It is not unfrequently the case that the ribs thus terminate in roundels or pellets. That from the Fens, near Ely, which has been kindly lent me by Mr. Marshall Fisher, and is shown in Fig. 130, is of this kind, though the pellets are so indistinct as to have escaped the eye of the engraver. This celt is remarkable for the unusually broad and heavy moulding at the top. The notches in the edge, which the engraver has reproduced, are of modern origin.
The celt from Caston, Norfolk, shown in Fig. 131, has also the three ribs ending in pellets, but there are short diagonal lines branching in each direction from the central rib near the top.
I have another of the same kind, but longer, and without the diagonal lines, from Thetford, Suffolk.
A celt of this type is in the Stockholm Museum.
Fig. 132.—Carlton Rode. ½ — Fig. 133.—Fornham. ½
In Figs. 132 and 133 are shown two celts of this class, one with five short ribs ending in pellets, from the Carlton Rode find, and the other with five longer ribs ending in larger roundels, from Fornham, near Bury St. Edmunds. The latter was bequeathed to me by my valued friend, the late Mr. J. W. Flower, F.G.S.
It will be observed that in the Fornham celt the first and last ribs form beadings at the angles of the square shaft. In the other none of the beads come to the edge of the face. I have a celt like Fig. 133, but shorter (4 inches), from the hoard found in Reach Fen, already mentioned. Another (4⅛ inches), in all respects like Fig. 133, except that the outer ribs are not at the angles, was found at Brough,[447] near Castleton, Derbyshire, and is in the Bateman Collection, where is also another (4¼ inches) from the Peak Forest, Derbyshire. Canon Greenwell, F.R.S., has one (4½ inches) from Broughton, near Malton, on one face of which there are only four ribs, and in the place where the central rib would terminate, a ring ornament. The other face of the celt has only four ribs at regular intervals, ending in pellets. Another, similar (5 inches), was found in the Thames, near Erith.[448] I have seen another rather more hexagonal in section, which was found in the Cambridge Fens.
Celts with vertical ribs ending in pellets are occasionally found in France. One from Lutz (Eure et Loir) is in the museum at Chateaudun; others are in that of Toulouse. Another with four ribs, found at Cascastel, is in the museum at Narbonne. Canon Greenwell has one from l’Orient, Brittany.
I have a small one like Fig. 120 in form, but barely 3 inches long, found near Saumur (Maine et Loire). It has five ribs, arranged as on Fig. 133.