lodge Camp, and “Old
England” at Brentford. Near the last-named site were found some skulls
which Sir Arthur Keith[349] has pronounced to be typical Alpines of
the Swiss lake-dwelling type. Now at most of the sites where this
lake-dwelling culture has been found, there occurs also, as Crawford
has shown, a type of pottery, which he calls “finger-tip ware,” that
is to say pottery ornamented with raised ribs of clay and finger-tip
impressions. Now such pottery is found, it is true, in the neolithic
age in this country, but it died out about the time of the arrival of
the Beaker-folk, when cord-ornamented pottery came into fashion. On
the other hand in Central Europe, and especially in the region where
the mountain zone blends with the plain, such pottery remained in use
continuously from the neolithic, through the bronze, to the early iron
age.
[Illustration: FIG. 18.--DEVEREL-RIMBURY URNS.]
That such pottery came to this country with a fresh people is clear
from the foregoing evidence, and that they entered armed and by force
is equally clear from the presence of the numerous swords of this date
which have been found. That they came in considerable numbers and came
to stay is also shown from the number of settlements, and from the
later occurrence of this finger-tip ware at such sites as All Cannings
Cross[350] in Wiltshire, where this culture lasted until well after 500
/B.C./
[Illustration: FIG. 19.--URN OF TYPE 3.]