2 pieces of rough copper.
1 whetstone, Fig. 540.
Of the largest mould itself, Fig. 530, not much need be said. The dowels on the face of one of the halves have been much injured by oxidation, so that the two parts of the mould do not now fit so well together as they did originally. On the outside of each valve are two projecting pins intended to hold the cord in position, by which the two parts of the mould were held together when in use. As will be seen, the mould itself is somewhat bell-mouthed. Of the ornamental “flanches” on the celt, I have already given the history at page 108. The instruments cast from this mould, and present in the hoard, are five in number, four in fairly perfect condition, and one broken in two in the middle. Though cast in the same mould, no two are absolutely alike. Not only do they vary in width at their edges—the natural result of one having been more freely hammered out than another—but in the upper part, to which very little has been done in the way of hammering or grinding since the celt left the mould, there are striking differences. As will be seen, the mould is calculated to produce three parallel mouldings round the mouth of each celt; but in one of the castings only two of these mouldings are present; in another there are three, and there is metal enough beyond to represent half the width of another moulding. In two others the length is equivalent to nearly another moulding, so that the celts appear to have four mouldings round their mouths; and in the fifth celt there is a collar of plain metal extending ⅜ inch beyond the three bands (see Fig. 113.) On comparing this instrument with that first described, the difference in the length above the loop is upwards of ½ inch. This difference can only be accounted for by a difference in the arrangement of the mould and core at the time of casting. On comparing the interior of one celt with that of another, it is evident that the core was not produced in any mould or core-box, as the small projecting ribs of metal left as usual to help in steadying the haft vary in number and position. In the case of the celt broken in two in the middle, the core has been placed so much out of the centre that there is a large hole in the casting where there was not room for the metal to run. The system adopted appears, therefore, to have been much as follows.
First, the mould was tied together in proper position, and loam or clay was rammed into it so as tightly to fill the upper part. The mould was, secondly, taken apart—and the clay removed and probably left to become nearly dry. Thirdly, the lower part of the clay was then trimmed to form the core, a shoulder being left which would form the mould for the top of the celt. The upper part of the clay would be left untouched, beyond having two channels cut in it to allow of the passage of the melted metal. Fourthly, the mould would be tied together again with the prepared core inside, the untrimmed part of which would form a guide for its due position in the mould. Fifthly, the mould would then be placed vertically, probably by being stuck into sand, and the melted metal would be poured down the channels. When cool the runners thus formed would be broken off, and the fractured surfaces would be hammered or ground. The knife found with the hoard was probably used for cutting the channels and trimming the core. If such a process as that which I have described were in use, it is evident that the chances would be much against the shoulders of the clay core being always cut at exactly the same place, and we have at once a reason for the variation here observed.
There is another cause for slight variations in the sharpness of the mouldings and the other details of the castings. In order to prevent the molten bronze from adhering to the bronze mould, the latter must have been smeared over with something by way of protection, so as to form a thin film between the metal of the mould and that of the casting. Modern founders, when casting pewter in brass, or even iron, moulds,[1712] “anoint” the latter with red ochre and white of egg, or smoke the inside of the mould; and our plumbers prevent solder from amalgamating with lead by using lamp-black and size, or even by rubbing it with a dock-leaf. No doubt the ancient founders had some equally simple method, such as brushing the mould over with a very thin coat of marl. Turning now to the second mould, Fig. 531, it will be seen that just below the mouldings there is accidentally present a sharply defined small recess; the impression, however, of this recess on the celt cast in this mould is not nearly so sharp, probably in consequence of the mould having been smeared as lately suggested. It will also be noticed that though there is a double band of mouldings in the mould, there is but one and a fraction on the celt itself, which is shown in Fig. 114.
The outside of this mould is provided with three knobs to keep the binding cord from slipping off. The other and smallest half-mould has a single projection in the middle, like an imperfectly formed loop. The three celts which were apparently cast in this mould show great uniformity at their upper ends, and to the reason for this I think the lead adhering to the mould furnishes a clue. It is evident that if, in preparing the cores, instead of beginning by having the mould empty and ramming clay into it, which was subsequently to be trimmed, the founder placed a celt in the mould, its socket would act as a core-box or mould for a clay core which would require no further trimming so far as the part of forming the socket was concerned. On opening out the mould this core could be withdrawn from the socket of the model celt, and when dry would be ready for use. Perhaps in the celts with long and not highly tapering sockets there would be a difficulty in getting out the clay unbroken, and the process would not be found to answer; but in the case of the small celts there would probably be less difficulty. In this mould I think we have the remains of a celt formed of lead, an instrument which would be utterly useless as a cutting tool, but which might well have been made and kept as a core-box. The very fact of its being made of another metal would prevent its being confounded with the other castings and being bartered away; while in the first instance a casting in lead might have been made on a wooden core, which could probably be trimmed to the exact shape required more readily than one of clay. I have elsewhere[1713] called attention to the fact that wooden moulds were in use among the Ancient Britons for the casting of coins formed of tin. Several socketed celts made of lead have from time to time been found, though not in association with bronze-founders’ hoards, and have been a great puzzle to antiquaries. One found at Alnwick,[1714] near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, was thought to have come from a barrow. One found with bronze celts in the Morbihan, is in the collection of the Rev. Canon Greenwell, F.R.S., but it is doubtful whether it was used as a core-box. The use which I have suggested for them is at all events one that is possible, but we must wait for further discoveries before accepting it as the only cause for their existence.
A mould for sword hilts found in Italy,[1715] and now in the museum at Munich, is formed by three pieces of bronze, even the core by which the cavity in them was produced being formed of that metal.
But that the cores were frequently if not always made of clay, and not, as has been sometimes supposed, of metal, is proved by the numbers of socketed celts which from time to time have been found with the cores still in them, though this, it is true, has been the case in France rather than in England. In the great hoard of socketed celts found near Plénée Jugon, in Brittany, the majority were as they had come from the mould, with the clay cores still in them, burnt as hard as brick by the heat of the metal. I have already mentioned this fact in describing the tool from the Harty hoard, which appears to have been used for extracting the cores. I have also described the anvil, if such it be, and the hammer, Figs. 211 and 212, by means of which, probably, the edges of the celts were drawn out and hardened. I will now add that the celt, Fig. 114, is too long and too broad at the edge for that part of it to enter into the mould in which it was cast. This shows how much its edge was drawn out by hammering. The final sharpening was no doubt effected by the whetstone, Fig. 540.
Fig. 532.—Harty. ½