Fig. 13.—Decorated celt from Ireland—812 inches long, 4 wide at the blade end, and half an inch thick.
Bronze celts are generally plain, but often ornamented with ridges, dots, or lines, as in figs. 6, 9, 13, 15, 16, and 20. That they were made in the countries where they are found is proved by the presence of moulds (fig. 12). It is difficult to understand why the celt-makers never cast their axes as we do ours, with a transverse hole, through which the handle might pass. No bronze implement of this description has, however, so far as I know, been yet found in Great Britain, though a few have occurred in Denmark, where they are of great beauty and highly decorated.
Fig. 14.—Simple celt from Denmark, one-third of the actual size.
The development of the beautiful leaf-shaped spears is also very interesting, and has been well described by Rev. W. Greenwell and Mr Brewis.[1] They are derived from the small and rather weak knife (commonly called a knife-dagger), so frequently found associated with early burials. This eventually passed into the true dagger, which was the immediate parent of the spear-head, the rapier, and the sword. The base of the dagger blade was first narrowed, and a flat tang with a peg hole at its termination was added to it, for the purpose of fixing it to the shaft. This tanged blade constitutes the first true spear-head of metal. The next change was the addition of a loose ferrule, which enclosed the wood through which the tang was carried. The object of this was to prevent the wood splitting and the head being
- ↑ Archæologia, vol. lxi., 1909.
