flanges, one on each edge, but no cross stop. The flanges are for the
purpose of fixing the blade in a bent handle; they exhibit a gradual
development of the flange, and an expansion of the cutting edge, which
latter takes a semicircular, and in some cases nearly a circular
form.--Figs. 29, 30, from Ireland, _in my collection_, showing front
view and section.--Fig. 31, from Versailles, _in my collection_, with
section.--Fig. 32, from France; with side view; see _Matériaux pour
l’Histoire de l’Homme_.--Fig. 33, from Loyette, Department of Isère,
from _Horae Ferales_, front view.--Fig. 34, from the South of France,
_British Museum_, the blade very circular.--Fig. 35, from Alps [Aps?],
in Ardèche, _British Museum_, the circular form of the blade still
more developed. This form appears peculiar to the neighbourhood of
the Rhone, _Horae Ferales_.--Fig. 36, from France; with side view;
_Matériaux_.--Fig. 37, from Denmark, _British Museum_, of copper; this
form is rarely found in copper; with section.--Fig. 38, from Denmark,
of bronze, from _Madsen_, Heft iii.--Fig. 39, from Denmark, with
semicircular blade, _Madsen_, Heft iii.--Fig. 40, from Hessen, now in
the collection at Hanover, _Lindenschmit_, Heft i, Taf. iii.--Fig. 41,
from near Baltringen, _Lindenschmit_.--Fig. 42, from Neinheiligen, in
Thuringia, _British Museum_; with section.--Fig. 43, from the Terramara
Beds, Castione, Switzerland; with section; _Keller_, Plate lix.--Fig.
44, from Unter Uhldingen; with section; _Keller_, Plate xxix.--Fig.
45, from the Terramara Beds, Castione; with section; _Keller_, Plate
lix.--Fig. 46, from the Terramara Beds, Castione; with section;
_Keller_, Plate lix.--Fig. 47, from Hallstatt, in Austria, von Sacken,
_Das Grabfeld von Hallstatt in Oberösterreich und dessen Alterthümer_
(Vienna, 1868), Taf. vii; with side view.--Fig. 48, ditto, _ditto_,
found with the body of a child.--Fig. 49, ditto, the shaft of bronze,
and the blade of iron, from Hallstatt.--Fig. 50, the same form in iron,
also from Hallstatt, _in Mr. John Evans’ collection_.--Figs. 51 and
52, similar forms, in bronze, from Italy, _British Museum_.--Fig. 53,
the same form, from Telsch, Vilna, Russia, _British Museum_; with two
sections.
CLASS E.--Bronze celts having both the cross stop and the longitudinal
flanges. In the earliest form, the cross stop and flanges are raised
upon the faces of the blade, as in Class D. In the more improved form,
the upper part of the shaft of the blade is hollowed so as to answer
the same purpose and economize the metal. Figs. 54-8, from Ireland;
Fig. 54, with rudimentary stop and flanges, _in my collection_. Figs.
55 and 56, ditto, with rudimentary stop, the flanges more developed;
_in my collection_. Fig. 57, showing a development of both stop and
flange, ditto, _ditto_. Fig. 58, showing the stop and flange further
developed, and the metal of the upper part of the blade slightly sunk,
ditto, _ditto_. Fig. 59, a further development of the same, the metal
of the upper part of the shaft of the blade reduced to a minimum.--Fig.
60, the same form as Fig. 54, from Denmark, _Madsen_, Heft iii.--Fig.
61, from near Mainz, _Lindenschmit_, Taf. iii.--Fig. 62, from the
Museum at Wiesbaden, _Lindenschmit_, Taf. iii.--Fig. 63, from Altona,
in Courland; this form has some affinity to Class G, but is introduced
here on account of the expansion of the blade.--Figs. 64, 65, and 66,
from Italy, _in the British Museum_, the metal of the shaft slightly
sunk to produce a stop.--Fig. 67, from Fiesole, Italy, the metal part
of the shaft further reduced.--Fig. 68, from Baron von Stackelberg’s
collection, _in the British Museum_, also described in Klemm,
_Werkzeuge und Waffen_, p. 103, Fig. 180; said to be from Greece, but
its close resemblance to those from Italy is remarkable.
CLASS F.--The same form as Class E, but having the flanges bent by
hammering over the stop; the flanges appear to have been cast upright,
as in Class E, and to have been bent over the cleft handle after
hafting; by this means the necessity for binding the blade on with
thongs was obviated. This class forms a transition to the socket
type.--Figs. 69, 70, 71, from Ireland, _in my collection_.--Fig.
72, from the Royal Irish Academy collection, having a loop on the
side. See _Catalogue R. I. A._, ‘Bronze,’ page 379. The introduction
of the loop appears to be synchronous with the abandonment of the
binding, the overlapping flanges answering that purpose by enclosing
the bent portion of the handle, and requiring only that it should
be fastened by the loop to prevent its falling off the end of the
handle.--Fig. 73, from Denmark, _in my collection_.--Figs. 74, 75, from
Denmark, _Madsen_, Heft iii.--Fig. 76, from the Museum at Hanover,
_Lindenschmit_.--Fig. 77, from the Museum at Munich, _Lindenschmit_,
Taf. iv.--Fig. 78, from Möringen, Switzerland, _Keller_, Plate
xli.--Fig. 79, from Nidau-Steinberg, Switzerland, _Keller_, Plate
xxxv.--Fig. 80, from Hallstatt; _Von Sacken_.--Fig. 81, from Italy,
_British Museum_.
CLASS G.--The pocket type. The bent portion of the handle in this ease
was retained in its place by pockets cast on each side of the shaft
of the blade; it seems doubtful whether this, or Class F, is to be
regarded as the nearest approach to the socket type. In Class F the
overlapping was produced by hammering the metal; but Class G is a
further advance in the casting process.--Figs. 82 and 83, from Ireland,
_in my collection_; the latter with loop; the pockets or pouches to
receive the points of the bent handle are shown in the sections.--Fig.
84, from France; see _Matériaux pour l’Histoire de l’Homme_.--Fig. 85,
found twelve leagues south of Oviedo, Spain, _in the collection of the
Society of Antiquaries_.--Fig. 86, from Andalusia, Spain, _British
Museum_.--Fig. 87, from Denmark, _Madsen_, Heft iii.--Fig. 88, from the
collection at Munich, _Lindenschmit_.--Fig. 89, from the collection at
Hanover, _Lindenschmit_.--Fig. 89 _a_, an iron celt of the same form,
still in use by the Kalmucs, Siberia, _Prehistoric Times_, p. 26.
CLASS H.--The socket type. In some of the specimens of Class G, as for
example Figs. 82 and 83, the metal portion of the shaft of the blade
dividing the two pouches is reduced to a minimum. The next step was
to do away with it altogether and enlarge the sides of the pouches so
as to form a single socket. By this means the bent handle no longer
required to be cleft to receive the blade, but was inserted whole into
the socket, producing greater firmness, each blow of the axe serving to
fix it more securely to its handle. The loops, seen only occasionally
on Classes F and G, are almost invariably present in Class H.--Figs.
90, 91, 92, 93, 94. Socket celts of bronze, from Ireland and England,
_in my collection_; the form with square sides is very uncommon in
Ireland; in Fig. 92 a representation of the overlapping flange of
Class F is cast on the surface of the socket.--Fig. 94_a_, a socket
celt of wrought iron with loop, from Merionethshire, _British Museum_;
_Archaeologia Cambrensis_, vol. i, third series, p. 250.--Figs. 95 and
96, the same forms from France. See _Matériaux, &c._ The square-sided
celt is common in the north of France.--Fig. 97, from Alemquez,
Portugal; _Coll. Société des Archit. Portugais_.--Fig. 98, from
Denmark, _in my collection_.--Figs. 99, 100, Denmark, _Madsen_, Heft
i.--Fig. 100 _a_, an iron socket celt, from the moss of Nydam, in
Slesvik, of the iron period; Engelhardt, _Denmark in the Early Iron
Age_ (1866), Pl. xv; believed, from the Roman coins found with it,
to be of the third century A.D.[217]--Fig. 101, from the collection
at Hanover, _Lindenschmit_.--Fig. 102, from the Museum at Mainz,
_Lindenschmit_.--Fig. 103, socket celt of iron, from Golssen, _Klemm_,
Fig. 195.--Fig. 104, socket celt of iron, from Thuringia, _Klemm_,
Fig. 194.--Fig. 105, of bronze, from Unter Uhldingen, Switzerland;
_Keller_, Pl. xxix.--Fig. 106, of iron, found near Marin, Switzerland,
the socket formed by beating over the blade on one side only; the
socket is not quite completed; see _Keller_, Pl. lxxi.--Fig. 107,
the same form of iron, found near Marin; the socket is closed and
completed all round, _Keller_, Pl. lxxi. These specimens in iron may
be regarded as connecting links between Classes F and H. Viewing the
occurrence of iron celts of this form, it appears not impossible
that the introduction of the socket type and the sudden abolition of
the central division may have been suggested by the use of the more
malleable metal, by means of which the fabricator acquired the art of
forming a socket by bending over the metal on one side; the inutility
of the central division would thus become apparent.--Fig. 108, bronze
socket celt with loop, from Hallstatt, _Von Sacken_.--Fig. 109, exactly
the same form in iron, from Hallstatt; a portion of the wooden handle
is still shown in this specimen.--Figs. 110 and 111, bronze socket
celts, from Italy, of a variety peculiar to that country, _British
Museum_.--Fig. 112, socket celt of copper, from Hungary, believed by
the author to be the only known specimen of pure copper; _Keller_,
Pl. lxxviii.--Fig. 113, bronze socket celt, from Hungary, _British
Museum_.--Fig. 114, bronze socket celt, with two loops, from Kertch,
_British Museum_.--Fig. 115, bronze socket celt, from the province of
Viatka, Russia. See _Matériaux, &c._--Fig. 116, bronze socket celt with
two loops, from the Ural, Russia.--Fig. 117, mode of hafting, Classes
A, B, and C.--Fig. 118, mode of hafting, Classes D, E, F, and G.--Fig.
119, mode of hafting, Class H.
In a paper lately read to the Society of Antiquaries by Dr.
Thurnam,[218] he has drawn attention to the fact that none but celts of
the most primitive type, viz. those belonging to Classes B, C, D, and
the most rudimentary form of Class E, have been found in the British
tumuli. Scarcely a single instance of the more developed palstave or of
the socketed celt has as yet been discovered; the only exceptions being
a bronze socket celt found in a tumulus on Plumpton Plain, near Lewes,
and a diminutive bronze socket celt found in a tumulus at Arras in the
Yorkshire wolds. These Arras barrows are known, however, to belong to
the iron age; having produced, amongst other articles composed of that
metal, the iron tire of the wheel, and trappings of a war chariot. We
learn from this that the discoveries in the tumuli confirm in point
of time the order of development inferred from a consideration of the
implements themselves.
* * * * *
From the foregoing detailed description of Plate XVIII we are enabled
to draw the following conclusions, viz.:--(1) That in each of the
divisions of Europe therein represented, traces of the development
of the celt, from its simplest to its most complex form, have been
discovered; the earliest forms being in imitation of those of stone,
and being not unfrequently constructed of pure copper. Where some
of the connecting links are wanting in the table there is reason to
suppose the absence of those links may be the result of imperfect
information, and does not necessarily imply a flaw in the continuity
of development. (2) That, notwithstanding the simultaneous development
which appears to have taken place in different countries, we may
nevertheless observe slight differences in the details of construction,
which are sufficient to give a distinctive character to the celts of
each separate region. Thus, for instance, the celts from Ireland are,
as a general rule, shorter and less elegant in form than those found on
the Continent. Class C, consisting of stop celts without wings, though
common in Great Britain and Ireland, is, so far as I have been able
to ascertain, unknown on the Continent. On the other hand, Class D,
having wings without stops, is rare in Ireland, but common in France,
Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. The development of this class of
celt into a nearly circular edge, as represented in Figs. 34 and 35, is
peculiar to the south of France, though traces of it are observable in
the celts from Germany, Fig. 40. Class E, having both stop and flange,
is found in a more rudimentary stage in Ireland than elsewhere. The
palstaves of this form, having shoulders on the side of the blade, are
peculiar to Italy and Switzerland, Figs. 66, 67, and 68. Class F, with
overlapping wings, is but slightly developed in Ireland, but is fully
so in Italy, Germany, and at Hallstatt. Class G, the double pocket
variety, has its head quarters in the north-west of France, but is also
known in Ireland, Denmark, Spain, and Germany; it is, in so far as I
have been able to ascertain, unknown in Italy. Class H, the socket
type, varies greatly in different countries; the square form, Figs. 93,
94, 95, 96, 100, and 102, is exceedingly rare in Ireland, but common
in France. The socket celts from Italy, Figs. 110 and 111, are of
peculiar type, and evidently derive their form from the winged palstave
of the same country, Fig. 67. Socket celts of iron have been found at
Hallstatt, and in Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, and North Wales. The
representation of the overlapping wings, cast on the surface of the
socket celt, Figs. 92 and 101, is common in England and Germany, but
exceedingly rare in Ireland. The double-looped socket celt, Figs. 97,
114, and 116, appears to be especially characteristic of the Eastern
provinces of Russia and Siberia, though found occasionally elsewhere.
In attempting to account for the varieties, which I have described,
in the details of construction, coupled with a general uniformity of
design throughout the entire region of distribution of these weapons,
we may, I think, draw an exact parallel between the development of
bronze celts and the development of the forms of cannon between the
fourteenth and the nineteenth centuries. From Europe to China we know
that the form of cannon has developed upon the same plan. In the same
way that the overlapping wings of the palstave were represented on the
faces of the socket celt, so the rings of metal which bound together
the bars of which the ancient bombard was composed, were represented
on the surface of the cast bronze cannon which superseded it. In
every country the general type of development of cannon has been the
same, but the details of construction have varied in each. Even in
our own time, the introduction of breech-loaders has been synchronous
throughout Europe; but the French and English cannon are not perfectly
identical. Now, the cause of this is sufficiently well known. There
has been constant intercommunication between the several countries
throughout the whole period of the development of this weapon. Each new
improvement as it occurred has been communicated from one country to
another, either by contact in war, or by peaceful intercourse; but each
country has fabricated its own weapons, and has by that means contrived
to give them a national character.
[Illustration: PLATE XX.
CELT MOULDS.]
So in like manner we must assume that the development of the bronze
celt extended over a long period of time; that each new improvement
was communicated from tribe to tribe and from nation to nation; but
that each country manufactured its own implements, and varied in
the construction of them. The proof that this was the case is found
in the circumstance that moulds for casting them have been found in
different countries. Plate XX, Fig. 31, represents a stone mould found
at Ballynahinch, Co. Down, Ireland, and figured in the _Catalogue
of the Royal Irish Academy_; it is adapted for casting celts of the
Class B. Fig. 32 is a stone mould for Class G, found at Montaigu,
near Valoignes, Normandy, and is taken from a cast in the Museum of
the Society of Antiquaries. Fig. 33, a stone mould for Class H, from
Kilkenny, Ireland. Fig. 34, two halves of a bronze mould for Class
E, from Morges, Switzerland, figured in Keller, Plate xxxix. Fig.
35, two halves of a bronze mould for Class H, found in the Forest of
Bricquebec, Normandy, in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries.
Fig. 36, one-half of a bronze mould for Class H, from England, figured
in the _Catalogue of the Royal Irish Academy_, ‘Bronze,’ page 393.
In the three last specimens it will be seen that the mode of fitting
the two halves together, so as to prevent the escape of the metal,
is by means of a ridge on one half, fitting into a groove in the
other. It is improbable that a contrivance so identical as this should
have arisen independently in the three countries. Further proof of
connexion is shown by the identity of the ribs in the interior of the
sockets of celts belonging to Class H. Figs. 37 and 38 represent
sections of socket celts from Ireland, the former showing three, the
latter one, longitudinal rib of raised metal running from the bottom
of the socket for some distance up the side of the interior of the
socket. Fig. 39 is the section of a socket celt from Denmark, in my
collection, having one rib of the same kind. It has been suggested
that these ribs represent the interstices between slices of the core,
by means of which the socket was formed in casting; if so, the cores
must have been constructed of some hard material, cut in slices, in
order to facilitate their removal from the socket when formed. Several
objections may, however, be urged against this; in the first place, no
such cores have ever been discovered, which tends to the supposition
that the cores must, in all probability, have been constructed of clay;
in the second place, it will be seen by reference to Fig. 20 that this
celt has only one central rib; if, therefore, the rib was formed by the
metal pressing into the interstices between the slices of the core, it
is evident that the core in this case had only two slices; but it will
be seen that the aperture of the socket expands towards the bottom, and
it would have been impossible, therefore, to extract the core if it
were divided into only two parts.
The theory of core slices must, therefore, be abandoned, and we are
driven to the conclusion that the ribs must have been intentional,
either to give strength to the celt, which is unlikely from the great
thickness of the metal, or to form channels for the passage of the
metal in casting, or, what is more probable, to serve the purpose
of gripping the portion of the wooden handle which fitted into the
socket, and preventing its shifting with the blows of the weapon. Fig.
39 represents cross ribs at the bottom of the socket of a celt from
Denmark, in my collection. Whatever may have been the purpose for which
the ribs were formed, their identity in the implements of the two
countries serves us as an additional proof of intercourse between them.
Although moulds for casting celts have not been found in Denmark, there
is evidence to show, from vestiges of scoriae that have been found,
that they were there cast in clay, as indeed they must probably have
been to a great extent in other parts of Europe.
It would be premature to speculate upon the primary sources of
the bronze civilization of Europe, until we have examined carefully the
distribution of the other weapons belonging to that period. This much
may, however, I think, be said with respect to the geographical region
of bronze celts, that they belong more especially to the north and west
of Europe; they have never been found in any of those countries which
were occupied by the Phoenicians, nor have we any sufficient reason
for believing that they were common in Greece. We have, therefore, no
evidence whatever for supposing that the north of Europe derived the
first idea of these weapons from either of those nations. We certainly
have only negative evidence as yet for affirming that they did not,
but the burden of proof must rest with those who have attributed
them to the Phoenicians. To what extent they were employed in Russia
and Northern Siberia, is a point which we have not as yet sufficient
evidence to determine. I think, however, I am justified in saying that
those hitherto discovered in Siberia are of a late type, belonging
chiefly to the socket variety, and that they are there often associated
with weapons of iron. I trust, however, to have an opportunity of
entering more fully into this subject on a future occasion, when
treating of the weapons of the later bronze and early iron periods of
Europe.
FOOTNOTES:
[184] A Lecture delivered at the Royal United Service Institution on
June 18, 1869, and published in the _Journal of the R. U. S. Inst._,
vol. xiii (1869), pp. 509-539, pl. xxxi-xxxiii (= Plates XVII-XX
herewith).
[185] _Trans. Int. Congr. Preh. Arch. at Norwich_, 1868 (London, 1869),
p. 92 ff.
[186] _Lectures on Man, his Place in Creation, and in the History of
the Earth_, by Dr. Carl Vogt. Edited by James Hunt, Ph.D. (London,
1864), p. 466 ff.
[187] The fact mentioned both by the Baron de Bonstetten and Dr.
Keller, of celts of jade and nephrite having been found in Switzerland,
materials which, according to the latest investigations [1869], are not
found in the Alps, but must have been imported from the East, proves
that intercommunication and barter must have been carried on between
distant countries at the time when such weapons were used.--Baron
de Bonstetten, _Recueil d’Antiquités Suisses_ (Berne, 1855), p. 12;
Keller, _The Lake Dwellings of Switzerland_ (1866), pp. 56, 68 (cf.
1878, pp. 72, 195, 205, 215).
[188] _Prehistoric Times_, by Sir John Lubbock, Bart., F.R.S., London
(1865), p. 147.
[189] _Prehistoric Times_, by Sir John Lubbock, Bart., F.R.S. (1865),
pp. 142-3; _Results of the Investigation of Animal Remains from
the Lake Dwellings_, by Prof. Rütimeyer; in _The Lake Dwellings of
Switzerland_, by Dr. Ferdinand Keller, translated by J. E. Lee, F.S.A.,
F.G.S., 1866, pp. 355-62 (1878, pp. 537-44).
[190] _Moosseedorf_, Keller, l. c., p. 35; _Robenhausen_, Keller, l.
c., p. 40.
[191] (The first two sentences of this paragraph have been transposed,
for clearness.--ED.)
[192] Max Müller, _Science of Language_, second series (London, 1864),
p. 230.
[193] Rawlinson, _The Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern
World_ (1864), vol. i. p. 123.
[194] Klemm, _Werkzeuge und Waffen_ (Sondershausen, 1858), p. 96.
[195] Keller, l. c., p. 116: (1878, p. 121).
[196] Keller, l. c., p. 221, pl. lxvii: (1878, p. 362, pl. cxix).
[197] Keller, l. c., pp. 218, 219, pl. lxviii: (1878, pp. 362-3, pl.
cxx. 1-28).
[198] Wilson, _Prehistoric Man_ (London, 1862), vol. i. p. 282.
[199] Wilson, _Prehistoric Man_, vol. i. pp. 231-79; Squier and Davis
in _Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge_, vol. i. pp. 196-203, figs.
81, 82, 84, 87.4, 87.1, from which work the illustrations are taken.
[200] Wilson, _Prehistoric Man_, vol. i. p. 253.
[201] Since the above was written, Sir John Lubbock has published in an
Appendix to his second edition of _Prehistoric Times_ (1869), p. 595,
letters from Dr. Percy, and from Messrs. Jenkin and Lefeaux, highly
experienced assayers, expressing their opinions upon the theory of
M. Wibel, that the ancient bronze was obtained, not by the fusion of
copper and tin, but directly from ore containing the two metals. They
are unanimously of opinion that this could not have been the case, none
of the ores containing naturally a mixture of the metals in proper
proportions. Although the opinions of these gentlemen appear decisively
to negative the possibility of ancient bronze having been habitually
produced for commercial purposes in this manner, they do not appear to
me to discredit the supposition that the first imperfect knowledge of
the mixture may have been brought about accidentally in the manner I
have described.
[202] Worsaae, _The Primeval Antiquities of Denmark_ (London, 1849),
pp. 24, 40-45.
[203] The custom of making a mark upon the weapon for each victim
slain, is one of very usual occurrence among savage people.
[204] Thurnam, _Ancient British Barrows_ (1869), pp. 168, 198;
_Archaeologia_, vol. xlii; ‘On the Two Principal Forms of Ancient
British and Gaulish Skulls,’ _Mem. Anthrop. Soc. Lond._, i. 120
ff., 459 ff. (1865); iii. 41 ff. (1870); Davis and Thurnam, _Crania
Britannica_ (London, 1865).
[205] ‘On some Flint Implements found associated with Roman Remains in
Oxfordshire and the Isle of Thanet,’ by Col. A. Lane Fox, _Journal of
the Ethnological Society_ (1869), N.S., vol. i. p. 1 ff.
[206] _Prehistoric Man_, by Daniel Wilson, LL.D. (London, 1869), vol.
i. p. 308.
[207] _Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal_, 1865, p. 126.
[208] Rawlinson, _Five Great Monarchies_ (1864), vol. i. p. 120.
[209]