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90 CRANIA BEITANNICA. [OKAP. V.
tumuli of the British period which have been examined in the south of the island, have iron
weapons of any sort been discovered, whilst those of bronze are of frequent occurrence. The
iM-onze weapons found in the barrows are usuaUy of an elegant leaf-shape; they are often gilt,
and it is observable that they have aU been secui-ed to their shafts by tangs, and that the more
advanced socketed form is not found in the barrows of England*. Those which are to be
regarded as the heads of javelins or darts, vary from three to about five inches in length,
^\'hilst others of considerable breadth, and from seven and a half to sixteen inches in length,
must be accepted as the heads of spears or blades of daggers, the cm-iously ornamented hantuel
of the latter weapon, and remains of wooden sheaths lined with Knen, being sometimes discovered
united to the bladest.
The bronze leaf-shaped swords found throughout the British Islands, differ fi-om the otherwise
very similar weapons discovered in Scandinavia and the north of Germany, in the greater
Ijeauty of their form, and in the cii'cumstance of the handles having been almost imiformly of
perishable materials as horn or wood—in Ireland, at least, of the ivory of the Wah-us or
Narwhal Ηand not, liie those of Northern Europe, of bronze, variously ornamented with
plates or wires of gold. In beauty and elegance of form, they bear comparison with the
representations of the same weapon on Greek fictile vases ; thus suggesting that the original
specimens, if not also the subsequent supply, were probably imported by the Phoenicians.
These swords vary considerably in size. In some instances they do not exceed twenty inches :
the more usual length, however, is about two feet; but many examples have been met with of
tliirty inches or upwards, like the fine one found at the mouth of the WancUe near Wandsworth,
now in the British Museum, which has this length exclusive of the hilt, which has
been broken off. None of these swords have been fm-nished with guards. Theii- general form
seems more fitted for a thrust than a downward stroke; but if the edges were not groimd
down, so as to give a sharp mmro or effective point («.r,^« of Polybius), their dissimilarity
from the straight and sharply-pointed Celtiberian blades of steel would be sufficiently obvious.
It is highly probable that the use of iron in the " maritime states" of South Britain dates
from the period of the Belgic immigration, which cannot be reckoned much earlier than a
century before the invasion of JuHus. This epoch, extending to the conquest of the island
under Claudius and his successors, may be regarded as that of bronze and iron tramition. In
the time of Caesar, in the maritime districts, iron was so scarce, that rings of it served the
purposes of a metallic currency. The conclusion that the bronze sword maintained its ground
in Northern Britain down to the time of Domitian, is, it must be admitted, at first sight not
easily reconciled with the description of Tacitus, who in this instance, however, may have faUen
* See the various forms of these weapons, found in one
spot (not a barrow) at Arreton, in the Isle of Wight. Out of
twelve spear-heads or dagger-blades, one only was of the
socketed kind. A. W. Franks, Esq., "Archajologia," vol. xxxvi,
p. 326. plate 25.
t Curious, narrow, double-edged bronze blades, from 15 to
24 inches in length, each intended to be fastened to a shaft by
a tang and rivets, are occasionally found in both Britain and
Ireland. In 1688, a considerable number of these long thin
blades were discovered, with other bronze weapons, at Bethgelert
in Caernarvonshire; others also have been found in
Merionethshire. One, from the Thames at Datchet, 15|
inches in length, is in the Bateman Museum (G. 151). Camden,
vol. iii. p. 185. pi. 8. fig. 15; vol. iv. p. 232. pi. 18.
fig. 10. Archieologia, vol. xvi, p. 365. pi. 70. fig. 2.
t Solinus (c. 22) states that the hilts of the Irish swords
were frequently formed of the teeth of marine monsters, and
shone like ivory; a description, according to the life of St.
Columba, equally applicable to tne Irish sword of the sixth
century; "macheram belluinis omatam dolatis dentibus"
(Life, auct. Adamnan, hb. ii. c. 39): this passage seems the
proper complement of that in Solinus. The Walrus, Trichems
rosmarus, and Narwhal, Monodon monoceros, are now rarely
seen in the British seas, but were probably more common
visitants during and before the Roman period.
CHAP. V.] HISTOEIOAL ETHNOLOGY OF BRITAIN. 91
into an error of detail*. In the time of Severus, at the beginning of the third century, iron, in
the same part of Britain, seems stñl to have been regarded abnost in the light of a precious
metal; rings of it, as already shown, being worn by the Caledonian tribes on the neck and loins.
Certain curious swords of iron, vrith hilts and sheaths of bronze, of superior but evidently
barbaric workmanship, which probably belong to the transition period to which we refer, can only
be regarded as the swords of native Britons. Such have been found in the bed of the Thames;
in three instances in that of the Witham below lineoln; at Flasby, and Stanwick, Yorkshire;
under a stone heap at Worton, Lancashire; at Embleton, Cumberland; and, lastly, at the
foot of the Pentland Hills, near Edinburghf. In two instances, these swords were accompanied
by others of bronze, showing the contemporary use which would occur in a transition period,
such as that to which they are to be attributed. There is a simñar variety in their length to
that in the bronze swords. One found in the Thames, measures fully three feet; that in the
Witham, in 1787, nearly as much; that from Embleton 26^ inches, and those from Stanwick
and the Pentlands about two feet. Some are ornamented in a grotesque though bold style,
with figures of animal heads; others with colom-ed enamel, in a manner, however, quite distinct
from Roman or Anglo-Saxon metal-work, but corresponding with that of horse-trappings and
other objects from Polden Hill, Stanwick (where one of the swords was found), Annandale, and
other places, the manufacture of which is with much probability assigned to central Gaul. On
the backs of the scabbards are loops of bronze, generally near the middle, but in two of the largest
size, at the top, by means of wMch they could be attached to the gii-dle, or to brazen or iron
chains, such as Diodorus says the Gauls used for this pui-pose. In two instances, the small size
of the weapons shows that they are more properly to be regarded as daggers than swords. One
of these is from the bed of the Thames, the other from that of the Witham. Both are from
localities near which remarkable examples of British bronze shields have been discovered; so
that the contemporary character of the two can hardly be doubted, were it not even proved by
the súnüarity of the peculiar ornamentation, especially in the dagger, sword and shield from
the Witham. The hilt of this dagger terminates in a little imp-like figure, the eyes of which, as
well as certain ornamental studs on the sheath, which was güt, had probably been flUed in with
enamel Í.
The bronze " celts" and "palstaves," so frequently found in Britain, seem to have answered
various purposes, the chief of which was that of forming the heads of axes§. They also appear
* Similar to that of Livy, whose error of prolepsis as to the
Roman adoption of the Celtiberian sword has already been referred
to. There is no reason to conclude that Tacitus was
ever in Britain, and his life of Agricola was written some
years after the death of that great general. A celebrated
liistoriau of our own times observes, that whilst in the classical
historians " the relation is in all its principal parts strictly true,
the numerous little incidents which heighten the interest are
evidently furnished by the imagination of the author." —
Macaulay, Essays, vol. i. p. 110.
t Philosophical Transactions for 1796, p. 395. pi. 11. fig. 3.
This, which belonged to Sir Joseph Banks, was found in the
Witham iu 1787. It was destroyed for the analysis of its
sheath. C. R. Smith, Collect. Ant . 1853, vol. iii. p. 67. pi. 16 ;
vol. iv. p. 153, 220. pis. 33, 34. Archaeological Journal, vol. x.
p. 259 ; vol. xi. p. 28. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries,
vol. ii. p. 199 ; vol. iv. p. 28. Proceedings of the
Archseological Institute at York, p. 10, 11, 39. pi. 5. Archieological
Journal, vol. xiv. p. 92. Wilson, "Archaeology of
Scotland," p. 441. Two of these swords and one dagger are in
the British Museum : one very fine sword in that of the Society
of Antiquaries of Scotland, another iu the collection of
Lord Londesborough, and the finest of all iu a small museum
at Keswick. The defective one from the ^V^ithani is in the
museum at Alnwick Castle.
X If the bronze and the pecuHar iron swords described iu the
text are not those of the ancient Britons, then it must be admitted
that archseology is as yet ignorant of them.
§ The celt was perhaps the " securis serata " of Virgil (.¿En.
xi. V. 656), the " Amazonia securis " of Horace (Od. iv. v. 20)
and Pliny (lib. vii. § 57), the "sagaris" or battle-axe of Herodotus
(lib. vii. c. 64), and Amazonian "sagaris" of Strabo
(lib. xi. c. 5. § I).