Fig. 260.—Isle of Harty. 1/1
The only specimen mentioned in the Catalogue of the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is in all 14 inches long, with a thick back and notched tang, and of this the place of finding is unknown. Professor Daniel Wilson[749] speaks of it as having been found in Ayrshire, and regards it as a reaping instrument. He also figures a socketed knife of much the same size from the collection of Sir John Clerk at Penicuick House, in which are also some tanged specimens. I cannot help suspecting that these are of foreign origin.
In Ireland the form appears to be at present unknown.
Fig. 261.—Allhallows, Hoo. ½
In Fig. 261 is shown a knife of a form which is of extremely rare occurrence in this country; though, as will be seen, it has frequently been found in France.
The specimen here figured has been kindly lent me by Mr. Humphrey Wickham, of Strood, and was found with a hoard of bronze objects at Allhallows, Hoo,[750] Kent. The hoard contained socketed celts, gouges, a spear-head, fragments of swords, and the object engraved as Fig. 286. One more crescent-like in form was found with a hoard of bronze objects near Meldreth, Cambridgeshire, and is in the British Museum.
Knives of this kind were associated with celts, gouges, &c., in the hoard of Notre-Dame d’Or, now in the museum at Poitiers. Two also were present in the Alderney hoard found near the Pierre du Villain.[751]
Some knives of this character were found with a hoard of bronze tools and weapons at Questembert, Brittany, and are now in the museum at Vannes. A broken one was in the hoard of the Jardin des Plantes, Nantes.[752] One from La Manche is engraved in the Memoirs of the Society of Antiquaries of Normandy, 1827-8, pl. xvi. 20. A knife of this character of rectangular form, each side being brought to an edge, was found with other bronze relics at Plonéour, Brittany, and is engraved in the Archæologia Cambrensis.[753] In character this knife closely resembles some of those in flint.[754] A kind of triangular knife of the same character was found at Briatexte[755] (Tarn). One from the station of Eaux Vives, in the Lake of Geneva, has the face ornamented at the blunt margin with a vandyke of hatched triangles. In some French varieties there are rings at the top of the blade instead of holes through it. In a curious specimen from St. Jullien, Chapleuil, in the collection of M. Aymard, at Le Puy, the edge is nearly semicircular, and there are eight round holes through the blade as well as two rings at the back. Some of the razors from the Lake-dwellings of Savoy and Switzerland are of much the same character as these knives. I have a knife of this class with a rather large triangular opening in it and two circular loops, found at Bernissart, Hainault.[756] Another somewhat different was found at Lavène[757] (Tarn).