VESSELS, CALDRONS, ETC.
OF the various forms of fictile vessels which were in use at the same
period as daggers and other weapons formed of bronze, it is not the
place here to speak. Much has already been written on the subject,
not only in various memoirs which have appeared in the proceedings
of our different Antiquarian and Archæological Societies, but also
in several standard archæological works. For the pottery found in
the tumuli of this country I would more particularly refer to Canon
Greenwell’s “British Barrows,” and to Dr. Thurnam’s “Paper on the
Barrows of Wiltshire,” published in the _Archæologia_.[1587] Both these
authors agree that none of the pottery from the barrows has been made
upon the wheel. The greater part of the fictile ware with which we are
acquainted was used for sepulchral purposes, and there appears good
reason for supposing that much of it was manufactured expressly for
the dead, and not for the living. Still there are a certain number of
examples known of what has been termed culinary pottery, some of which
have been found in barrows, and some in the remains of dwellings of
the Bronze Period. This pottery, unlike the sepulchral, is devoid of
ornament, and is well burnt, “plain, strong, and useful,” but it is
also made by hand. Some of the pottery from the Swiss Lake-dwellings
is, however, ornamented in various ways, but the potter’s wheel does
not seem to have been in use.[1588] And yet, in more than one instance,
there have been found in barrows in the South of England weapons of
bronze, accompanied by vessels of amber and of shale, which have all
the appearance of having been turned in a lathe. Of some of these
vessels I have given figures in my “Ancient Stone Implements,”[1589]
and also stated the particulars of the discoveries. I have also
mentioned the discovery of a gold cup in a barrow at Rillaton,
Cornwall, which was accompanied by what appears to have been a bronze
dagger.[1590] As this vessel is of metal, I have here reproduced the
cut as Fig. 509. It seems to me probable that the same kind of vessel
which was made in the nobler metal may also prove to have been made in
bronze, although as yet no examples have been discovered. The hanging
cups of bronze of which many have been found in Scandinavia, and at
least one example in Switzerland, are at present not known to have been
discovered within the British Isles.
[Illustration: Bottom of cup.
Fig. 509.—Golden Cup. Rillaton. Height, 3¼ inches.]
It was probably not until nearly the close of the Bronze Period that
the art was discovered of hammering out bronze into sufficiently large
and thin laminæ for the manufacture of cups and vessels. It would be
impossible to cast the metal so thin as even that employed for shields,
and before ingots or flat plates, like those already mentioned at
page 402, could be thus drawn out, an acquaintance with some process
of annealing must have been gained. It is a remarkable fact that the
same process which has the effect of hardening steel has exactly the
contrary effect on copper, and to some extent on bronze. Steel when
heated to redness and then dipped in cold water becomes so intensely
hard, that tools treated in this manner have to be somewhat tempered,
or softened by heat, before they can safely be used; while to soften
copper the usual method adopted is to make it red-hot and dip it in
cold water. In whatever way the metal was drawn out, some of the large
vessels of the transitional period between Bronze and Iron, such as
those from Hallstatt, are wonderful examples of skill in working bronze.
Almost the only bronze vessel found in a barrow in England had an
iron handle to it, showing that it could not belong to the Bronze
Age properly so called. It is, indeed, somewhat doubtful whether
it accompanied an interment. In the centre of a low mound near
Wetton,[1591] Staffordshire, about a foot below the surface, Mr.
Bateman found “two very curious vessels,” one about four inches high,
and of rather globular form, carved in sandstone, and at the distance
of a foot from it the other, “a bronze pan or kettle four inches high
and six inches in diameter, with a slender iron bow like a bucket
handle. It has been first cast and then hammered, and is very slightly
marked with horizontal ridges.” It was inverted, and above it were
traces of decayed wood. There appear to have been some remains of burnt
bones near the surface of the ground. This bronze vessel is somewhat
like the lower part of an ordinary flower-pot in form. In Mr. Bateman’s
Catalogue[1592] there is a note to the effect that this object is
“probably Romano-British,” but I have thought it best to cite it.
Several caldrons made of thin bronze plates riveted together have been
found in Scotland, in some instances in company with bronze weapons.
In Duddingston Loch,[1593] near Edinburgh, together with swords and
spear-heads, were some bronze rings and staples similar in character
to those attached to the rim of a large bronze caldron found at
Farney,[1594] Ulster, but there is no record of any caldrons. Others
of these rings are in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh, two of
which were found with the large caldron here figured (Fig. 510) in the
Moss of Kincardine,[1595] near Stirling, in the year 1768. In this
case no weapons appear to have been found. At the side is a broad band
embossed with circles. This vessel is of large size, being 16 inches
high, 16 inches across the mouth, and 25 inches in extreme diameter.
An imperfect caldron, with handles of the same kind, was found at
Kilkerran, Ayrshire, with socketed celts and fragments of swords.
[Illustration: Fig. 510.—Kincardine Moss.]
Others of these caldrons, but little differing in form from those
found with bronze relics, have been accompanied by various tools
formed of iron, as, for instance, those found at Cockburnspath,
Berwickshire; and in Carlinwark Loch, Kelton, Kirkcudbright. There
can, indeed, be little doubt that such vessels, if belonging to
the Bronze Age, are to be assigned to the close rather than to the
beginning or even middle of that period.
Several such caldrons have been discovered in Ireland.
That shown in Fig. 511 is about 21 inches in diameter and 12 inches
high.[1596] It is composed of a number of pieces of thin bronze, each
averaging 3¼ inches broad and decreasing in length near the bottom.
“These plates bear the marks of hammering, and are joined at the seams
with rivets averaging about half an inch asunder. These rivets have
sharp conical heads externally, and some were evidently ornamental, as
they exist in places where there are no joinings, and in the circular
bottom portion they are large and plain. The upper margin of this
vessel is 2½ inches broad,” and corrugated. “Its outside edge next
the solid hoop has a double line of perforations in it.” It was in
a vessel of this kind that part of the great Dowris hoard of bronze
antiquities was deposited.
The metal is said by Mr. McAdam, in a paper on “Brazen Caldrons,”
published in the _Ulster Journal of Archæology_,[1597] to be thinner
than anything of the kind used in our modern cooking vessels, while
the surfaces are almost as even and level as that of modern sheet
brass.
Another caldron from Dowris, more nearly hemispherical, also with two
rings, is in the collection of the Earl of Rosse. A specimen from
Farney has been already mentioned. It resembles Fig. 511.
In the collection of Mr. T. W. U. Robinson, F.S.A., is a remarkably
fine and perfect caldron, closely resembling Fig. 511, found in the
parish of Ballyscullion, Co. Antrim, in June, 1880. The following are
its dimensions:—
Diameter at top 18 inches.
Width of rim 2⅜ ”
Extreme diameter 24 ”
Height 16 ”
Outside diameter of rings 4¼ ”
The rings are about ⅝ inch wide and of this section ┣╋.
[Illustration: Fig. 511.—Ireland.]
Although no such vessels have been found in barrows in England, they
are not entirely unknown in this country.
A very fine caldron of this character, about 21 inches in extreme
diameter and about 16 inches in height, was dredged up in the Thames
near Battersea, and is now in the British Museum. It is formed of two
tiers of plates above the concave bottom, and has had two rings at the
mouth, one of which, about 5 inches in diameter, remains. The rings
are of this section ┣╋, which combines great strength with economy of
metal.
The expanding rim of the mouth is supported on four small brackets,
pierced so as to leave a saltire ornament in each. The rivet-heads are
about ¼ inch in diameter. From these brackets two strips of thin brass
run down about 3 inches, each ornamented with a fern-leaf pattern.
The bottom of another caldron, from Walthamstow, of about the same
size, is also in the same collection. The metal is remarkably thin.
The two rings of such a caldron, 5¼ inches, of this section ┣━, found
near Ipswich, are in the British Museum. The semi-cylindrical beaded
brackets through which they pass and a part of the rim are still
attached. Another ring was found with a hoard at Meldreth, Cambs.
In some vessels very large sheets of bronze have been used. That
shown in Fig. 512, also from Wilde,[1598] is 18½ inches deep, but was
formed of three plates only, one for the circular bottom and two for
the remainder of the vessel. At the neck is a stout bronze ring, over
which the plates are turned. “It originally stood on six feet, each
forming an inverted cup.” It has suffered much from wear, and has been
carefully patched in several places. The metal is very tough and of a
rich golden colour. It is composed of—
Copper 88·71
Tin 9·46
Lead 1·66
Iron Trace
—————
99·83
Among three bronze vessels from the Dowris find now in the British
Museum is one of the form of Fig. 512, 16 inches high.
[Illustration: Fig. 512.—Ireland.]
The form is almost identical with some of the bronze urns from the
cemetery at Hallstatt, of which several appear to be of Etruscan
fabric.
Another vessel of the same character was found in a tumulus in
Brittany,[1599] and contained burnt bones.
In the collection of Canon Greenwell, F.R.S., is a vessel of hammered
bronze of the same character as the figure, but of rather broader
proportions, being nearly 17½ inches high and about 16 inches in
diameter; at the shoulder the neck contracts to 13 inches. It has
the usual two massive handles; and at the bottom is a flat ring with
arms across it like a four-spoked wheel, rather more than 9 inches
in diameter. The arms are ribbed longitudinally, and the ring has
concentric ribs upon it, except at the junction with the arms, where
there are cross-ribs. There are five rivets in it, one in the centre
and four in the ring opposite each end of the arms. This vessel, which
has been patched in more than one place, was found with numerous other
bronze objects in the Heathery Burn Cave, already so often mentioned.
A remarkably fine specimen of a vase of this character, found in
Capecastle Bog, near Armoy, Co. Antrim, is in the collection of Mr.
T. W. U. Robinson, F.S.A. It formerly belonged to Mr. William Gray,
of Belfast, who kindly allowed me to engrave it as Fig. 513. Its
dimensions are as follows—
Height 17½ inches.
Diameter of mouth 13 ”
Diameter at shoulder 15½ ”
Diameter at bottom 7¼ ”
The weight is 5 lbs. 9 ozs. The plates of which it is formed are
carefully riveted together, and are of large size. Some holes which
have apparently been worn by use have been carefully patched. All
the upper part of the vessel above the shoulder is decorated by small
raised bosses produced by means of a punch applied on the inside of
the vessel, and below the shoulder is a series of triangles embossed
in a similar manner forming a kind of vandyke collar round the vessel.
This character of ornamentation is very characteristic of the Bronze
Period, and though not uncommon on urns formed of burnt clay, has not,
I think, been before observed on those made of bronze.
[Illustration: Fig. 513.—Capecastle Bog.]
The bottom of the vessel is secured by a ring and cross piece of
bronze forming a kind of four-spoked wheel, as shown in the lower
figure. The rings for suspension are solid, and hang towards the
inside of the vessel.
As will be seen, there is much analogy between this Irish vessel and
that from the Heathery Burn Cave last described. The latter, however,
is without ornament.
These conical vessels are probably earlier in date than the spheroidal
caldrons.
Whether either were actually manufactured in Britain and Ireland is
an interesting question. There can, I think, be little doubt that
the conical form originated among the Etruscans, whose commerce
certainly extended to the northern side of the Alps.[1600] One of
the upright vases found at Hallstatt[1601] has animal figures upon
it almost undoubtedly of Etruscan work, though showing some signs of
Eastern influence in their style, and bronze helmets bearing Etruscan
inscriptions have been found in Styria. On the other hand, M. Alexandre
Bertrand and some other antiquaries are inclined to believe in a
more direct commerce with the East along the valley of the Danube or
Dnieper. The finding of vessels of the same form in Brittany, England,
and Ireland seems to point to a more western course of trade, always
assuming that these objects were imported. That some of them may have
come from abroad appears in the highest degree probable. Not impossibly
the _æs importatum_ of Cæsar may refer to a continuance of such a
trade. But whether there were no bronze-smiths in the British Isles
capable of imitating such products of skill is doubtful. The bronze
shields which are of essentially indigenous character exhibit an amount
of dexterity in producing thin plates of bronze quite sufficient for
the manufacture of such vessels. Moreover, the handles of these British
and Irish vessels are formed by rings, while those of the vessels from
southern countries are loops like the handles of pails or buckets. The
spheroidal caldrons are also of a form and character which appears to
be unknown on the Continent, and are therefore, in all probability, of
indigenous manufacture.
The careful manner in which some of the vessels are mended affords an
argument that such utensils were rare and valuable; but it also shows
that the native workmen understood how to make thin plates—unless
these were portions of other vessels—and at all events how to rivet
plates together.