  SOCKETED CELTS. The class of celts cast in such a manner as to have a socket for receiving the haft is numerously represented in the British Isles. In this form of instrument the haft was actually imbedded in the blade, whereas in the case of the flat and flanged celts, and of the so-called palstaves, the blade was imbedded in the handle, so that the terms, “the recipient” and “the received,” originally given to the two classes by Dr. Stukeley, are founded on a well-marked distinction, and are worthy of being rescued from oblivion. That the recipient class is of later introduction than the received is evident from several considerations. In the first place, a flat blade not only approaches most nearly in form to the stone hatchets or celts which it was destined to supersede, but it also requires much less skill in casting than the blade provided with a socket. For casting the flat celts there was, indeed, no need of a mould formed of two pieces; a simple recess of the proper form cut in a stone, or formed in loam, being sufficient to give the shape to a flat blade of metal, which could be afterwards wrought into the finished form by hammering. And secondly, as will subsequently be seen, a gradual development can be traced from the flat celt, through those with flanges and wings, to the palstave form, with the wings hammered over so as to constitute two semicircular sockets, one on each side of the blade; while on certain of the socketed celts flanges precisely similar to those of the palstaves have been cast by way of ornament on the sides, and what was thus originally a necessity in construction has survived as a superfluous decoration. There is at least one instance known of the intermediate form between a palstave with pocket-like recesses on each side of a central plate and a celt with a single socket. In the museum at Trent Although socketed celts, with distinct curved wings upon their faces, are probably the earliest of their class, yet it is impossible to say to how late a period the curved lines, which eventually became the representatives of the wings, may not have come down. This form of ornamentation was certainly in use at the same time as other forms, as we know from the hoards in which socketed celts of different patterns have been found together. As has already been recorded, the socketed form has also been frequently found associated with palstaves, especially with those of the looped variety. The form of the tapering socket varies considerably, the section being in some instances round or oval, and in other cases presenting every variety of form between these and the square or rectangular. There is usually some form of moulding or beading round the mouth of the celt, below which the body before expanding to form the edge is usually round, oval, square, rectangular, or more or less regularly hexagonal or octagonal. The decorations generally consist of lines, pellets, and circles, cast in relief upon the faces, and much more rarely on the sides. Not unfrequently there is no attempt at decoration beyond the moulding at the top. The socketed celts are, almost without exception, devoid of ornaments produced by punches or hammer marks, such as are so common on the solid celts and palstaves. This may be due to their being more liable to injury from blows owing to the thinness of the metal and to their being hollow. They are nearly always provided with a loop at one side, though some few have been The types are so various that it is hard to make any proper classification of them. I shall, therefore, take them to a certain extent at hazard, keeping those, however, together which most nearly approximate to each other. I begin with a specimen showing in a very complete manner the raised wings already mentioned.
This instrument formed part of a hoard of celts and fragments of metal found at High Roding, Essex, and now in the British Museum, and is represented in Fig. 110. With it was one with two raised pellets beneath the moulding round the mouth, and one with three longitudinal ribs. The others were plain. Another (4 inches), with a treble moulding at the top, from Wateringbury, Kent, was in the Douce and Meyrick Collections, and is now also in the British Museum. I have a German celt of this type, but without the pellets, found in Thuringia. Others are engraved by Lindenschmit, On many French celts the wings are shown by depressed lines or grooves on the faces. I have specimens from a hoard found at Dreuil, near Amiens, and from Lusancy, near Rheims. Others with the curved lines more or less distinct have been found in various parts of France. There is an example from Maulin in the Museum at Namur, and a Dutch example is in the Museum at Assen. In Fig. 111 is shown a larger celt in my own collection, found in the neighbourhood of Dorchester, Oxon. The wing ornament no longer consists of a solid plate, but the outlines of the wings of the palstave are shown by two bold projecting beads which extend over the sides of the celt as well as the faces. The socket is circular at the mouth, but the neck of the instrument below the moulding is subquadrate in section. In the socket are two small projecting longitudinal ribs, probably intended A celt ornamented in a similar manner, but with two raised bands near the mouth, was found with several other socketed celts and some palstaves with the wings bent over at Cumberlow, Another with two small pellets between the curved lines was found in a hoard at Beddington, — Fig. 112.—Wilts. ½. — Fig. 113.—Harty. ½. Fig. 112 represents another celt of much the same character, but with a bolder moulding at top, and a slight projecting bead all round the instrument just below the two curved lines representing the palstave wings, which on these celts have just the appearance of heraldic “flanches.” On the face not shown there is a triangular projection at the top like a “pile in chief” between the flanches. Inside the socket there are two longitudinal projections as in the last. The original of this figure, which has been broken and repaired with the edge of another celt, is in the Blackmore Museum at Salisbury, and was probably found in Wilts. In the British Museum is an example of this type (4 inches) which has on one face only a pellet in the upper part of the compartment between the two “flanches.” It was found at Hounslow. Another (4 inches) from the Heathery Burn Cave, Durham, is now in the collection of Canon Greenwell, F.R.S. I have one with the pattern less distinct from a hoard found in the Barking Marshes, Essex, in 1862. A celt much of the same pattern, but without the transverse line below the flanches, was found on Plumpton Plain, The same type occurs in France. I have examples from a hoard found at Dreuil, near Amiens. The same ornament is often seen on Hungarian celts, though usually without the lower band. In Fig. 113 is shown one of the celts from the hoard discovered in the Isle of Harty, — Fig. 114.—Harty. ½. — Fig. 115.—Dorchester, Oxon. It will be noticed that the “flanches” on these celts are placed below the loop and not close under the cap-moulding. The beads which form them are continued across the sides. Running part of the way down inside the socket are two longitudinal ridges which are in the same line as the runners by which the metal found its way into the mould. The vertical ridge above the topmost moulding shows where there is a channel in the mould for the metal to pass by. If the celts had been skilfully cast so that their top was level with the upper moulding, no traces of this would have been visible. In Fig. 114 is shown one of the plain socketed celts from the same hoard. The mould in which it was cast was found at the same time, as well as the half of a mould for one of smaller size. The five other plain celts from the same hoard were all rather less than the one which is figured, and appear to have been cast in three different moulds, as the beading round the top varies in character, and in some is double and not single. The two projections within the socket are in these but short, though strongly marked. In the British Museum is a celt of this kind, 4 inches long, found at Newton, Cambridgeshire, which on its left face, as seen with the loop towards the spectator, has a small projecting boss 1½ inch below the top. Five socketed celts of this plain character (2½ inches to 3¾ inches) were found together at Lodge Hill, Waddesdon, Bucks, in 1855, and were lithographed on a private plate by Mr. Edward Stone. The outline and general character of the celt shown in Fig. 115 may be A nearly similar celt found in Mecklenburg has been figured by Lisch. — Fig. 116.—Reach Fen. ½ — Fig. 117.—Reach Fen. ½ A larger celt of the same general character, found with a hoard of bronze objects in Reach Fen, Burwell Fen, Cambridge, is shown in Fig. 116. This may also be regarded as a characteristic specimen of the socketed celts usually found in England, though the second moulding is often absent, and there is a considerable range in size and in the proportion of the width to the length. No doubt much of this range is due to some instruments having been more shortened by use and wear than others. The edge of a bronze tool must have been constantly liable to become blunted, jagged, or bent, and when thus injured was doubtless, to some extent, restored to its original shape by being hammered out, and then re-ground and sharpened. The repetition of this process would, in the course of time, materially diminish the length of the blade, until eventually it would be worn out, or the solid part be broken away from the socketed portion. Celts of this general character, plain with the exception of a single or double beading at the top, occur of various sizes, and have been found in considerable numbers. In my own collection are specimens (3 inches) from Westwick Row, near Gorhambury, Herts, found with lumps of rough metal; from Burwell Fen, Cambridge (3¼ inches), found also with metal, a spear-head like Fig. 381 and a hollow ring; from Bottisham, Cambridge (3 inches), and other places. In the Reach Fen hoard already mentioned were some other celts of I have other examples of this type from a hoard of about sixty celts found on the Manor Farm, Wymington, Bedfordshire (3¾ inches); from Burwell Fen, Cambridge (4 inches); and from the hoard found at Carlton Rode, Norfolk (4 inches). This last has the slightly projecting beads down the angles. Socketed celts partaking of the character of the three types last described, and from 2 inches to 4 inches in length, are of common occurrence in England. Some with both the single and double mouldings were found in company with others having vertical beads on the face like Fig. 124, and a part of a bronze blade at West Halton, A plain socketed celt, 2¼ inches long, was found in digging gravel near CÆsar’s Camp, A socketed celt without any moulding at the top, which is hollowed and slopes away from the side on which is the loop, is said to have been found in a tumulus near the King Barrow on Stowborough Heath, Socketed celts of this character occur throughout the whole of France, but are most abundant in the northern parts. They are of rare occurrence in Germany. The same form is found among the Lake habitations of Switzerland. Dr. Gross has specimens from Auvernier and Moerigen, Fig. 118.—Canterbury. ½ — Fig. 119.—Usk. ½ A celt of the same general character as Fig. 114, but of peculiar form, narrowing to a central waist, is shown in Fig. 118. The original was found at Canterbury, and was kindly presented to me by Mr. John Brent, F.S.A. Broad socketed celts nearly circular or but slightly oval at the neck, and closely resembling the common Irish type (Fig. 167) in form and character, are occasionally found in England. That shown in Fig. 119 is stated to have been discovered at the Castle Hill, Usk, Monmouthshire. I have seen another (3¼ inches) in the collection of Mr. R. Fitch, F.S.A., which was found at Hanworth, near Holt, Norfolk. Among those found at Guilsfield, Another, that, to judge from a bad engraving, had no moulding at the top, which was oval, is said to have been found under a supposed Druid’s altar near Keven Hirr Vynidd, Fig. 120.—Alfriston. ½ Another variety, with a nearly square socket and long narrow blade is shown in Fig. 120, the original of which was found at Alfriston, Sussex. The loop is imperfect, owing to defective casting. I have another celt of the same size and form as that from the Portland beach, which was found near Wareham, Dorset, and appears to have been in use. Two found with many others in the New Forest Others of the same type have been found at Hollingbury Hill, Among the celts found at Karn BrÊ, Cornwall, in 1744, were some of this character, but expanding more at the cutting edge. Others were more like Fig. 124, though longer in proportion. With them are said to have been found several Roman coins, some as late as the time of Constantius Chlorus. Others (5 inches long) seem to have formed part Celts of this form are of rare occurrence in the North of England, but one, said to have been disinterred with Roman remains at Chester-le-Street,
Celts like Fig. 120 are of very frequent occurrence in Northern France; large hoards, consisting almost entirely of this type, have been found. A deposit of sixty was discovered near Lamballe Plain socketed celts nearly square at the mouth have occasionally been found in Germany. One from Pomerania The form of narrow celt, which I regard as of Gaulish derivation, is not nearly so elegant as that of a more purely English type of which an example is shown in Fig. 121. The original was found in the Cambridge Fens, and is in my own collection. Within the socket on the centre of each side is a raised narrow rib running down 2 inches from the mouth, or to within ¾ inch of the bottom of the socket. The type is rare; but a specimen (5 inches) of nearly the same form as the figure was found, with palstaves, sickles, &c., near Taunton, Somerset. I have already mentioned a celt with a moulded top, which, on one of its faces, is ornamented with a small projecting boss. In Fig. 122 is shown an example with two pellets beneath the upper moulding. It was found with others at High Roding, Essex, and is now in the British Museum. Another with three such knobs on each face, placed near the A large brass coin of Hadrian, much defaced, is said to have been found at the same time. As in other instances, the evidence on this point is unsatisfactory, and if it could be sifted, would probably carry the case no farther than to prove that the Roman coins and the bronze celts were found near the same spot, and possibly by the same man, on the same day. In illustration of this collection of objects of different dates, I may mention that I lately purchased a fifteenth-century jeton as having been found with Merovingian gold ornaments. — Fig. 123.—Chrishall. ½ – Fig. 124.—Reach Fen. ½ – Fig. 125.—Barrington. ½ Some of the Breton celts, in form like Fig. 120, have two or three knobs on a level with the loop. Another and common kind of ornament on the faces of socketed celts consists of vertical lines, or ribs, extending from the moulding round the mouth some distance down the faces of the blade. They vary in number, but are rarely less than three. In some instances the ribs are so slight as to be almost imperceptible, a circumstance which suggests the probability of celts in actual use having served as the models or patterns from which the moulds for casting others were made, as in each successive moulding and casting any prominences such as these ribs would be reduced or softened down. On any A celt with the vertical ribs from the hoard of Reach Fen, Cambridge, is shown in Fig. 124. There are slight projecting beads running down the angles. The three ribs die into the face of the blade. Another of nearly the same type, but with coarse ribs somewhat curved, is shown in Fig. 125. It has not the beads at the angles. This specimen was found in company with a celt like Fig. 116, and with a gouge like Fig. 204, at Barrington, Cambridge, and is in my own collection. Celts of wider proportions, and having the three ribs farther apart, have been frequently found in the Northern English counties. I have one (3¼ inches) from Middleton, on the Yorkshire Wolds, which was given me by Mr. H. S. Harland; and Canon Greenwell, F.R.S., has several from Yorkshire. The celt which was found near Tadcaster, Another was found, with other bronze objects, at Stanhope, The celts found with spear-heads and discs near Newark, and now in Canon Greenwell’s collection, are of this type, but of different sizes. That found at Cann, Several others were found in the hoard at West Halton, The type is not confined to the Northern Counties, for specimens occurred in the great find at Carlton Rode, Fig. 126.—Mynydd-y-Glas. ½ In some celts with the three ribs on their faces, found in Wales, the moulding at the top is large and heavy, and forms a sort of cornice round the celt, the upper surface of which is flat. That engraved as Fig. 126 was found at Mynydd-y-Glas, near Hensol, Glamorganshire, and is now in the British Museum. In the same collection is another of much the same character, but of ruder fabric, 4¾ inches long, with a square socket, found in 1849 with others similar, in making the South Wales Railway, in Great Wood, Canon Greenwell has a celt of this type (4 inches), found at Llandysilio, Denbighshire, with two others having three somewhat converging ribs (3¾ inches and 3¼ inches), a socketed knife, and part of a spear-head. Two others (5? inches and 4? inches) were found with part of a looped palstave The three-ribbed type occurs occasionally in France. Examples are in the Museums of Amiens, Toulouse, Clermont Ferrand, Poitiers, and other towns. Three vertical ribs are of common occurrence on celts from Hungary and Styria. In some rare examples the three ribs converge as they go down the blade. One such is shown in Fig. 127. The original is in the possession of Sir A. A. Hood, Bart., and was found with twenty-seven other socketed In other rare instances there is a transverse bead running across the blade below the three vertical ribs. The celt shown in Fig. 128 was found near Guildford, Surrey, and is in the collection of Mr. R. Fitch, F.S.A. — Fig. 127.—Stogursey. ½ – Fig. 128.—Guildford. ½ – Fig. 129.—Frettenham. ½ On other celts the vertical ribs are more or less than three in number. A specimen with four ribs, also in Mr. Fitch’s collection, is engraved as Fig. 129. It was found at Frettenham, Norfolk. Others with four ribs occurred in the find at West Halton, One (4? inches) with five ribs was found in the hoard at Martlesham, Suffolk, also already mentioned. One (3¾ inches) with six small vertical ribs on the faces, found at Downton, near Salisbury, is in the Blackmore Museum. In a celt with Celts closely resembling Fig. 129 are in the museums at Nantes and Narbonne. As an instance of a celt having only two of these vertical ribs upon it, I may mention a large one in my own collection (4¾ inches) found in the Isle of Portland. The mouth of the socket is oval, but the external faces are flat, the sides being rounded. The ribs run about 2½ inches down the faces, but the metal is too much oxidised to see whether they end in pellets or no. ——— Fig. 130.—Ely. ½ ——————— Fig. 131.—Caston. ½ 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 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 (4? inches), in all respects like Fig. 133, except that the outer ribs are not at the angles, was found at Brough, 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, An example with a far larger array of vertical ribs than usual is shown in Fig. 134. The ribs are arranged in groups of three, and each terminates in a small pellet. The outer lines are so close to the angles of the celt as almost to merge in them. This instrument was found at Fen Ditton, Cambridge, and is now in the collection of Canon Greenwell, F.R.S. — Fig. 134.—Fen Ditton. ½ – Fig. 135.—Bottisham. ½ – Fig. 136.—Winwick. ½ On some celts there is, besides the row of roundels or pellets at the end of the ribs, a second row a little higher up, as is shown in Fig. 135, which represents a specimen in the British Museum, from Bottisham Lode, Cambridge. The sides of this celt are not flat, but somewhat ridged, so that in its upper part it presents an irregular hexagon in section. There are ribs running down the angles, with indications of terminal pellets. In the Warrington Museum is a curious variety of the celt with the three vertical ribs ending in pellets, which by the kindness of the trustees of the museum I have engraved as Fig. 136. It will be seen that in addition to the vertical ribs there is a double series of chevrons over the upper part of the blade. The metal is somewhat oxidised, and the pattern is made rather more distinct in the engraving than it is in the original. An ornamentation of nearly the same character, but without pellets at the end of the ribs, occurs on a socketed celt from Kiew, Fig. 137.—Kingston. ½ Fig. 138.—Cayton Carr. ½ The vertical ribs or lines occasionally end in ring ornaments or circles with a central pellet, like the astronomical symbol for the sun ?. Next to the cross this ornament is, perhaps, the simplest and most easily made, for a notched flint could be used as a pair of compasses to produce a circle with a well-marked centre on almost any material, however hard. We find these ring ornaments in relief on many of the coins of the Ancient Britons, and in intaglio on numerous articles formed of bone and metal, which belong to the Roman and Saxon periods. On Italian palstaves they are the commonest ornaments. But though so frequent on metallic antiquities of the latter part of the Bronze Age, it is remarkable that the ornament is of very rare occurrence on any of the pottery which is known to belong to that period. A good example from Kingston, Surrey, of a celt with ring ornaments at the end of the ribs is in the British Museum, and is shown in Fig. 137. Canon Greenwell possesses a nearly similar celt (5 inches) from Seamer Carr, Yorkshire, the angles of which are ribbed or beaded. A socketed celt with the same ornamentation, but with pellets having a central boss instead of the ring ornaments, is in the museum at Nantes. Some of the Brittany celts like Fig. 120 have one ring-ornament on each face, composed of two concentric circles and a central pellet. On a celt found at Cayton Carr, Yorkshire, and in the collection of Canon Greenwell, F.R.S., there is a double row of ring ornaments at the end of the three ribs. Below the principal moulding at the top of the celt is a band of four raised beads by way of additional ornament. It is shown in Fig. 138. A nearly similar specimen is in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-on-Tyne. In a very remarkable specimen from Lakenheath, — Fig. 139.—Lakenheath. ½ – Fig. 140.—Thames. ½ – Fig. 141.—Kingston. ½ In another variety, also in the British Museum, and shown in Fig. 140, the three ribs ending in ring ornaments spring from a transverse bead, between which and the moulding round the mouth are two other vertical beads, about midway of the spaces between the lower ribs. It is probable that this celt was found in the Thames. Another of remarkably analogous character was certainly found in the Thames near Kingston, Fig. 142.—Kingston. ½ In some rare instances there are ring ornaments both at the top and at the bottom of the vertical lines, as is seen on one of the faces of the curious celt shown in Fig. 142, where the usual ribs are replaced by rows of two or three slightly raised lines. On the other face it will be seen that the ornamentation is of a different character, with one ring ornament at top and three below, the two outer of which are connected with ribs diverging from two curved lines above. The original was found, with three others less ornamented, at Kingston, A nearly similar celt from Scotland is described at page 137. In another very rare specimen the vertical lines are replaced by two double chevrons of pellets, the upper one reversed. There is still a ring ornament at the base, and lines of pellets running down the margins of the blade. This specimen, shown in Fig. 143, was found in the Thames, In another equally rare form there is a treble ring ornament at the bottom of a single central beaded rib, and at the top two “flanches,” represented by double lines, as shown in Fig. 144. The neck of this celt is in section a flattened hexagon. It was found at Givendale, near Pocklington, Yorkshire, E. R., and is now in the British Museum. In the celt shown in Fig. 145 the central rib terminates in a pellet, and there are three curved ribs on either side. In this case the section of the neck of the blade is nearly circular. The specimen is in the British Museum, and was probably found near Cambridge, as it formed part of the late Mr. Lichfield’s collection. A celt ornamented in the same manner, but without the central rib, was found near Mildenhall, Suffolk, and is in the collection of Mr. H. Prigg. Fig. 143.—Thames. – Fig. 144.—Givendale. ½ Fig. 145.—Cambridge. ½ Fig. 146.—Blandford. ½ Another (4 inches), also in the British Museum, has two ribs on each margin, parallel to the sides, as seen in Fig. 146. It was found near Blandford, Dorsetshire, in company with unfinished gouges, and is remarkable on account of its having been cast so thin that it seems incapable of standing any hard work. It seems probable that the instruments from Blandford, now in the British Museum, formed part of a large hoard, for in the collection of the late Mr. Medhurst, of Weymouth, were a dozen or more of much the same outline and character. The section at the neck is a flattened hexagon. Some have a straight rib on each of the sloping sides, as well as two curved lines on the flat face. Others have three lines, one straight and two curved, on the flat face, each ending in a pellet; and others again have merely a central line on the flat face. A celt of nearly the same outline as Fig. 146 (4¼ inches), found at Gembling, Yorkshire, E. R., has slight flutings down the angles for Another of these instruments, ornamented in the same manner, but having a curved edge, is shown in Fig. 147, from an original in the British Museum. It formed part of the Cooke Collection from Parsonstown, King’s County, but I doubt its being really Irish. A rare form of socketed celt is shown in Fig. 148. The original was found in the Fens, near Barrington, Cambridge, and is in my own collection. It has at the top of the blade, below the moulding, a shield-shaped ornament, of much the same character as that on the palstaves, like Fig. 60, but in this case formed by indented lines cast in the metal.
Another, of unusually narrow form, found at Thames Ditton, A broader celt, ornamented with a reversed chevron, formed of three raised ribs, and with short single ribs on each side, is shown in Fig. 149. It was found at Hounslow, with a flat celt, a palstave, and a socketed celt like Fig. 112, and is now in the British Museum. A more common form has a circular socket and moulded top, below which the neck of the blade is an almost regular octagon. That shown in Fig. 150 is in my own collection, and was found at Wallingford, One nearly similar, supposed to have been found in Yorkshire, together with the mould in which it was cast, is engraved in the ArchÆologia. Fig. 151.—Newham. ½ In the collection of Canon Greenwell, F.R.S., are three socketed celts with octagonal necks, which were found with others, both plain and having three ribs on the face, together with a looped palstave, at Haxey, Lincolnshire. Two of these are of the usual type, but the third (3½ inches) is shorter and broader, resembling in outline the common Irish form, Fig. 167. A celt apparently of the type of Fig. 150, but with a double bead round the top, was found in the Severn, at Holt, A celt of this type, found at Orgelet, Jura, is figured by Chantre, Nearly the same form has been found in Sweden. Another example, more trumpet-mouthed, is shown in Fig. 151, from the collection of Canon Greenwell, F.R.S. It was found in 1868 in draining at Newham, Northumberland. I have another of nearly the same form (4¾ inches), from Coveney, in the Isle of Ely. Another, found at Stanhope, Occasionally the neck of the blade is hexagonal instead of octagonal. In one found at Ty-Mawr, Another celt, with the neck irregularly octagonal, but with a series of mouldings round the mouth of the socket, is shown in Fig. 152. The original is in the collection of Canon Greenwell, and formed part of the hoard found at Westow, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, already mentioned at p. 118. — Fig. 152.—Westow. ½ – Fig. 153.—Wandsworth. – Fig. 154.—Whittlesea. ½ In Fig. 153 is shown, not on my usual scale of one-half, but of nearly the actual size, a very remarkable celt, which was found in the bed of the Thames Socketed celts with a loop on the face instead of on the side are of exceedingly rare occurrence either in Britain or elsewhere. That shown in The type has occasionally been found in the Lake-dwellings of Savoy. In the Museum of ChambÉry One with curved plates on the sides, like Fig. 155, but having the loop on one face, was found near Avignon, and is now in the British Museum. It has a round neck with a square socket. A smaller one, of nearly the same form, was found in a hoard at Pont-point, near the River Oise. Another, with curved indentations on the sides, from the department of Jura, In some socketed celts the reminiscence of the “flanches” or wings upon the palstaves, of which I have spoken in an earlier part of this chapter, has survived in a peculiar manner, there being somewhat hollowed oval projections upon each side of the blade, that give the appearance of the “flanches” on the face, but at the same time produce indentations in the external outline of the instrument. This will be seen in Fig. 155, which was found with the palstave (Fig. 83), the socketed celt (Fig. 157), and other objects at Nettleham, A socketed celt, found at Aninger, and now in the Antiken Cabinet at Vienna, has large oval plates on each of its sides, which nearly meet upon the faces. In the collection of the late Mr. Brackstone was a remarkable celt, exhibiting a modification of this form. It is said to have been found with a large socketed celt with three mouldings round the mouth, and a looped Fig. 155.—Nettleham. ½ – Fig. 156.—Croker Collection. ½ – Fig. 157.—Nettleham. Fig. 158.—Ulleskelf. ½ A celt of closely allied character, with the lower part of the blade and the C-shaped flanches similar to that from Ulleskelf, with the exception of the chevron ornament, is said to have been also found in Yorkshire. A woodcut, from a drawing by M. Du Noyer, will be found in the ArchÆological Journal. The next class of socketed celts which has to be noticed consists of those in which the loop is absent. No doubt, in some cases, this absence arises either from defective casting, or from the loop having been accidentally broken off, and all traces of it removed; but in many instances it is evident that the tools were cast purposely without a loop. It seems probable that many of them were intended for use as chisels, and not like the looped kinds as axes or hatchets. The similarity between the looped and the loopless varieties is so great that I have thought it best to describe some of the instruments which may be regarded as undoubtedly chisels in this place rather than in the chapter devoted to chisels, in which, however, such of the socketed kinds as are narrow at the edge, and do not expand like the common forms of celt, will be found described.
The small tool shown in Fig. 159 may safely be regarded as a chisel. It does not show the slightest trace of ever having been intended to have a loop, and is indeed too light for a hatchet. It was found with a tanged chisel, a hammer, numerous socketed celts, and other articles, in the hoard from Reach Fen, Cambridge, already mentioned at p. 112. I have seen another, 2? inches long, with a somewhat oval socket and no loop, which was found in Mildenhall Fen, and was in the collection of the Rev. S. Banks, of Cottenham. A longer celt of the same character is engraved by Dr. Plot. A celt or chisel of this character found at DÜren, in North Brabant, is in the museum at Leyden. Another was found at Zaborowo, A celt of the octagonal form of section and without a loop is shown in Fig. 160. It formed part of the great hoard found at Carlton Rode, near Attleborough, Norfolk, of which some particulars have already been given. The joint marks of the moulds are still very distinct upon the One of hexagonal section and socket from a hoard found on Earsley Common, Celts without loops are not uncommon in France, and are often found of small size in Denmark. Socketed celts have rarely if ever been found with interments in barrows in Britain. Sir R. Colt Hoare mentions “a little celt” as having been found with a small lance, and a long pin with a handle, all of bronze, near the head of a skeleton, in a barrow on Overton Hill, Fig. 161. A socketed celt with three vertical ribs, like Fig. 125, is also said to have been found with a human skeleton, and two uninscribed ancient British coins of silver, at Cann, A curious instance of the survival of the bronze celt as an ornament or amulet is afforded by that which was found in a barrow at Arras, or Hessleskew, Fig. 162. Socketed celts not more than ¾ of an inch in length have been found in Ireland, but with sockets large enough for serviceable handles, so that they might possibly have been used as chisels. The diminutive celts, about 2 inches in length, which have been found in large numbers in Brittany, and have been regarded by French antiquaries as votive offerings, might also by some possibility have served as tools; but this can hardly have been the case with the Arras specimen. A golden celt found in Cornwall is said to have been in the possession of the Earl of Falmouth, It will be well to postpone the account of the different hoards of bronze objects, in which socketed celts have been found with other tools and weapons, until I come to treat of such ancient deposits, though some of them have already been mentioned. Turning now to the socketed celts which have been discovered in Scotland, we find them to present a considerable variety of types, though hardly so great as that exhibited by those from England, and the recorded instances of their finding are comparatively few in number. In Fig. 162 is shown a socketed celt of the plain kind which was found at Bell’s Mills, A celt found in a bog between Stranraer and Portpatrick, Wigtonshire, The nearly square-necked celt shown in Fig. 163 is of a broader type than usual, and was found at North Knapdale, Socketed celts with oval necks, and resembling the common Irish type, Fig. 167, in form, have occasionally been found in Scotland. One (3¼ inches), with a double moulding round the mouth, was found on Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh. Another (3 inches) was found with several other socketed celts and a spear-head near the Loch of Forfar. One of these, like Fig. 150, has a round socket and a twelve-sided neck. A celt with a long socket and narrow blade was found, with spear-heads, bronze armlets, and some pieces of tin, at Achtertyre, Another type, which appears to be more especially Scottish, has the ornamented moulding placed on the neck of the blade in such a manner as to run through the loop. One of this character, dug up near Samson’s Ribs, Fig. 163.—North Knapdale. ½ – Fig. 164.—Bell’s Mills. ½ – Fig. 165.—Bell’s Mills. ½ A type which is also common to England is shown in Fig. 164 from another of the Bell’s Mills specimens. Others with raised lines on the sides are preserved in the museum at Edinburgh. One of these was found near the citadel at Leith. One (3½ inches), ornamented with four longitudinal lines on each face, was found in the parish of Southend, A third celt from Bell’s Mills is shown in Fig. 165. This is of the variety without the loop, and closely resembles that from the Carlton Rode hoard, Fig. 160, the main difference being that the neck is of decagonal instead of octagonal section. Moulds for celts of other patterns have also been found in Scotland, Fig. 166.—Leswalt. ½ For the use of Fig. 166 I am indebted to the Council Socketed celts have been found in very large numbers in Ireland, upwards of two hundred being preserved in the Museum of the ——— Fig. 167.—Ireland. ½ ————— Fig. 168.—Ireland. ½ Celts of this and some of the following types have been figured by Vallancey. In that shown as Fig. 168 there is a slight shoulder below the trumpet-shaped part of the mouth, and the loop, instead of springing straight out from the neck, has its ends extended into four ridges, running over the neck of the celt like half-buried roots. An example of a celt with the loop attached in a similar manner has been engraved by Wilde. Fig. 169 shows a finely patinated celt, with a triple moulding below the expanding mouth, which was found near Belfast. With it are said to have been found a set of three gold clasps, or so-called fibulÆ, with discs at each end of a slug-like half-ring (see Wilde, Figs. 594-598). Curiously enough, I have another set of three of these ornaments, also found together at Craighilly, near Ballymena, Co. Antrim. Mr. Robert Day, F.S.A., has a specimen which also is one of three found together in the Co. Down. It seems, therefore, probable that, like our modern shirt-studs, these ornaments were worn in sets of three. Fig. 169.—Belfast. ½ – Fig. 170.—Ireland. ½ – Fig. 171.—Ireland. ½ A celt with four hands (3½ inches) has been engraved by Wilde. A small example of the same type, but with a single band at the mouth, is shown in Fig. 170. One from Co. Antrim, 1? inch long and 1¼ inch broad at the edge, is in the British Museum. These oval-necked celts are occasionally, but rarely, decorated with patterns cast in relief upon them. One of them, in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, Inside the sockets of most of the instruments of this class there are near the bottom, where the two sides converge, one, two, or more vertical ridges, probably destined to aid in steadying the haft. In some instances the upper member of the moulding round the mouth Socketed celts, with vertical ribs on the faces, are of rare occurrence in Ireland. A specimen from Co. Meath, in Canon Greenwell’s collection, is engraved as Fig. 173. One (2? inches) found near Cork, and now in Mr. Robert Day’s collection, has six vertical ribs on each face, three on either margin. They are placed close together, and vary in length, the outer one being about twice as long as that in the middle, which is, however, nearly three times as long as the innermost of the three ribs. Fig. 172.—Athboy. ½ – Fig. 173.—Meath. ½ – Fig. 174—Ireland. ½ I have an example of the same kind (2? inches), from Trillick, Co. Tyrone, A short but broad socketed celt in the Petrie Collection has on each face six vertical ribs terminating at each end in annulets. The socketed celts with an almost square socket and neck are not so common in Ireland as those of the broad type with an oval neck, but are Fig. 175 shows a short variety of the same type, from Newtown Crommolin, Co. Antrim. One from Trillick, Co. Tyrone (2½ inches), though nearly rectangular at the neck, has an oval socket. Mr. Robert Day has an example (3¼ inches), from Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath, with two beads round it, the lower one at the level of the bottom of the loop. This celt is rectangular at the neck, though the socket is oval. Some few have grooves running down the angles. One from Londonderry (4¼ inches) is in Mr. Day’s collection. The long narrow celt with a rib ending in an annulet on the face, engraved by Wilde as Fig. 283, appears to me to belong to Brittany rather than to Ireland.
An elegant type of socketed celt of not uncommon occurrence in Ireland is shown in Fig. 176. The neck is octagonal below the rounded trumpet mouth, which is ornamented with a series of small parallel beads, between which a number of minute conical depressions have been punched, making the beads appear to be corded. Around the loop is an oval of similar punch marks. A nearly similar specimen has been engraved by Wilde (Catal., Fig. 276), who also gives one of the same general type, but with two plain broad beads, alternating with three narrow ones, round the mouth (Catal., Fig. 277). It has a hexagonal neck. A celt (4¼ inches) from Ballina, Co. Mayo, in the collection of Mr. Robert Day, F.S.A., has an octagonal neck, and five grooved lines round its circular mouth. Canon Greenwell has one of the type of Fig. 176 (3? inches), with hexagonal neck and five equal beads round the mouth, from Carlea, Co. Fig. 178.—Ireland. ½ There is one more Irish type of looped socketed celts which it will be well to figure, and to which Wilde has given the name of the axe-shaped socketed celt. As will be seen, the blade is expanded considerably below the socketed part, and assumes a form not uncommon among iron or steel axes. I have copied Fig. 177 from Wilde’s cut, No. 281, on an enlarged scale. A socketed celt expanding into a broad axe-like edge is in the Pesth Museum. An analogous but narrower form is found in France. I have seen the drawing of one found at Pont-point, Oise (?). Socketed celts without loops have not unfrequently been found in Ireland. One of this type has been figured by Wilde, A bronze instrument of this form, but wider at the edge, was in common use among the ancient Egyptians, and has been regarded as a hoe. Fig. 179.—Kertch. ½ A socketed celt without loop, but with two projections on one side, from the Sanda Valley, A very remarkable socketed celt without loop from Java is in the Cabinet of Coins at Stuttgart. It expands widely at the edge and has three facets on one side of the neck, while the other is curved, so that it was probably mounted as an adze. The surface of the socket is not flat, but there is a V-shaped depression across it. Socketed celts with two loops have not as yet been recorded as found within the United Kingdom, though a stone mould for celts of this form was found at Bulford Water, Salisbury. In Eastern Europe the form is more common. The specimen shown as Fig. 179 was found in the neighbourhood of Kertch, A socketed celt with two loops, and apparently hexagonal at the neck, found at Ell, near Benfeld, Alsace, is figured by Schneider. I have elsewhere described a two-looped socketed celt from Portugal A two-looped celt with square socket and the loops at the junction with the flattened blade was in the great hoard found at Bologna. Only one of the loops, however, is perforated. In the museum at Stockholm are also some socketed celts with two loops. In looking over these pages, it will have been observed, that though socketed celts occur in numbers throughout the British Isles, yet that those found in England for the most part differ in form from those found in Ireland, and that some few types appear to be peculiar to Scotland. Traces of continental influence are, as might have been expected, most evident in the forms found in the southern counties of England, and are barely, if at all, perceptible in those from Ireland and Scotland. Some few of the socketed celts from both England and Scotland are of the type Fig. 167—a type so common in Ireland as to be characteristic of it—and these appear for the most part, though by no means exclusively, to have been found in western counties. Although, therefore, the first socketed celts in Britain were doubtless of foreign origin, there was no regular importation of them for use over the whole country; but the fashion of making them spread through local foundries, and different varieties of pattern originated in various centres, and were adopted over larger or smaller areas as they happened to commend themselves to the taste of the bronze-using public. The use of socketed celts would, from their abundance, seem to have extended over a considerable period; and from their having apparently been found with objects belonging to the Late No doubt the final disuse of socketed celts was not contemporaneous throughout the whole of the country, and their employment probably survived in the north and west of Britain and in Ireland to a considerably later date than in the districts more accessible to Gaulish influences. The chronology of our Bronze Period will, however, have to be considered in a subsequent chapter. The transition from bronze to iron cannot so readily be traced in this country as on the Continent; but socketed celts, &c. formed of iron, and made in imitation of those in bronze, have occasionally been found in Britain. One (4 inches) with a side loop, and a part of its wooden handle, was found in Merionethshire, and is now in the British Museum. It has been figured in the ArchÆologia Cambrensis. I have one (5¼ inches) with a rounded socket and no loop, found at Gray’s Thurrock, Essex. I have another (4 inches) with a square socket, from Pfaffenburg in the Hartz; and others of longer proportions with round sockets from Hallstatt. The metal has been carefully welded together to form the sockets, in which there is no slit like those commonly to be seen in more modern socketed tools of iron. There are ornaments round the mouth of some of the Hallstatt As an illustration of the view that similar wants, with similar means at command with which to supply them, lead to the production of similar forms of tools and weapons in countries widely remote from each other, I may mention a socketed celt (10¾ inches) found in an ancient grave near Copiapo, Chili. The method in which socketed and other celts were hafted will be discussed in the next chapter. |
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