POLISHED CELTS.
The last of the three classes into which, for the sake of convenience
of arrangement, I have divided these instruments, viz., that comprising
the celts ground or polished, not only at the edge, but over a great
portion, or the whole, of their surface, is also that which is usually
most numerously represented in collections of antiquities. Whether
this excess in number over the other classes arises from the greater
original abundance of these polished implements, or from their being
better calculated to attract observation, and, therefore, more likely
to be collected and preserved than those of a less finished character,
is a difficult question. From my own experience it appears that, so far
as relates to the implements of this character formed of flint, and
still lying unnoticed on the surface of the soil, the proportions which
usually obtain in collections are as nearly as may be reversed, and the
chipped, or but partially polished, celts are in a large majority.
Among the polished celts there is a great range in size, and much
variation in form, though the general character is in the main,
uniform. The readiest method of classification is, I think, in
accordance with the section presented by the middle of the blade, and
I, therefore, propose to arrange them as follows:—
1. Those sharp or but slightly rounded at the sides, and presenting a
pointed oval or _vesica piscis_ in section.
2. Those with flat sides.
3. Those with an oval section.
4. Those presenting abnormal peculiarities.
In each subdivision there will, of course, be several varieties,
according as the sides are more or less parallel, the blade thicker
or thinner, the butt-end more or less pointed, and the edge flat,
segmental, or oblique. There are also intermediate forms between these
merely arbitrary classes. |99|
[Illustration: Fig. 43.—Santon Downham, Suffolk. 1∕2]
* * * * *
I commence with those of the first sub-division, in flint. The first
specimen I have engraved, Fig. 43, is a representative of a common
type, and was found at Santon Downham, between Brandon and Thetford,
on the borders of Norfolk and Suffolk, where, also, implements
belonging to the Palæolithic Period have been discovered. The sides
were originally sharp, but have been slightly rounded by grinding. The
faces still show, in many places, the surface originally produced by
chipping, but all projections have been ground away. |100|
I have also a larger specimen, 9 1∕2 inches long, from the same spot,
and found, I believe, at the same time.
This form is of common occurrence in the Eastern Counties. I have
specimens from Hilgay Fen, Norfolk (8 1∕2 inches), and Botesdale (7
inches), Hepworth (6 1∕4 inches), Undley Hall, near Lakenheath (5 3∕4
inches), in Suffolk. Some of these are ground over almost the entire
face. A fine specimen (10 inches) is in the Woodwardian Museum, at
Cambridge. In the Fitch Collection is a fine series of them. One of
these, 9 3∕4 inches long, 3 1∕2 inches broad, and 2 1∕2 inches thick,
weighing 3 lbs. 6 1∕2 ozs., was found at Narborough, near Swaffham.
Another (9 1∕2 inches), weighing 3 3∕4 lbs., was found near Ipswich.
A third (8 3∕4 inches) was discovered at Bolton, near Great Yarmouth.
Others from 5 3∕4 inches to 7 1∕4 inches long, are from Beachamwell,
Elsing, Grundisburgh, Aylsham, and Breccles, in the counties of Suffolk
and Norfolk. That from the last-named locality has one face flatter
than the other.
There are others in the Norwich Museum, including one from Blofield,
8 1∕2 inches long.
There are numerous specimens of this type in the British Museum. One
from Barton Bendish, Norfolk, is 7 3∕4 inches long; another from
Oxburgh, in the same county, 6 3∕4 inches. Others, 6 1∕2 inches and
5 1∕2 inches long, are from Market Weston and Kesgrave, Suffolk. The
former is semicircular at both ends.
Mr. A. C. Savin has a well-finished example (6 1∕2 inches) from
Trimingham, five miles south of Cromer.
The Rev. S. Banks, of Cottenham, had a fine specimen, of white flint,
8 1∕2 inches long, found at Stow Heath, Suffolk.
Several celts of this form found in the Fen district are in the Museum
of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society. I have some from the same
neighbourhood, of which two are unusually wide in proportion to their
length, and in outline much resemble Fig. 48, though the edge is more
semicircular. One of these is 7 inches long, 3 1∕4 inches wide, and
1 3∕4 inches thick; the other 5 1∕2 inches long, 2 3∕4 inches wide, and
1 3∕8 inches thick.
I have seen a celt presenting a narrow variety of this form, which was
found at Albury, near Bishop’s Stortford. It is 6 3∕4 inches long, and
1 5∕8 inches wide, and polished all over.
The ordinary form, though apparently of most frequent occurrence in the
East Anglian counties, is not by any means confined to that district.
One, 8 1∕2 inches long, the sides very slightly flattened; and three
others, 6 inches and 5 inches long, with the sides more rounded, all
found in the Thames, at London, are in the British Museum. I have one
from the Thames, at Teddington (6 inches), and three, 5 1∕4 to 6 inches
long, found together in[329] Temple Mills Lane, Stratford, Essex, in
1882. In the Greenwell Collection is one 7 1∕2 inches long, found at
Holme, on Spalding Moor, Yorkshire.
A flint celt of this form (6 1∕2 inches), from Reigate,[330] is
in the British Museum, as well as another (6 1∕4 inches), rather
oblique at the edge, found in a barrow in Hampshire, engraved in the
_Archæologia_.[331] |101| Another, 7 inches long, was found near
Egham,[332] Surrey. Two from Ash[333] near Farnham, and Wisley in the
same county have been figured. I have a short, thick specimen (4 1∕2
inches) found at Eynsham, Oxfordshire. It sometimes happens that celts
of this general character have one side much curved while the other is
nearly straight, so that in outline they resemble Fig. 86. One such,
5 inches long and 2 inches broad in the middle, found at Bishopstow,
is in the Blackmore Museum. Another (6 1∕2 inches) with the sides
less curved, from Stanton Fitzwarren, Wilts, has been engraved by the
Archæological Institute.[334] Two, 7 1∕4 and 5 1∕4 inches long, were
found at Jarrow.[335]
The same type as Fig. 43 occasionally occurs in other materials than
flint. The late Mr. James Wyatt, F.G.S., had a celt of greenstone
9 3∕4 inches long, 3 1∕2 inches wide at the edge, which is slightly
oblique, found many years ago in Miller’s Bog, Pavenham, Beds. There is
an engraving of it, on which it is described as of flint, but such is
not the fact. The form is also sometimes found in France and Belgium.
I have specimens from both countries; and one from Périgord, 8 inches
long, is in the Museum at Le Puy.
[Illustration: Fig. 44.—Coton, Cambridge. 1∕2]
Allied to this form, but usually more rounded at the sides, and flatter
on the faces, are the implements of which an example is given in Fig.
44. The original was found at Coton, Cambridgeshire, in 1863. The type
is the same as that of Fig. 35; but in this case the celt is polished
all over. The butt-end is ground to a semicircular outline, but is,
like the sides, rounded. The same is the case with some of the thicker
celts of the form last described. A celt of much the same character,
but with the sides apparently rather flatter (7 1∕3 inches), was found
at Panshanger, Herts.[336] One (5 inches), from the Isle of Wight, is
in the British Museum. The edge is oblique, as is that of another of
the same length found on the South Downs, and now in the Museum at
Lewes. Another of grey flint, 7 inches long, tapering from 2 inches
at edge to 1 inch at butt, 7∕8 inch thick, semicircular at the butt
and edge, the faces polished nearly all over, but the sides sharp and
left unground, was found during the Main Drainage Works for London,
and is also in the British Museum. Others have been described from
Playford,[337] Suffolk (6 7∕8 inches) and Chalvey Grove,[338] Eton
Wick, Bucks (7 3∕8 inches), and part of one from Croydon.[339] |102|
I have seen specimens of the same kind, with the sides straight
and sharp though slightly rounded, tapering towards the butt which
is semicircular, and varying in length from 5 1∕4 inches to 7 1∕4
inches, found at Alderton, Suffolk; Thorn Marsh, Yorkshire; Norton,
near Malton; Westacre Hall, Norfolk; and elsewhere. The late Mr. J.
Brent, F.S.A., showed me a drawing of one about 7 inches long, found at
Bigborough Wood, Tunford, Canterbury.
[Illustration: Fig. 45.—Reach Fen, Cambridge. 1∕2]
[Illustration: Fig. 46—Great Bedwin, Wilts. 1∕2]
The celt shown in Fig. 45 belongs to the same class, though it is
rather flatter at the sides. It is polished over the greater part of
its surface, but is on one face quite unpolished at the edge. I have
engraved it as an example of the manner in which, after the edge of
a hatchet of this kind had become damaged by use, a fresh edge was
obtained by chipping, which, in some instances, the owner of the
implement was not at the pains to sharpen by grinding.
Fig. 46 gives another variety of the flint celts with sharp or slightly
rounded sides. It is slightly ridged along each face, and the faces
instead of being uniformly convex to the edge have at the lower part a
nearly flat facet of triangular form, the base of which forms the edge.
This specimen was found at Great Bedwin, Wilts, and is in the Greenwell
Collection.
I have a nearly similar specimen (6 1∕4 inches) from Northwood,
Harefield, Middlesex, and another of the same length, found at
Hepworth, |103| Suffolk, but the facet at the edge is not quite so
distinct. A third from Abingdon is only 4 1∕2 inches long.
A long narrow chisel-like celt of this pointed oval section (8
inches) from Aberdeenshire[340] has been figured. A flint celt from
Chiriqui,[341] found with a sort of flint punch and some burnishing
pebbles in a grave, presumed to be that of one of the native workers in
gold, is remarkably like Fig. 46 in form.
[Illustration: Fig. 47.—Burradon, Northumberland. 1∕2]
In the Fitch Collection is a large thick specimen (9 5∕8 inches) found
at Heckingham Common, Norfolk, and a shorter, broader one with a
faceted edge, from Pentney. Another of flint (6 1∕2 inches) with the
sides much rounded, but with a similar facet at the edge, was found at
Histon, Cambs, and belonged to the late Rev. S. Banks.
It seems probable that these instruments when first made did not
exhibit the facet at the edge, but that it has resulted from repeated
grinding as the edge became injured by wear.
A celt, apparently of this section, but more truncated at the butt, and
with a narrow facet running along the centre of the face, was found in
Llangwyllog,[342] Anglesey. It is not of flint but of “white magnesian
stone.”
Fig. 47 exhibits a beautiful implement of a different character, and
of a very rare form, inasmuch as it expands towards the edge. It is
of ochreous-coloured flint polished all over, and is in the Greenwell
Collection. It was found at Burradon, Northumberland, and in outline
much resembles that from Gilmerton, Fig. 76, but this latter has the
sides flat and a cutting edge at each end.
A celt of similar form, but only 6 1∕2 inches long, found at Cliff
Hill, is in the Museum at Leicester. Four flint hatchets, found at
Bexley, Kent, seem from the description given of them to be nearly of
this type.[343] |104|
A few specimens of this form, both unground and ground merely at the
edge, have already been mentioned, and specimens engraved, as Figs.
21 and 36. Hatchets expanding towards the edge are of more common
occurrence in Denmark than in this country, though even there they are
rather rare when the expansion is well-defined.
In the British Museum is a magnificent celt of this section, but
in outline like Fig. 77. It is ground over nearly the whole of its
surface, but the edge at each end has only been chipped out. It is made
of some felspathic rock, and is no less than 14 5∕8 inches in length.
It was found near Conishead Priory, Lancashire.
The next specimens that I shall describe are also principally made of
other materials than flint.
Fig. 48, in my own collection, is of porphyritic greenstone, and was
found at Coton, Cambridgeshire. It is polished all over, equally convex
on both faces, and has the sides rather more rounded than most of those
of nearly similar section in flint. The butt is rather sharper than the
sides. I have an analogous implement, found at Nunnington, Yorkshire,
but with the sides straighter and rather more converging towards the
butt. Others have been found in the same district.
[Illustration: Fig. 48.—Coton, Cambridge. 1∕2]
Other specimens made of greenstone have been found in the Fens, some of
which are in the Museum of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society.
Some “stone” celts from Kate’s Bridge[344] and Digby Fen have been
figured in Miller and Skertchly’s “Fenland.” One (7 inches) of
greenstone, and apparently of this type, was found at Hartford,[345]
Hunts, and is now in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford.
In the Newcastle Museum is a compact greenstone celt of this character
(5 3∕4 inches) with the edge slightly oblique, found at Penrith Beacon,
Cumberland. Some celts of the same general character have been found in
Anglesea.
Implements of this class are frequently more tapering at the butt than
the one shown in the figure. I have several such from the Cambridge
Fens, and have seen an example from Towcester. One of flint (4 inches),
so much rounded at the edge as to be almost oval in outline, found near
Mildenhall, is in the Christy Collection. One of greenstone (4 1∕4
inches) was found at Wormhill, Buxton, Derbyshire.
Fig. 49, of dark-grey whin-stone, is of much the same character, but
has an oblique cutting edge. The butt-end is ground to a blunted |105|
curve. The original is in the Greenwell Collection, and was dug up in
draining at Ponteland, Northumberland. Another, in the same collection,
similar, but much rougher (6 inches) was found at Halton Chesters, in
the same county. I have one of the same kind (6 5∕8 inches) found near
Raby Castle, Durham.
A flint hatchet of nearly the same form, 4 1∕2 inches long, was found
at Kempston, near Bedford. The Earl of Ducie, F.R.S., has another of
flint (5 inches) from Bembridge, Isle of Wight. A celt, from Andalusia,
of this character, but with the edge straighter, has been figured.[346]
[Illustration: Fig. 49.—Ponteland, Northumberland. 1∕2]
[Illustration: Fig. 50.—Fridaythorpe, Yorkshire. 1∕2]
The celt engraved in Fig. 50 is likewise in the Greenwell Collection,
and was found at Fridaythorpe, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It is
formed of green hone-stone. Another, similar but thicker, and having
the sides more convergent and the edge less oblique, was found at
the same place and is in the same collection, in which also is the
fragment of a larger implement of the same class from Amotherby, near
Malton, Yorkshire. With these is another (4 3∕4 inches) which was found
in a barrow with a burnt interment on Seamer Moor, Yorkshire. It is
apparently of clay-slate which has become red by burning with the body.
Messrs. Mortimer have one of this form in greenstone (5 3∕8 inches)
found near Malton, and also one in flint (4 1∕8 inches) found near
Fimber. |106|
I have a well-finished celt of hone-stone, rather thicker
proportionally than that figured (5 5∕8 inches), probably found in
Cumberland, it having formed part of the Crosthwaite Collection
at Keswick. In the Greenwell Collection is another of basalt,
with straight sides, tapering from 2 3∕4 inches at edge to 1 3∕4
at butt, 9 1∕2 in length, and 1 3∕4 thick, from a peat moss at
Cowshill-in-Weardale, Durham.
A thin, flat form of celt, still presenting the same character of
section, is represented in Fig. 51. The original is formed of a hard,
nearly black clay-slate, and was found at Oulston, in the North Riding
of Yorkshire. Like many others which I have described, it is in the
Greenwell Collection.
[Illustration: Fig. 51.—Oulston. 1∕2]
One of flint like Fig. 51 (5 inches) was found at Shelley,[347] Suffolk.
A celt of greenstone (4 3∕4 inches), of the same character but
thicker and with straighter sides, from Newton, Aberdeenshire, is in
the National Museum at Edinburgh, where is also another, in outline
more like the figure, but broader at the butt-end, and with one side
somewhat flattened. It is 4 3∕8 long, and was found at Redhall, near
Edinburgh.
Some Irish celts, formed of different metamorphic rocks, present the
same forms as those of Figs. 48 to 51. As a rule, however, the sides of
Irish specimens are more rounded.
Fig. 52 represents an exquisitely polished celt, of a mottled, pale
|107| green colour, found in Burwell Fen, Cambridge, and, through
the kindness of Mr. Marlborough Pryor, now in my own collection. The
material appears to be a very hard diorite; and as both faces are
highly polished all over, the labour bestowed in the manufacture of
such an instrument must have been immense. It is somewhat curved
lengthways, and on the inner face is a slight depression, as if, in
chipping it out, one of the lines of fracture had run in too far; but
even this depression is polished, and no trace of the original chipped
surface remains. The point is quite sharp, and the sides are only in
the slightest degree rounded.
[Illustration: Fig. 52.—Burwell Fen. 1∕2]
A beautiful example of the kind is said to have been found in a barrow
near Stonehenge.[348] Another of a green-grey colour (6 1∕2 inches) was
found at Lopham Ford, near the source of the Waveney, and was submitted
to me in 1884, by the late Mr. T. E. Amyot, of Diss.
The late Mr. J. W. Flower, F.G.S., bequeathed to me a somewhat larger
specimen of the same character, found at Daviot, Inverness. It is
slightly broken at the pointed butt, but must have been about 8 inches
long and 3 5∕8 broad. The material may be a diorite, but perhaps more
nearly approaches what the French term jadeite. In the Truro Museum is
another highly polished celt of the same form, and similar material,
found near Falmouth.
Mr. J. W. Brooke has a beautifully polished specimen, made of a green
transparent stone, from Breamore, Salisbury. It has lost a small piece
at the butt-end, but is still 8 inches long. It is only 2 5∕8 inches
broad at the cutting end.
Another celt, 7 3∕4 inches long, “the edges thin, rising gradually to
about the thickness of half an inch in the middle,” was found in 1791
near Hopton, Derbyshire.[349] The material is described as appearing
“to be marble, of a light colour tinged with yellow, and a mixture of
pale red and green veins.”
In the collection of the late Mr. J. F. Lucas was a celt of this type
|108| 5 1∕2 inches long, slightly unsymmetrical in outline, owing to
the cleavage of the stone. It is said to have been found near Brierlow,
Buxton. The material is a green jade-like stone, but so fibrous in
appearance as to resemble fibrolite.
Another, of “a fine granite stone, highly polished, 9 inches long,
4 1∕4 broad at one end, tapering to the other, its thickness in the
middle 3∕4 of an inch, and quite sharp at the edges all round,” was
found at Mains,[350] near Dumfries, in 1779. It was discovered in
blowing up some large stones, possibly those of a dolmen, and is now in
the possession of Sir R. S. Riddell, Bart., of Strontian.
[Illustration: Fig. 52A.—Berwickshire. 1∕2]
Several other specimens have been found in Scotland. A beautiful celt
from Berwickshire[351] is, through the kindness of the Society of |109|
Antiquaries of Scotland, shown in Fig. 52A. It is made of green quartz
and has the edge intentionally blunted. A smaller celt (7 1∕2 inches)
was found at Cunzierton near Jedburgh[352]; another (8 inches) at
Rattray,[353] Perthshire; another (8 1∕4 inches), only 3∕4 inch thick
at most, near Glenluce,[354] Wigtownshire; and others (8 inches) at
Aberfeldy,[355] Perthshire, and Dunfermline.[356]
Several of these highly polished jadeite celts have been found in
dolmens in Brittany and there are some fine specimens in the museum
at Vannes. Some of them[357] have small holes bored through them.
The various types of Brittany celts have been classified by the
Société Polymathique du Morbihan.[358] In the Musée de St. Germain
is a specimen (unbored) 9 inches long, found near Paris,[359] as
also a hoard of fifteen, originally seventeen, mostly of jadeite and
fibrolite, some perforated, found at Bernon,[360] near Arzon, Morbihan,
in 1893. I have one 7 1∕2 inches long from St. Jean, Châteaudun, and
others 5 3∕8 to 7 inches in length, of beautiful varieties of jade-like
stone, found at Eu (Seine Inférieure), Miannay, near Abbeville (Somme),
and Breteuil (Oise). The two latter are rounded and not sharp at the
sides. One about 6 1∕2 inches long, from the environs of Soissons, is
in the museum at Lyons.
One of jade, of analogous form to these, and found near Brussels, is
engraved by Le Hon.[361] Another was found at Maffles.[362]
Five specimens of the same character, of different sizes, the longest
about 9 1∕2 inches in length, and the shortest about 4 inches,
are said to have been found with Roman remains at Kästrich, near
Gonsenheim,[363] and are preserved in the museum at Mainz. The smallest
is of greenstone, and the others of chloritic albite. They are said to
have been buried in a sort of leather case, arranged alternately with
the pointed and broad ends downwards, and in accordance with their size.
Eight specimens from museums at Weimar, Rudolstadt, and Leipzig were
exhibited at Berlin.[364] in 1880. One from Wesseling,[365] on the
Rhine (8 inches), is thought to have been associated with Roman remains.
Both with the English and Continental specimens, there appears to be
considerable doubt as to the exact localities whence the materials were
derived from which these celts are formed.
Instruments for which such beautiful and intractable materials
were selected, can hardly have been in common use; but we have not
sufficient ground for arriving at any trustworthy conclusion as
to the purpose for which they were intended. I have, however, a
short celt, 3 1∕2 inches long, from Burwell Fen, and made of this
jade-like material, which has evidently been much in use, and was once
considerably longer. It appears, indeed, to be the butt-end of an
instrument like Fig. 52.
A detailed account of the jade and jadeite celts in the British Museum
is given in the _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_.[366] |110|
It was formerly supposed that the jade of which many hatchets found in
Switzerland and other European countries are made, came of necessity
from the East, and theories as to the early migrations of mankind have
been based upon this supposition. As a fact, jade has now been found
in Europe, and notably in Styria[367] and Silesia.[368] Below[369] are
given some references to comments on the sources of jade. An account of
the method of working jade in Western Yun-nan is given in Anderson’s
Report[370] on the Expedition to that country; and a complete and
well-illustrated catalogue of objects in jade and nephrite, by Dr. A.
B. Meyer, forms part of the publications of the Royal Ethnographical
Museum, at Dresden, for 1883.
* * * * *
I now come to the second of the subdivisions under which I have
arranged this class of implements, viz., those having the sides
flattened. The flat sides, of course, taper away to a point at the
cutting edge of the celts, and usually diminish much in width toward
the butt-end, which is commonly ground to a semicircular blunted edge.
The implements of this kind are generally very symmetrical in form.
* * * * *
I have selected a large specimen for engraving in Fig. 53. It is of
grey mottled flint, ground all over to such an extent, that hardly any
traces of the original chipping remain. It was found at Botesdale,
Suffolk, and was formerly in the collection of Mr. Warren, of Ixworth,
but is now in my own. I have another (4 3∕4 inches) from Redgrave,
Suffolk, and a third (5 1∕2 inches) from Bottisham Lode, Cambs.
One of the same form, found near Stowmarket, is engraved in the
_Archæologia_.[371] If the account there given be correct, it was
12 3∕4 inches long. A specimen from Cardiff, now in the British Museum
(4 1∕2 inches), has lost a considerable portion of its original length
by use, and is ground so that the edge bounds a facet on the face. The
sides at the butt-end are somewhat rounded, but near the edge they are
flat and 1∕4 inch wide.
A fine specimen of this character, formed of ochreous flint (9 inches),
found in Swaffham Fen, Cambridgeshire, is in the Christy Collection, as
well as one from Mildenhall (5 1∕2 inches), the butt-end of which is
sharper than is usual.
In the Fitch Collection is a flint celt of this type, 7 1∕2 inches
long and 2 1∕2 broad at the edge, which however, has been broken off.
It is said to have been found in a tumulus at Swannington, Norfolk, in
1855. In the Northampton Museum is a specimen (6 inches) of ochreous
flint, found at Gilsborough, Northamptonshire. The late Mr. James
Wyatt, F.G.S., had a beautiful implement of this type, but narrower in
proportion to its length, being 7 inches long and only 1 3∕4 wide at
the edge, found in the Thames at Coway Stakes, near Egham. I have one
(6 inches) from the Thames at Hampton Court. A fine specimen, 9 1∕2
inches long, and 3 wide at the edge, with the sides quite flat, but
|111| less than 1∕4 inch wide, of ochreous flint, polished all over,
was found at Crudwell, Wilts.
[Illustration: Fig. 53.—Botesdale, Suffolk. 1∕2]
Others, in flint, have been found at Sutton, Suffolk (8 inches);
Wishford, Great Bedwin, Wilts[372] (7 inches); Portsmouth;[373]
Cherbury Camp, Pusey, Faringdon[374] (5 1∕2 inches long, edge faceted),
and Rampton, Cambridge.[375] I have seen one (5 1∕2 inches) that was
found near Loughborough. Mr. G. F. Lawrence has a fine specimen (7 5∕8
inches) from the Lea Marshes. |112|
In the National Museum at Edinburgh is one of white flint (10 inches)
from Fochabers,[376] Elginshire, and another from the same place (7 1∕4
inches). They are in shape much like Fig. 61. There is another of grey
flint, from Skye (7 1∕2 inches). One 5 1∕2 inches long, in the same
museum, from Roxburghshire, has the middle part of the faces ground
flat, so that the section is a sort of compressed octagon; the edge is
nearly straight.
[Illustration: Fig. 54.—Lackford, Suffolk. 1∕2]
Much the same form occurs in other materials than flint. I have a
specimen, formed of flinty clay-slate, with one side less flat than the
other, 10 1∕4 inches long, 3 wide, and 1 5∕8 thick, said to have been
found with four others in a cairn on Druim-a-shi, Culloden, Inverness.
I have another of whin-stone (9 1∕4 inches) from Kirkcaldy, Fife.
The fine celt from Gilmerton, Fig. 76, is of the same class, but has
a cutting edge at each end. Some Cumberland and Westmorland specimens
partake much of this character. |113|
Implements of nearly similar form to that last described, but having
the edge oblique, are also met with. That engraved in Fig. 54 was found
at Lackford, Suffolk, and was formerly in the collection of Mr. Warren,
of Ixworth, but is now in mine. It is of grey flint. I have another,
of white flint, of the same length but a trifle narrower, and with the
grinding for the edge forming more of a facet with the body of the
celt. It was found in the Isle of Portland. The obliquity of the edge
was no doubt intentional, and may have originated in the manner in
which these hatchets were mounted with hafts. Professor Nilsson[377]
has suggested that the obliquity is due to the front part of the blade
being worn away in use more quickly than the back.
[Illustration: Fig. 55.—Dalmeny, Linlithgow. 1∕2]
To this class, though very different in appearance, belongs a
beautifully made celt of grey flint, in the British Museum. It is
probably of English origin, though the place of finding is unknown. The
sides are straight and flat, but only about 1∕16 of an inch wide, the
faces equally convex and polished all over. It is 9 inches long, and
tapers from 1 1∕2 inches wide at the edge, which is broken, to 5∕8 at
the butt. Its greatest thickness is 1∕2 an inch. It is engraved in the
_Archæological Journal_.[378]
Flint celts of the type of both Fig. 53 and 54 are not uncommon in
France and Belgium. They are also found, though rarely, in Ireland.
The cutting end of one formed of nearly transparent quartz, and found
in Egypt, is in the Museum at Geneva.
Celts with the sides flattened are of not unfrequent occurrence
in other materials than flint. That figured as No. 55 is of
ochreous-coloured quartzite, and was found at Dalmeny, Linlithgow.
It is preserved in the National Museum at Edinburgh. The form is
remarkable, as being so broad in proportion to the length. The sides
are flat, but the angles they make with the faces are slightly rounded.
The butt-end is rounded in both directions, and appears to have been
worked with a pointed tool or pick.
Another celt, of greenstone, of much the same form but with the |114|
sides more tapering, 6 inches long and 3 1∕4 wide, which was found
in Lochleven[379] in 1860, is in the same museum. This latter more
nearly resembles Fig. 51 in outline. A small highly-polished celt of
flinty slate (2 5∕8 inches), found near Dundee,[380] has been figured.
Another, more triangular in outline, 6 1∕2 inches long, was found at
Barugh, Yorkshire, and is in the Greenwell Collection. I have a celt of
rather narrower proportions that was found between Hitchin and Pirton,
Herts. It is made of a kind of _lapis lydius_.
Many of the Danish greenstone celts, which are perforated at the butt,
present much the same outline and section.
[Illustration: Fig. 56.—Sprouston, near Kelso. 1∕2]
Stone hatchets of this character occur, though rarely, in France. I
have seen one in the collection of the late M. Aymard, at Le Puy.
Dr. Finlay, of Athens, had a thin, flat hatchet of this form made of
heliotrope, 3 1∕2 inches long, with flat sides, found in Greece. The
form occurs also in Sicily.[381]
Several celts of this type have been brought from different parts
of Asia. One, of basalt, 2 inches long, wedge-shaped, found at
Muquier,[382] in Southern Babylonia, is in the British Museum; and
several of jade, 3 to 4 inches long, procured by Major Sladen from the
province of Yun-nan in Southern China, are in the Christy Collection.
By Major Sladen’s kindness, I have also a specimen. Mr. Joseph Edkins
has published some notes on “Stone Hatchets in China.”[383] Others from
Perak[384] have also been described.
The same form, also in jade, has been found in Assam.[385] Some from
Java, in the museum at Leyden, formed of flint, present the same
section, but the sides expand towards the edge. A nearly similar form
occurs in Japan.[386]
Fig. 56 is of the same character as Fig. 55, but narrower at the |115|
butt-end. The original is in the Greenwell Collection, and is formed
of Lydian stone. It was found at Sprouston, near Kelso, Roxburghshire.
Though flat at the sides along most of the blade, the section becomes
oval near the butt-end.
I have a smaller example of this type in clay-slate, 3 1∕2 inches long
and 1 3∕4 wide at the edge, found at Carnaby, near Bridlington. The
butt-end is in this case rectangular in section. It closely resembles
the flat-sided hatchets so commonly found in France. I have an Irish
celt of the same form found near Armagh, and made of clay-slate.
Flat-sided celts are, however, rare in Ireland.
[Illustration: Fig. 57.—Nunnington, Yorkshire. 1∕2]
A celt of grey flint, 4 1∕2 inches long, of much the same outline,
but having the sides rounded and not flat, and the butt brought to
a straight sharp edge, was found in Burwell Fen, and is now in the
Christy Collection.
A celt of the same section, but of peculiar form, with the sides curved
slightly inwards, and tapering considerably to the butt, is shown in
Fig. 57. The sides are flat, but have the angles slightly rounded; a
narrow flattened face is carried round the butt-end. It would appear to
have been made from a calcareous nodule found in some argillaceous bed,
like the septaria in the London clay. Both of |116| its faces present
a series of diverging cracks, of slight depth, apparently resulting
from the dissolution of calcareous veins in the stone. It was found at
Nunnington, Yorkshire, and now forms part of the Greenwell Collection.
The original of Fig. 58 was discovered at Burradon, Northumberland,
where also the fine flint celt, Fig. 47, was found. This likewise
is in the Greenwell Collection. It is of porphyritic stone, and has
the angles of the flat sides slightly rounded. Another, in the same
collection, 4 inches long, from Doddington, in the same county, is of
similar character. Celts of much the same shape and size have been
found in the Shetland Isles; one of these, 5 1∕2 inches long, from
West Burrafirth, is in the British Museum. A similar form is found in
Japan.[387]
[Illustration: Fig. 58.—Burradon, Northumberland. 1∕2]
[Illustration: Fig. 59.—Livermere, Suffolk. 1∕2]
Fig. 59 shows a celt of much the same kind, found at Livermere, near
Bury St. Edmunds. It is formed of a close-grained greenstone, and is
in my own collection. The angles at the sides are slightly rounded.
I have others of nearly the same size and of similar material, found
near Cirencester, and at Soham and Bottisham, Cambs. Greenstone celts
of about this size, and with the sides more or less flat, so as to
range between Figs. 48 and 58, are of not uncommon occurrence in the
Fen country. Mr. Fisher, of Ely, has one, found near Manea, and several
from Bottisham. I have one, of felstone, 3 1∕2 inches long, found at
Coton, Cambs., one side of which presents a flat surface 3∕8 inch wide,
while the other is but slightly flattened. One (4 3∕10 inches) was
found near Torquay, Devon.[388]
A still more triangular form, more convex on the faces, and
having |117| the flat sides much narrower, is shown in Fig. 60,
from a specimen in the Greenwell Collection, found at Ilderton,
Northumberland. It is formed of a hard, slaty rock or hone-stone. The
angles of the sides are rounded.
In the National Museum at Edinburgh are two implements of greenstone
(2 3∕4 and 3 inches) of nearly similar form to Fig. 60, but having the
sides sharp. They were found in the Isle of Skye.[389]
[Illustration: Fig. 60.—Ilderton, Northumberland.]
A smaller celt of the same character, 2 1∕2 inches long, found in a
cairn at Brindy Hill, Aberdeenshire,[390] is in the British Museum.
One 2 5∕8 inches long, from Sardis,[391] in Lydia, and in the same
collection, is of much the same form, but rounder at the sides and less
pointed at the butt.
Implements of the form represented in Fig. 61 occur most frequently in
the northern part of Britain, especially in Cumberland and Westmorland,
in consequence, it may be supposed, of the felspathic rocks, of
which they are usually formed, being there found in the greatest
abundance. That here figured is in the British Museum. It is of mottled
close-grained stone, beautifully finished, and was found in a turf pit
on Windy Harbour Farm, near Pendle, Lancashire.[392] It is more slender
than the generality of the implements of this class, which in outline
usually more closely resemble Fig. 77, which, however, has a cutting
edge at each end. They sometimes slightly expand towards the butt-end.
I have a more roughly-finished implement of this class, with the two
faces faceted longitudinally, found near Wigton, Cumberland, and
formerly in the Crosthwaite Museum, at Keswick. It is of felspathic
ash, much decomposed on the surface, and 9 inches long. I have also a
small example of the type (7 1∕2 inches) made of whin-stone, and found
by Mr. W. Whitaker, F.R.S., near Sudbury, Suffolk, in 1873. Some larger
specimens of similar character are in the Christy Collection. One of
them is 13 3∕4 inches in length.
In the Greenwell Collection is an implement of this type, but with the
sides straighter, and the angles rounded, found at Holme, on Spalding
Moor, Yorkshire. It is of hone-stone, 7 inches long, 2 1∕2 inches broad
at the edge, but tapering to 1 1∕4 inches at the butt. There is also
another of felstone, 12 3∕4 long, found at Great Salkeld, Cumberland.
There is a celt of this type in the Blackmore Museum (13 1∕8 inches),
the butt-end round and sharpened, though the edge has been removed by
grinding. It is said to have been found, 5 or 6 feet deep in gravel,
|118| at Shaw Hall,[393] near Flixton, Lancashire. Another, in the
same collection (8 inches), was found near Keswick.
[Illustration: Fig. 61.—Near Pendle, Lancashire. 1∕2]
What from the engraving would appear to be a large implement of
this kind, has been described by Mr. Cuming[394] as a club. “It is
wrought of fawn-coloured hone-slate, much like that obtained in the
neighbourhood of Snowdon. It weighs 6 1∕4 pounds, and measures 17 5∕8
inches in length, nearly 3 3∕4 inches across its greatest breadth, and
nearly 2 1∕8 inches in its greatest thickness. The faces are convex,
the edges blunt and thinning off at both of the rounded extremities.”
It was found near Newton, Lancashire. Another so-called club is
mentioned as having been found near Keswick.[395]
Clumsy and unwieldy as implements of such a length appear to be if
mounted as axes, there can be no doubt of their having been intended
for use as cutting tools; and though, from their size, they might be
considered to be clubs, yet their form is but ill-adapted for such a
weapon, even if we assume that, as is said to be the case with the
New Zealand _mere_, they were sometimes employed for thrusting as
well as for striking, and, therefore, had the broad end sharpened.
The Stirlingshire specimen, Fig. 77, which is 13 1∕4 inches long, is,
however, sharp at both ends. There have been, moreover, discovered in
Denmark what are indubitably celts, longer than the Newton so-called
club. They are sometimes more than 18 inches long, and I have myself
such an implement from Jutland, of ochreous flint, 16 inches long and 3
inches broad at the edge, which is carefully sharpened. I have another
roughly-chipped Danish celt of flint, 14 1∕2 inches long, which weighs
6 lbs. 14 oz., or more than that from Newton. |119|
The celt found in Solway Moss, with its handle still preserved, as
will subsequently be mentioned, is of the form of Fig. 61. It is of
felspathic rock, 9 1∕2 inches long and 2 1∕4 inches broad, the edge
slightly oblique.
[Illustration: Fig. 62.—Ness. 1∕2]
One of felstone (15 1∕2 inches), was found at Drumour,[396] in
Glenshee, Forfarshire, with another 13 inches long. This latter widens
out suddenly at the butt. The larger of these two presents on its
surface a transverse mark, not unlike that on the Solway Moss specimen,
such as may have resulted from that portion of the surface having been
protected for a time by a wooden handle, which eventually decayed and
perished.
Another from Lempitlaw, in the Kelso Museum, is 13 inches long.
The flattening of the sides and faces of celts is sometimes, though
rarely, carried to such an extent that they become almost rectangular
in section.
That shown in Fig. 62 was found near the Rye bank, at Ness,[397] in the
North Riding of Yorkshire, and is formed of a dark, much altered slaty
rock, containing a good deal of iron. The butt-end, though brought to
an edge, is not so sharp as the broader or cutting end. The surface is
somewhat decomposed. It is in the Greenwell Collection, in which also
is the somewhat analogous implement shown in Fig. 63.
This also is from the same part of Yorkshire, having been found, in
1868, at Gilling,[398] in the Vale of Mowbray, 4 ft. deep in peaty
clay. It |120| is formed of clay iron-stone, and has the angles
somewhat rounded. The edge is oblique and slightly chipped away.
Another celt of close-grained schist (5 3∕4 inches), found in the same
parish, and preserved in the same collection, more resembles in outline
that from Ness, though not sharp at the butt, and having an oblique
edge. In the Greenwell Collection is a thinner celt of the same type,
found at Heslerton Carr.
[Illustration: Fig. 63.—Gilling. 1∕2]
I have a specimen (5 1∕4 inches) of hone-stone, rather flatter on one
face than the other, from Kirkcaldy, Fife.
An Italian celt, of much the same character as Fig. 62, but of
greenstone, has been figured by Gastaldi.[399]
The next celt which I have to describe is even more chisel-like in
|121| appearance, both the faces and sides being almost flat and
nearly parallel. This peculiarity of form is no doubt mainly due to
the schistose character of the rock from which the implement is made;
which, in the case of the original of Fig. 64, is a close-grained slate
or hone-stone. It was found at Swinton, near Malton, Yorkshire, and
was given to me by the late Mr. C. Monkman. The angles are slightly
rounded, and the butt-end is tapered off as if to an edge, which,
however, is now broken away.
Long, narrow celts of this rectangular section are of very rare
occurrence both in Britain and Ireland, and, so far as I am aware,
have never been found of flint. In Denmark, on the contrary, they are
common in flint, but generally of a larger size than the specimen here
engraved. The faces also are usually rather more convex.
[Illustration: Fig. 64.—Swinton, near Malton. 1∕2]
[Illustration: Fig. 65.—Scamridge Dykes, Yorkshire. 1∕2]
They are to be found among the North American[400] forms, sometimes
with a hole towards the butt-end, as if for suspension.
Somewhat the same form occurs in Siam and in the Malay Peninsula.
The next specimen, shown in Fig. 65, is of the same material as the
last, and was found in the same neighbourhood, at the Dykes, Scamridge,
in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Owing to the irregular fissure of
the stone, it is considerably thicker at one side than the other. The
broader side is flat with the angles chamfered, and the narrower side
is rounded. The faces taper at the butt-end, which is ground to a |122|
regular curve and blunted. This also was given to me by the late Mr.
C. Monkman, of Malton.
[Illustration: Fig. 66.—Whitwell, Yorkshire. 1∕2]
A curious variety of celt is shown in Fig. 66, the original of which
was found at Whitwell, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, and forms part
of the Greenwell Collection. It is made of a hard, shelly limestone,
apparently of Oolitic age, the surface of which has been partially
eroded. It is nearly flat on one face, and seems to have been intended
for mounting as an adze. Other celts of similar material have been
found in the same district, and Canon Greenwell has kindly presented
me with one of much the same character as this, though far broader in
proportion to its thickness. This specimen, which was found at Osgodby,
closely resembles in section that from Truro, Fig. 84.
A specimen of the type of Fig. 66 (7 1∕4 inches) is in the British
Museum. It was found at Creekmoor, near Poole, Dorset.
Some of the large celts from the Shetland Isles present the same
peculiarity of being flat on one face, but, as the sides are much
rounded, I shall include them among those of oval section.
* * * * *
These, of oval section, form the third subdivision of polished celts,
which I now proceed to describe.
* * * * *
It will be observed that implements of this character, formed of flint,
are extremely rare. The reason for this appears to be, that from the
method in which, in this country, flint celts were chipped out, the
sides were in all cases originally sharp, and they had a pointed oval,
or _vesica piscis_, section. In polishing, this form was to a great
extent preserved, though the edges were, as has been seen, sometimes
ground flat and sometimes rounded. It rarely happens, however, that the
rounding is carried to so great an extent as to produce such a contour
that it is impossible to say within a little where the faces end and
the sides begin; though this is often the case with celts of greenstone
and other materials, which were shaped out in a somewhat different
manner, and in the formation of which grinding played a more important
part. It is almost needless to say that I use the word oval in its
popular sense, and not as significant of a mathematically true ellipse.
At the part where the edge of the celts commences, the section is of
course a _vesica piscis_.
The first specimen engraved, Fig. 67, is in my own collection, and was
found in the Thames at London. It is of dark greenstone, and, owing
to a defect in the piece of stone of which it was made, there is a
hollow place in one of the faces. General Pitt Rivers has a similar
but more symmetrical celt, of the same material, also found in the
Thames. Another, smaller, from the same source, is in the British |123|
Museum; and another (8 inches) from the collection of the late Rev.
T. Hugo, F.S.A.,[401] is now mine. Its edge is rather oblique. I have
another from the Thames (7 1∕2 inches) with a symmetrical edge.
[Illustration: Fig. 67.—Thames, London. 1∕2]
Large implements of this form are of not uncommon occurrence in
Scotland and in the Shetland Isles. There are several in the National
Museum at Edinburgh, and also in the British Museum, and in that of
Newcastle. The butt-end is occasionally pointed, and the faces in broad
specimens, flatter than in Fig. 67. Several of these celts |124| in
the British Museum were found in the middle of the last century, in
Shetland. The largest is 11 inches long, 3 inches wide at the edge,
and 1 3∕4 inches thick. It was found in Selter,[402] parish of Walls.
Others are from 8 inches to 9 inches long. In the case of one, 12
inches long, from Shetland, and in the Edinburgh Museum, the edge is
oblique.
[Illustration: Fig. 68.—Near Bridlington. 1∕2]
Mr. J. W. Cursiter, of Kirkwall, has a beautiful, long, narrow celt of
oval section, from Lunnasting, Shetland. It is formed of spherulitic
felstone, and is 9 1∕4 inches long, but only 2 1∕8 inches wide at the
broadest part. Another, 12 inches long, from Trondra, is of felstone,
and slightly curved longitudinally, so that it was probably an adze.
Others[403] (14, 11, 10 1∕2, and 9 inches) have been figured.
In the Greenwell Collection is a celt of this kind formed of
porphyritic greenstone, 13 inches long, from Sandsting, Shetland.
A celt of greenstone (8 inches), in outline much resembling Fig. 72,
was found, in 1758, at Tresta, in the parish of Aithsting, Shetland,
and is now in the British Museum. It is flat on one face, the other
being convex, so that the section is an oval with a segment removed.
Such an instrument must, in all probability, have been mounted as an
adze, though the flat face may have originally been due to the cleavage
of the material, which is a porphyritic greenstone.
Another celt (6 1∕4 inches), flat on one face, so that the section
presents little more than half an oval, was found in the island of
Yell, and is now in the Newcastle Museum.
I have a large heavy celt less tapering at the butt than Fig. 67, 8 1∕2
inches long, 3 1∕2 inches wide, and 2 1∕4 inches thick, said to have
been found at Spalding, Lincolnshire. One of flint (7 inches) nearly
oval in section, and found at Northampton, is in the museum at that
town.
Celts of the same form and character as Fig. 67 are found both in
Ireland and in France.
Fig. 68 shows another variety of this type, which becomes almost
conical at the butt. The original was found near Bridlington, and is
|125| now in my own collection. The material is greenstone. Implements
of this form, but rarely expanding at the edge, are of common
occurrence in that part of Yorkshire. Some of them have been made of
a variety of greenstone liable to decomposition from atmospheric or
other causes, and the celts when found present a surface so excessively
eroded that their form can with difficulty be recognized. In the
Greenwell Collection are celts of the type of Fig. 68, from Willerby,
in the East Riding (6 1∕4 inches and 5 1∕2 inches), and Crambe, in
the North Riding of Yorkshire (6 1∕4 inches), as well as another
(5 3∕4 inches) from Sherburn, Durham. I have one nearly 8 inches long,
from Speeton, near Bridlington, and several (5 1∕2 to 6 inches) from
the Cambridge Fens. The surface of one of them is for the most part
decomposed, but along a vein of harder material the original polish is
preserved.
Mr. F. Spalding has found one (8 inches), with a sideways curve, on the
shore at Walton-on-the-Naze.
[Illustration: Fig. 69.—Lakenheath, Suffolk. 1∕2]
A greenstone celt of this form (8 1∕2 inches) was found at Minley
Manor,[404] Blackwater, Hants.
In the Fitch Collection is one of serpentine (6 1∕4 inches), from
Dull’s Lane, near Loddon, Norfolk, and the late Mr. J. W. Flower had
one of greenstone (4 1∕4 inches), found at Melyn Works, Neath. The
greenstone celt found in Grime’s Graves,[405] Norfolk, was of this
form, but rather longer in its proportions, being 7 1∕2 inches long
and 2 1∕4 inches broad at the edge, which is oblique. The late Mr. H.
Durden, of Blandford, had a greenstone celt of this type (5 inches),
found at Langton, near Blandford, the butt-end of which is roughened
by picking, probably for insertion in a socket; and the late Rev. E.
Duke, of Lake, near Salisbury, had a celt of this character, found in a
tumulus in that parish. I have both French and Danish specimens of the
same form at the butt, though narrower at the edge.
Another variety, in which the butt-end is less pointed and more oval,
is given in Fig. 69. The original is of dark green hornblende schist,
and was found at Lakenheath, Suffolk. I have a large implement of
similar form and material (5 1∕2 inches), with the edge slightly
oblique, from Swaffham, Cambridgeshire; another of serpentine (3 1∕4
inches), from Coldham’s Common, Cambridge; others of greenstone (4
and 3 3∕4 inches), from Kempston, Bedford, and Burwell Fen, Cambs.;
as well as one of greenstone (4 3∕8 inches), from Standlake, Oxon. A
celt of this type, of porphyritic stone (5 1∕2 inches), found |126|
at Branton, Northumberland, is in the Greenwell Collection. It is
slightly oblique at the edge. Another of the same character, of
greenstone (6 3∕4 inches), found at Sproughton, Suffolk, is in the
Fitch Collection. Another, 5 inches long, found at Kingston-on-Thames,
is in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries.
Another of green serpentine, faceted to form the edge, and rounded
at butt, 4 inches long, was found in a cairn in Fifeshire, and is
preserved in the National Museum at Edinburgh.
In the Blackmore Museum is a celt of granite tapering to the rounded
point at the butt, 6 1∕2 inches long, which has been roughened at the
upper end, and is polished towards the edge. It was found in the River
Lambourn, Berks.
I have seen another of this form, but of flint (4 1∕2 inches), with the
sides much rounded, so as to be almost oval, found near Eastbourne,
where also this form has occurred in greenstone. The late Mr. H.
Durden, of Blandford, had a celt of greenstone of this form 4 3∕8
inches long, found at Tarrant Launceston, Dorset. Many of the celts
found in India are of this type.
[Illustration: Fig. 70.—Seamer, Yorkshire. 1∕2]
A shorter form, which also seems to be most prevalent in Yorkshire,
is represented in Fig. 70. The specimen figured is from Seamer,
formed of greenstone, and belongs to the Greenwell Collection. In the
same collection is another (4 inches), rather larger and thicker,
from Scampston. Another of quartzite (5 inches), polished all over,
but showing traces of having been worked with a pick, was found at
Birdsall, near Malton, and is in the collection of Messrs. Mortimer, of
Driffield. I have one of greenstone (4 1∕2 inches), also from Seamer.
A celt of greenstone, of the same section, but broader and more
truncated at the butt, 3 inches long, and found near Bellingham, North
Tyne, is in the Newcastle Museum. Another (4 inches), in outline more
like Fig. 60, was found in a sepulchral cave at Rhos Digre,[406]
Denbighshire.
Some of the stone celts from Italy, Greece, Asia Minor[407] and
India, are of much the same form, but usually rather longer in their
proportions. I have some Greek specimens more like Fig. 71—kindly given
to me by Captain H. Thurburn, F.G.S. Celts of this character are said
to have been in use among the North American Indians[408] as fleshing
|127| instruments, employed by the women in the preparation of skins.
They were not hafted, but held in the hand like chisels. I have a celt
almost identical in form and material with Fig. 70, but from Central
India.
[Illustration: Fig. 71.—Guernsey. 1∕2]
The form shown in Fig. 71 is inserted among those of Britain, though
geographically it may be regarded as French rather than British, having
been found in Guernsey. I have engraved it from a cast presented to the
Society of Antiquaries by the late Mr. F. C. Lukis, F.S.A. The form
occurs in various materials—rarely flint—and is common through the
whole of France. A specimen from Surrey is in the British Museum. I
have seen one which was said to have been found in the neighbourhood of
London, but it was not improbably an imported specimen.
Should authenticated instances of the finding of celts of this class in
our southern counties be adduced, they will be of interest as affording
_primâ facie_ evidence of intercourse with the Continent at an early
period.
Small hatchets, both oval and circular in section, have been found at
Accra,[409] West Africa, and others, larger, on the Gold Coast.[410]
The same form is not uncommon in Greece and Asia Minor.
[Illustration: Fig. 72.—Wareham. 1∕2]
Major Sladen brought several small jade celts of this form, but flatter
at the sides, from Yun-nan, in Southern China. Through his liberality
several are in the Christy Collection, and one in my own. Some hæmatite
celts found in North America[411] are of much the same size and form.
The specimen engraved as Fig. 72 was found in the neighbourhood of
Wareham, Dorsetshire, and is in my own collection. It is formed of
syenite, and, unlike the instruments previously described, is narrower
at the edge than in the middle of the blade; the section shows that
the faces are nearly flat. I have another celt, in which these
peculiarities are exaggerated, the |128| faces being flatter, the
blade thinner, and also wider in the middle in proportion to the edge,
it being 5 1∕2 inches long, 2 1∕4 inches wide in the middle, and 1 1∕2
inches at the edge, and rather less than an inch in thickness. The
material is a _Serpula_ limestone, and the celt was no doubt formed
from a travelled block, as it was found in a Boulder-clay district at
Troston, near Bury St. Edmunds. I have a much heavier implement from
the same locality, and formed of the same kind of stone. It is 10
inches long, and rather wider in proportion than Fig. 72. It does not
narrow towards the edge, but in section and general form may be classed
with the specimen there figured.
A large celt, 10 inches long, of the same section, but thinner
proportionally, and with straighter and more parallel sides, in
outline more like Fig. 79, was found at Pilmoor, in the North Riding
of Yorkshire, and forms part of the Greenwell Collection. It is of
clay-slate. Another in the same collection, and from North Holme,
in the same Riding (10 inches), is broader and flatter, with the
sides somewhat more square, and the edge more curved. One face is
somewhat hollowed towards one side, possibly to grind out the trace
of a too deep chip. A third is from Barmston, in the East Riding
(10 1∕2 inches), and a beautiful celt of hornblendic serpentine
(10 5∕8 inches), oval in section and pointed at the butt, was found at
Cunningsburgh,[412] Shetland, and another of diorite (10 1∕8 inches),
rather broader in its proportions than Fig. 72, on Ambrisbeg Hill,[413]
Island of Bute. An analogous form from Japan is in the museum at Leyden.
[Illustration: Fig. 73.—Forfarshire. 1∕2]
A long narrow chisel-like celt, with an oval section, is given in Fig.
73. The original is of dark greenstone, and was found in Forfarshire.
It is in the National Museum at Edinburgh. I have a larger celt of the
same form (5 1∕2 inches), formed of a close-grained grit, and found at
Sherburn, Yorkshire. Messrs. Mortimer have another of schist (4 1∕2
inches), from Thixendale, Yorkshire. This form occurs, though rarely,
in Ireland.
A much larger celt, of metamorphic rock, 8 1∕2 inches long, 3 inches
broad at the edge, and 1 3∕4 inches at the butt, 1 3∕8 inches thick,
was found on Throckley Fell, Northumberland, and is in the Museum at
Newcastle.
Fig. 74 gives a shorter form of implement truncated at the butt. The
original, which is in my own collection, is formed of greenstone,
and was found at Easton, near Bridlington. It is carefully polished
towards the edge, but at the butt it is roughened, apparently with
the intention of rendering it more capable of adhesion to its socket.
The celt from Malton, Fig. 81, is roughened in a similar manner,
and the same is the case with many of the hatchets from the Swiss
lake-dwellings, which have been frequently found still fixed in their
sockets of stag’s horn. |129|
I have another specimen, from South Back Lane, Bridlington, which,
however, is not roughened at the butt, and the sides of which have had
a narrow flat facet ground along them. It is 6 inches long, and 3 1∕2
inches wide at the edge. Mr. W. Tucker has shown me a broken specimen
like Fig. 74, found near Loughborough.
[Illustration: Fig. 74.—Bridlington. 1∕2]
[Illustration: Fig. 75.—Caithness. 1∕2]
Another form presents a rather pointed, and unusually elongated
oval in section, and is pointed at the butt. Fig. 75 represents a
highly-finished celt of this kind made of light green, almost jade-like
stone, preserved in the National Museum at Edinburgh, and said to
have been found in Caithness. It is so thoroughly Carib in character,
and so closely resembles specimens I possess from the West Indian
Islands, that for some time I hesitated to engrave it. There are,
however, sufficiently numerous instances of other implements of the
same form having been found in this country for the type to be accepted
as British. The celt found at Glasgow,[414] in a canoe at a depth of
twenty-five feet below the surface, was of this kind. In the Greenwell
Collection is one of porphyritic greenstone (7 inches), and of nearly
this form, found at Grantchester, Cambridge. Two celts of this
character, the one from Jamaica and the other from the North of Italy,
are engraved in the _Archæologia_.[415] Both are in the British Museum.
A celt like Fig. 75 (4 1∕2 inches), of a material like jadeite, is said
to |130| have been found about 60 years ago at King’s Sutton,[416]
Northamptonshire. It has much the appearance of being Carib.
Four greenstone celts of this type, one of them rather crooked
laterally, were found in 1869 at Bochym,[417] Cury, Cornwall.
Another of aphanite (11 1∕2 inches) from Cornwall[418] is in the
Edinburgh Museum, where is also one of the same material and form
(10 1∕2 inches) from Berwickshire,[419] two others of grey porphyritic
stone (9 inches) from Aberdeenshire,[420] and another of porphyrite (10
inches) found near Lerwick,[421] Shetland.
I have specimens of the same type from various parts of France. In the
Greenwell Collection is a Spanish celt of the same form found near
Cadiz.
The bulk of the celts found in Ireland, and formed of other materials
than flint, approximate in form to Figs. 69 to 75, though usually
rather thinner in their proportion. They range, however, widely in
shape, and vary much in their degree of finish.
* * * * *
I now come to the fourth of the subdivisions under which, mainly for
the sake of having some basis for classification, I have arranged the
polished celts. In it, I have placed those which present any abnormal
peculiarities; and the first of these which I shall notice are such as
do not materially affect the outline of the celts; as, for instance,
the existence of a second cutting edge at the butt-end, at a part
where, though the blade is usually tapered away and ground, yet it
very rarely happens that it has been left sharp. Indeed, in almost all
cases, if in shaping and polishing the celt the butt-end has at one
time been sharpened, the edge has been afterwards carefully removed by
grinding it away.
* * * * *
The beautifully-formed implement of ochreously-stained flint
represented in Fig. 76, was found at Gilmerton, in East Lothian,
and is preserved in the National Museum at Edinburgh. The sides are
flat with the angles rounded off, and the blade expands slightly at
the ends, both of which are sharpened. It is carefully polished all
over, so as to show no traces of its having been chipped out, except
a slight depression on one face, and this is polished like the rest
of the blade. It is upwards of a century since this instrument was
turned up by the plough, as described in the _Minutes of the Society of
Antiquaries of Scotland_[422] for April 2, 1782, where it is mentioned
as the “head of a hatchet of polished yellow marble, sharpened at both
ends.”
Another from Shetland[423] (11 1∕2 inches) is made of serpentine and
has both ends “formed to a rounded cutting edge.” |131|
A celt from Kirklauchline, Wigtownshire, mentioned at page 135, is
much like Fig. 76 in outline.
[Illustration: Fig. 76.—Gilmerton, East Lothian]
A somewhat similar instrument, but narrower at the butt, formed of jade
(?) and 11 inches long, found at Nougaroulet, is engraved in the _Revue
de Gascogne_.[424]
[Illustration: Fig. 77.—Stirlingshire. 1∕2]
Fig. 77 represents another celt, in the Edinburgh Museum, of similar
section, but expanding only at the butt-end, which is sharpened, |133|
and contracting from the middle towards the broader end, which, as
usual, seems to have been the principal cutting end. It is formed of
compact greenstone, and was found in Stirlingshire. In general outline,
it closely resembles a common Cumberland form, of which, however, the
butt is not sharp. Several such were found in Ehenside Tarn,[425]
Cumberland, varying in length from 6 to 14 1∕2 inches. One of them was
in its original haft. The whole are now in the British Museum. Another
celt (10 3∕4 inches), made of a fine volcanic ash, was found in 1873
near Loughrigg Tarn,[426] Westmorland. Two celts of much the same form
from Drumour,[427] Glenshee, Forfarshire, in 1870, are mentioned on
page 119.
Celts with an edge at each end are rare on the Continent, though they
are of more frequent occurrence in Ireland. One of this character,
found in Dauphiné, France,[428] has been engraved by M. Chantre.
Another from Portugal[429] has been described by myself elsewhere.
[Illustration: Fig. 78.—Harome. 1∕2]
A celt of shorter proportions, but also provided with a cutting edge at
each end, is shown in Fig. 78. It is in the Greenwell Collection, and
was found at Harome, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, where several
stone implements of rare form have been discovered. The material is a
hard clay-slate. The tool seems quite as well adapted for being used in
the hand without any mounting, as for attachment to a haft. |135|
[Illustration: Fig. 79.—Daviot, near Inverness.]
Another of these implements, with a cutting edge at either end, is
shown in Fig. 79.
As will be observed, it is curved longitudinally, so that if attached
to a handle, it must have been after the manner of an adze and not
of an axe. The sides curve slightly inwards, which would render any
attachment to a handle more secure.