The Bronze Age in Ireland Part 2

TYPES

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 9.--Halberd blades.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 10.--Halberd blades.]

What may be considered as the developed or normal type of the Irish halberd blade is slightly but distinctly curved, so that they have been called "scythe-shaped." They vary from about 9 inches to 15 or 16 inches in length, and from about 3 to 4 inches in breadth at the widest part; with few exceptions they have three rivets with large heads. The various sizes are well represented in a find of seven of these blades obtained in 1888 when making the railway near Hollywood, County Galway. They were described as having been found about 2-1/2 feet under the surface of a shallow bog "stuck in a bunch in the ground, with points down. No other relics appeared near them." We do not think it is any use attempting to place the halberds in a series of development; and no progression can be claimed for their forms other than that there appears to be a movement of development from the smaller straight blades to the larger and curved blades. In one or two cases the mid rib has been brought to a slight roof-ridge; and a fine example in the late Sir John Evans' collection shows a well-marked bead down the mid rib ("Bronze Implements," fig. 331); but in most cases the mid rib is quite plain with a rounded curve in section.

a.n.a.lYSES

a.n.a.lyses of the halberd blades show that the metal of which they are composed does not differ much from that of the copper celts. A recent a.n.a.lysis of five specimens is appended which shows that the blades are practically of pure copper. This is interesting, as it removes the doubt expressed by Sir John Evans in "Bronze Implements," p. 265, that "many of these blades have the appearance of being made of copper; but the absence of tin in their composition has not been proved."

+-+----------+-------+----+---------+--------+-----+-------+-----+-------+ Bis.m.u.th Copper. Tin. Antimony. a.r.s.enic. Lead. Silver. Iron. Nickel Zinc. +-+----------+-------+----+---------+--------+-----+-------+-----+-------+ 1 King's Co. Day Coll., No. 25, 99.02 0.22 Nil Nil 0.19 0.26 0.04 Nil 2 Antrim, 1903, 235, No. 9, 97.31 0.31 0.14 0.18 Nil Nil Nil Nil 3 Galway, W. 241, No. 19, 98.06 0.22 Nil Nil 0.58 Nil 0.17 Nil 4 Cork, R. 459, No. 7, 98.30 0.30 0.27 0.37 Nil Nil Nil Nil 5 W. 248, No. 28, 97.24 0.18 Nil 1.54 Nil 0.25 Nil Nil +-+----------+-------+----+---------+--------+-----+-------+-----+-------+

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 11.--Halberds from North Germany and Sweden after Montelius.]

The manner in which the halberd blades were attached to their shafts is explained by the bronze halberds with bronze shafts--the blade and upper part of the shaft often in one piece--from North Germany and from Sweden. These halberds are referred to an early stage of the Bronze Age; but they are of bronze, and, in casting and other features, show a considerable advance on a primitive type; the large imitation rivets cast in the head of the shaft no doubt represent an earlier form in which the shaft was of wood and the rivets real. Ten bronze halberd blades were found together near Stendal in Prussian Saxony, but without handles, four of which are figured by Montelius in "Die Chronologie der altesten Bronzezeit," figs. 115-118. An a.n.a.lysis of one of the blades gave 15 per cent. of tin and of a rivet 45 per cent. of tin. From the straight mark across the blades, and some bronze tubular pieces for the handles, there seems no doubt that they were intended for straight wooden handles, and thus represent the earlier type. The blades are about 12-1/4 inches in length. It is important to note that the rivets are of two kinds: some are large and stout like the usual Irish form; and some have metal washers, like the solitary example found in Ireland (fig. 7), and which has caused some authorities to consider the Irish halberd blades somewhat later than we should care to place them. In general appearance these halberd blades from Stendal are closer to the Irish halberds than any of the others which have been found on the Continent, but do not include the curved or scythe-shaped form common to Ireland. Copper halberds, with remains of transverse wooden shafts, have been found by the brothers Siret on the south-east of Spain. In this case they go back to the very beginning of the bronze age in this district. The form of the blades is, however, in most cases #T#-shaped, and different from the Irish examples (fig. 12). Halberds attached to their shafts are also shown on the prehistoric rock-markings in the "Italian Maritime Alps,"

published by Mr. C. Bicknell. The actual blades, however, that can be cla.s.sified with any certainty as halberds are very rare in the North and Middle Italian districts, though some of the copper and early bronze triangular dagger forms may have been occasionally mounted as halberds. It is possible, however, that the decoration of certain halberds found in Germany may have been influenced by that of the Italian dagger.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 12.--Halberts from South-east Spain.]

The halberd blade can be distinguished from the broad dagger by the shape of the handle, which is curved or indented in the case of the dagger, but straight across in the case of the halberd. There is, however, another point. The hindmost rivets, both in the case of the blades with four rivets and those with three only, are shorter than those in front of them. The shortness of the end-rivets and slope of the heads imply that the handle was rounded off behind the blade, as would be the case with a transverse shaft. So there appears no room to doubt the manner in which the long scythe-shaped blades were mounted on handles, though some uncertainty was formerly expressed on the subject. The Irish halberd-blades were evidently mounted at right angles to the shaft in the same way as most of the Continental blades, as can be seen from the straight-across marks of the handle, which can be traced on several examples.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 13.--Rock Markings, Maritime Alps.]

From the a.n.a.lyses of copper halberds, it will be seen that the tin varies from 18 to 31 per cent. We may therefore conclude that the copper halberds are simply coa.r.s.e or unrefined copper from similar ores to the copper celts; and that the copper implements found in Ireland may contain up to about 5 per cent. of tin. An increasing percentage of tin was not found in any of the copper celts, or, contrary to expectation, in the copper halberds; but, judging from the widespread use of copper implements in Ireland, from which it may be inferred that copper remained in use for a considerable time, it seems probable that bronze was introduced as an alloy of a known percentage of tin. As relatively few a.n.a.lyses of Irish bronze implements have been made, it is not possible at present to come to any fixed conclusions on the subject of the introduction of bronze into Ireland.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 14.--Stone Pick from the Bann.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 15.--Deer Horn Pick.]

Also, in the case of the halberds, the great rarity of any specimens of bronze blades which can be cla.s.sified as halberds indicates that the form of implement practically ceased to be used when bronze came into use in Ireland. As the copper celts show a gradual transition from stone to metal forms, it seems reasonable to look for the prototypes of the copper halberd among the stone implements of the preceding period. In the Bann Valley many flint wedges or picks have been found, which may, perhaps, have influenced the copper halberds; and if a stone pick-like instrument was in use in Neolithic times, it may explain to some extent the prevalence of the metal halberd in Ireland in the copper period. When the blades were made larger, the curved form would come into existence, being suggested by the deer-horn picks already in use. Copper came into use in Ireland, we may suppose, in no sudden or violent manner. On the contrary, the transition from stone was probably of some duration. The use of copper made its way up through Europe, spreading from the lands of the eastern Mediterranean along the old trade routes of Neolithic times, influenced by the search for new deposits of ore. Though at first implements of copper, and even, perhaps, the metal, might be carried a considerable distance, an early use of the local ores seems to explain the case better.

Whether this new knowledge of metal, coming from the eastern Mediterranean, first crept round by way of Spain, or struck across the Continent to the north and west of Europe, and so to Ireland, we cannot at present definitely say; the line of march, as indicated by the halberds, which are strangely deficient both in the south and the north of France, seems to point to north Germany and Scandinavia, by way of the rich ore-fields of middle Europe. But the archaeology of the Peninsula for this early period is at present too uncertain to speak with confidence. There are indications, even in Neolithic times, which, perhaps, point to Spain; but, again, there are relations which indicate a considerable correspondence with Brittany and the North of France in the early Bronze Age. The late Dr. Much ("Die Kupferzeit,"

p. 131) compared the Irish halberds with the Spanish and German examples, and came to the conclusion that the Irish halberds were later than the Spanish and earlier than the German. This view is supported by the form of the Irish halberds, which are more primitive in type than the German examples.

Any conclusion as to the probable date when the halberds were in use in Ireland can only be arrived at in an indirect and approximate manner. We are, on the whole, inclined to think it is probable that the Irish halberds were influenced by the Spanish examples; and Herr Hubert Schmidt, who has worked out in much detail a scheme of chronology for this period, based upon the Egyptian dating of Professor Eduard Meyer, places the finds from El Argar at from 2500 to 2360 B.C.[11] Allowing, therefore, some margin on the later side, we should probably be fairly safe in placing the period when the halberds were in use in Ireland at the end of the third and beginning of the second millennium B.C. We must remember that the whole of the Irish Bronze Age has to be fitted in after the copper period; and if we are to allow sufficient room for the several periods and their approximate correspondence with the periods of the Continental chronology, it is not easy to see how this dating can be much reduced. It may be noted that Montelius in his recent scheme of Bronze Age chronology for the British Islands, treats the halberds as bronze, and places them in his second period (first period of the true Bronze Age) dated from the beginning of the second millennium to the seventeenth century B.C.[12]

[11] Prehistorische Zeitschrift, vol. i, 1909, p. 138.

[12] Archaeologia, vol. lxi, p. 162, and pl. xi, fig. 43.

CHAPTER III

FIRST AND LATER PERIODS OF THE BRONZE AGE

Even during the copper period an evolution can be traced in the celt.

The cutting-edge has been expanded; and the thickest part of the celt has been moved up from just above the cutting-edge to the centre.

Until, however, we get into the Bronze Age, there has been no trace of a stop-ridge. When we get into the true Bronze Age, we find a complete and probably fairly rapid evolution of type from the flat celt to the final socketed form. a.n.a.lyses of Irish celts on a large scale have not been made; but such a.n.a.lyses as have been done do not indicate an experimental stage of small additions of tin, but rather show that the bronze from the first contained a fairly large proportion of tin.

Where the tin came from is at present uncertain. The ill.u.s.trations will make the evolution of the celt clear. The first step was the broadening of the cutting-edge, and moving the thickest part up to the centre of the blade; the next step was hammering the sides to make f.l.a.n.g.es to grip the handle more securely; a stop-ridge was then added to prevent the handle slipping down over the blade; and the latter forms are reached by increasing the f.l.a.n.g.es and broadening the stop-ridge; in its last forms the wings are increased at the expense of the stop-ridge; and the final socketed form is reached by leaving out the centre division between the wings. Figure 20 may be noticed, as it is very similar to certain Continental forms.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 16.--Ornamented Bronze Celts.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE I. Irish bronze celts in the order of their development. _p. 24._]

Some of the earlier flat bronze celts may have been hafted like the stone celts, by merely fixing the smaller end into a stick with a thick head; but this method must soon have been abandoned, as after a certain number of blows had been delivered, the axe-head would be forced back into the shaft. A more practical method was to place the head in a handle having a forked head, and the origin of the stop-ridge was to prevent the two sides coming down too low on to the blade. The side f.l.a.n.g.es and palstave-form developed naturally from this. The manner of hafting the socketed celts is well shown by a handled socketed celt found at Edenderry, King's Co., and formerly in the Murray collection. This object is now in the Ethnological and Archaeological Museum at Cambridge; and it is to be regretted that so rare and important a find should have left the country.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 17.--Ornamented Bronze Celts.]

Some of the flat bronze celts are very finely decorated with incised chevrons, triangles, cross-hatchings, and other Bronze-Age linear ornament. One example has a kind of herring-bone pattern, somewhat resembling the well-known leaf-marking at New Grange. Some examples show a kind of cable-pattern on the side f.l.a.n.g.es; and the size of a few specimens is remarkable. A flat celt, with a remarkable ornamentation from the Greenwell collection found near Connor, County Antrim, is figured by Sir John Evans, _op. cit._, p. 64. It has a border of chevrons along the edge of the side; and this is carried across the celt in the centre and at the commencement of the cutting-edge. This border is joined by a similar centre band of ornament.

Several of the Irish palstaves have a shield-shaped ornament below the stop-ridge. The socketed celts are, as a rule, unornamented; but there are a few which have been found in Ireland which are ornamented with ribs ending in pellets.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 18.--Ornamented Bronze Celts.]

The question is often asked as to whether the bronze celts were used as weapons or tools; and the probability is that they were used as either as occasion demanded. The celts do not show any marked difference of type which would enable us to differentiate a weapon from a tool, as is possible in the later iron axes of the Norman and Danish period when we can distinguish a heavy axe and a lighter keen blade. The Bayeux tapestry shows the two types in use, the heavy type being used to fell trees and the lighter for fighting.

There is one palstave, with double loops, in the National Collection; and another was found in Ireland at Ballincollig, County Cork, and is in the Evans collection. These double-looped palstaves are of much interest, as the type is characteristic of the Iberian peninsula. A few have been found in the west of France, and some in the south-west of England, but on the route which one would expect to have been followed if they are due to intercourse with Spain. These probably belong to the Middle Bronze Age, though they have not as yet been found a.s.sociated with objects which would give much information as to their date.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 19.--Winged Celt.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 20.--Winged Celt.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 21.--Palstave with Double-loops.]

ANVIL AND HAMMERS

Among objects that may undoubtedly be cla.s.sed as tools are the small bronze anvil (fig. 22), and the bronze socketed hammers (fig. 23).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 22.--Bronze Anvil.]

The anvil appears to be the only specimen which has been found in the British Islands, though examples are not uncommon in France. It resembles the small anvils used by jewellers, and it is interesting to note that, as M. Dechelette points out, these small bronze anvils correspond to those mentioned by Homer, which were also portable and used by goldsmiths.[13] Socketed bronze hammers resembling the Irish examples are fairly common in England and on the Continent. One well-known Irish specimen was found in the Douris h.o.a.rd and is figured in Evans's "Bronze Implements," p. 179. Of the specimens ill.u.s.trated, the largest was found at Abbeyshrule, Co. Longford, the exact locality of the others, further than that they were found in Ireland, is not known.

[13] Dechelette, Manuel d'Archeologie Prehistorique, vol. ii, p. 277.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 23.--Bronze Hammers.]

SPEAR-HEADS

Even as early as the Copper Period small weak knife-daggers were in use, and these continued into the Bronze Age, becoming the parent of the spear-head as well as of the rapier and sword. The spear-head was evolved by decreasing the width of the base of the dagger-blade, and adding a narrow tang with a peg-hole to fix into the shaft. The addition of a ferule was the next step; and the omission of the tang, and amalgamation of the ferule with the blade, gave rise to the socketed spear-head.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 24.]