Fig. 473.
Fig. 474.
Mirrors such as are found in Roman graves are occasionally, but very rarely, met with; they were, of course, articles for the toilet. Shears or scissors of iron, some of which are of precisely the same form as our modern sheep-shears, and others of the shape of scissors of the present day, are of not unfrequent occurrence. Tweezers, too, are occasionally met with. The usual form is shown on [fig. 475]. They are of bronze, and were, it is said, used for pulling out superfluous hairs from the body. They with the scissors were frequently worn attached to the girdle, along with other instruments, of which I shall now say a few words.
Fig. 475.
Châtelaines, or girdle-hangers, are among the most interesting of discoveries in the graves of Saxon females. They consist of a bunch of small implements of various kinds—keys, tweezers, scissors, tooth-picks, ear-picks, nail-cleaners, etc., and ornaments of one kind or other—hung on a chain, which being attached to the girdle hung down by the side to the thigh, or, in some instances, evidently as low as the knee. The various instruments are of silver, bronze, or iron, and are generally, the iron especially, corroded into an almost shapeless mass. The silver and bronze being more endurable, the instruments of these metals are better preserved. The example here given ([fig. 476]) is from one of the Kentish graves. Of some of the articles found the use is unknown, but most can be easily identified. A bunch of what is supposed to be three latch-keys is given on [fig. 477], and on the next figure, [478], two curious objects, the use of which has probably been to hang small instruments on, to attach them to the girdle. For the same use, probably, are the curious and somewhat puzzling objects which are occasionally met with, and are here shown on [fig. 479]. They are found in pairs, attached at the top, and vary much in the pattern of the lower extremities. Probably the girdle passed through the upper part, and keys and other objects would be hung on the lower ends. Each side of the one here engraved is six and a half inches in length. A large variety of girdle ornaments have been found in different districts.
Fig. 476.
