Amongst those who have upheld the theory of the origin of bronze from Phoenician sources, may be mentioned Mr. Howorth, in a paper lately published in the Transactions of the Ethnological Society (1868, N.S., vol. vi. pp. 73-100); and Sir John Lubbock, though not committing himself to the same view as regards the origin of bronze, has nevertheless been at the pains of ably defending the ancient authors who speak of Phoenician intercourse with Britain from the attacks made upon them by Sir George Cornewall Lewis (Prehistoric Times, 1869, pp. 59-69).
This being the existing state of our knowledge in regard to the introduction of bronze, and the variety of opinion on the subject being, as we have seen, considerable, the task before us will be to ascertain as far as may be possible, from the implements themselves, the history of their origin, by examining carefully their construction in the various regions in which they occur, and by tracing the geographical distribution of those details of form which show evidence of connexion; thereby to determine, if possible, the sources from which they were derived. Whatever degree of veracity we may be disposed to attribute to early history, we must at least admit that the implements have this advantage over written testimony of any kind, that they cannot intentionally mislead us. If we draw wrong inferences from them, the fault is our own. We shall find the evidence very fragmentary as yet, but sufficient to prove that it affords a valuable source of information whenever sufficient materials are collected to enable us to work out the problem to its legitimate ends.
On the present occasion I propose to confine my remarks to showing, by means of the accompanying table ([Plate XVIII]), the distribution of some of the commoner varieties of the copper and bronze celt, an instrument which, like its prototype in stone, appears to have been employed both as tool and as weapon for all the various purposes to which it was capable of being turned, and to have been used not merely as a hatchet and battle-axe, but also to have been sometimes hafted on the end of a straight handle, to be used as a spud or crowbar, and even perhaps, as some of the forms appear to indicate, as a spade in tilling the ground.
The table is arranged upon the same plan as Plate XIII of my last lecture, and is intended to serve as a continuation of Plate XII of the same lecture, showing a further development of the same weapon. The successive developments are arranged, in order, by classes from left to right; the several localities are separated by horizontal dotted lines, by means of which are seen the various types prevalent in each locality, in so far as I have been able to obtain drawings from published sources; there can be no doubt, however, that the table is still very imperfect, and that considerable additions may be made to it hereafter. On the left, in Class A, will be found celts with convex surfaces, identical in form to those constructed of stone, the relative antiquity of which is shown by their being almost invariably of pure or nearly pure copper. It has been suggested that this form may have been adopted on account of its being more easily produced by beating the copper, and that its resemblance to the stone celts is not necessarily a proof of age; but there is no reason why Class B should not be as easily formed as Class A by this means, and many are so formed, as may be seen in the table. Moreover, Fig. 3 a is a bronze celt of the earlier form, taken from Prehistoric Times, and as this must have been cast in a mould, its peculiar shape can only be accounted for by supposing it to have been constructed in imitation of the stone celts. In passing from Class B, a gradual development of form may be traced, commencing with a slight stop or ridge across, and rudimentary flanges along the side of the shaft of the blade, developing in size and improving in form, no doubt, as the art of casting bronze became gradually perfected.[213] These stops and flanges are at first raised on the surface of the blade, but by degrees the same purpose is effected by sinking a groove in the blade to receive the handle, thereby economizing the metal, and producing a more symmetrical form; the flanges were at the same time bent over, and ultimately cast with a cavity on each side to receive the handle, and obviate the necessity for binding on the celt with thongs. This led by degrees to the ultimate perfection of the weapon, by the introduction of the socket type, which is associated with weapons of iron, and is sometimes itself constructed of that metal.
The order of development here adopted is in the main that followed by Sir William Wilde, in his Catalogue of the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, but I have omitted all mention of branch varieties, as they do not serve my purpose of illustrating the continuity of development, though they are valuable in showing the connexion between localities.
Although the course of development appears to have followed the order here indicated, it is not unlikely the earlier forms may have continued in use, and may even have continued to be constructed at the same time as the later forms. The earlier and less complicated types, being easier of construction, and being equally serviceable for some purposes, would continue to be made, in the same way that smooth-bores and rifle-barrels, row-boats, sailing-vessels, and steam-packets, continue to be used simultaneously in our own time.
The progress of development of this weapon will be better understood by a detailed reference to the figures.
Reference to the Figures in [Plate XVIII].[214]
COPPER, BRONZE, AND IRON CELTS.
Class A.—Copper celts from various localities, having convex surfaces, in form resembling those of stone.—Figs. 1, 2, and 3, from Ireland, in my collection.—Fig. 3 a, a bronze celt of the same form, from Le Puy, France, Prehistoric Times, p. 27.—Fig. 4, copper celt found at Blengow, Mecklenberg-Schwerin Museum; Horae Ferales.—Fig. 5, copper celt from the lake dwellings of Sipplingen, Switzerland, found embedded in a coating of clay (a mould?). See Keller, The Lake Dwellings of Switzerland, (transl. J. E. Lee, 1866), p. 121, Plate xxix.—Fig. 6, copper celt found in an Etruscan tomb, and now in the Berlin Museum. See Catalogue of the Royal Irish Academy, ‘Bronze,’ pp. 367, 395.
Class B.—Copper and bronze celts from various localities, having flat concave sides, and a rectangular cross section, showing a gradual enlargement of the cutting edge.—Figs. 7 to 12, copper celts from Ireland, in my collection, showing a gradual enlargement of the cutting edge.—Figs. 13, 14, 15, ditto, ditto, of bronze, the sides more concave, and the cutting edge more expanded.—Fig. 16, bronze celt, of similar form, from Denmark (Madsen, Afbildninger af Danske Oldsager og Mindesmærker, Copenhagen, 1872, Heft iii, Fig. 1).—Fig. 17, copper celt from Steinfurt, in the collection of Professor Dieffenbach, at Friedberg, Lindenschmit, Die Alterthümer unserer heidnischen Vorzeit (Mainz, 1864 ff.), Plate 3.—Fig. 18, ditto of copper, found near Mainz, Museum of Mainz, Lindenschmit, Plate 3.—Fig. 19, the same form of bronze, from near Mainz, Lindenschmit.—Fig. 20, the same form of bronze from Italy, British Museum.[215]—Figs. 21, 22, 23, the same form of copper from Hungary, Keller, p. 219, Plate lxviii.—Figs. 24, 25, 26, similar forms of bronze, with rectangular holes, from the Island of Thermia, Greek Archipelago, British Museum.