The most valuable traces of the manners and customs of man during the earlier period of the iron epoch have been furnished by the vast burial-ground discovered recently at Hallstadt, near Salzburg in Austria. M. Ramsauer, Director of the salt-mines of Salzburg, has explored more than 1000 tombs in this locality, and has described them in a work full of interest, a manuscript copy of which we have consulted in the ArchÆological Museum of Saint-Germain.

As the tombs at Hallstadt belong to the earlier period of the iron epoch, they represent to us the natural transition from the epoch of bronze to that of iron. In fact, in a great number of objects contained in these tombs—such as daggers, swords and various ornaments—bronze and iron are combined. One sword, for instance, is formed of a bronze hilt and an iron blade. This is represented in figures 233, 234, 235 and 236, drawn from the sketches in M. Ramsauer's manuscript work entitled 'Les Tombes de Hallstadt,' in which this combination of the two metals is remarked upon; the sword-hilts being formed of one metal and the blades of another.

By taking a rapid survey of the objects found in the tombs of Hallstadt, we can form a somewhat accurate idea of the first outset of the iron age.

The first point which strikes us in this period, is the utter change which had taken place in the interment of the dead.

During the Stone Age, the dead were placed in small subterranean crypts, that is in dolmens or tumuli. During the Bronze Age it became to a great extent customary for men to burn the dead bodies of their friends.

This custom was destined to become more and more prevalent century after century, and during historic times it became universal among a great many nations.

In fact, in the tombs of Hallstadt, several little earthen vessels containing ashes may be seen. Sometimes only part of the body was burnt, so that a portion of a skeleton was found in these tombs, and near it the ashes of the parts which the fire had consumed.

The remains found in the tombs of Hallstadt are almost equally divided between these two modes of inhumation. About half of the tombs contain nothing but ashes; in the other half, corpses are laid extended, according to the custom which was most prevalent in the iron age. Lastly, as we have just stated, some of them contained skeletons which were partially burnt. Sometimes it was the head, sometimes the whole bust, or sometimes the lower limbs which were consumed, the ashes being deposited by the side of the intact portions of the skeleton. Fig. 238, which is designed from one of the illustrations in M. Ramsauer's manuscript work 'Les Tombes de Hallstadt,' in the Museum of Saint-Germain, represents a skeleton, part of which (the chest) has been consumed. The ashes are contained in small earthen vessels which are seen near the corpse.

From the data which we have acquired as to this custom of burning dead bodies during the iron epoch, we have been able to represent the funeral ceremonies of the iron epoch in the preceding figure.

The corpse is placed on a funeral pile, and the stone door of the tumulus is raised in order to deposit in it the cinerary urn. The relations of the deceased accompany the procession clothed in their handsomest garments and adorned with the bronze and iron ornaments which were then in vogue. One of those present may be seen throwing some precious objects into the flames of the funeral pile in honour of the deceased.

The tombs of Hallstadt are the locality in which the largest number of objects, such as weapons, instruments and implements, have been met with, which have tended to throw a light upon the history of the transition from the bronze to the iron epoch. All these objects are either of bronze or iron; but in the weapons the latter predominates. Swords, spear-heads, daggers, knives, socketed hatchets and winged hatchets form the catalogue of the sharp instruments. In the preceding pages (figs. 233, 234, 235 and 236) we have given representations of swords and daggers designed from the specimens in the Museum of Saint-Germain. In all these weapons the handle is made of bronze and the blade of iron. Warriors' sword-belts are frequently formed of plates of bronze, and are embellished with a repoussÉ ornamentation executed by the hammer.

In fig. 239 we give a representation of a necklace with pendants which is most remarkable in its workmanship. It may be readily seen that art had now attained some degree of maturity. This necklace was a prelude to the marvellous works of art which were about to be brought to light under the skies of Greece.

The bracelets which have been met with by hundreds, hair pins and bronze fibulÆ are all wrought with taste, and are often adorned with very elegant pendants. In figs. 240 and 241 we show two bracelets, the sketches for which were taken from the designs in the manuscript of the 'Tombes de Hallstadt.'

We may add a few amber necklace-beads and some of enamel, and we have then concluded the series of personal ornaments.

In the tombs of Hallstadt, nearly 200 bronze vessels have been discovered, some of which are as much as 36 inches in height. These bronze vessels were composed of several pieces skilfully riveted but not soldered. Plates 242 and 243 are reproduced from the same beautiful manuscript.

In the tombs of Hallstadt some small glass vessels have also been discovered.

Remains of pottery are very plentiful, and a decided improvement is shown in their workmanship. Some gold trinkets were also met with in these tombs. The gold was, doubtless, obtained from the mines of Transylvania.

African ivory abounds in these graves—a fact which indicates commercial intercourse with very distant countries. This product, as well as the glass, was introduced into Europe by the Phoenicians. The inhabitants of central Europe obtained ivory from Tyre and Sidon by means of barter.

The ivory objects which were found at Hallstadt consisted of the heads of hair-pins and the pommels of swords.

There were no traces whatever of money, the use of it not being then established in that part of Europe.

The population which lived in the vicinity of the Salzburg mines were in reality rich; for the salt-mines were a source of great wealth to them at a period when the deposits of rock-salt in Poland, being still buried in the depths of the earth, were as yet unknown or inaccessible. In this way, we may account for the general opulence of these commercial nations, and for the elegance and taste displayed in the objects which have been found in the tombs of Hallstadt.

Guided by these various remains, it is not difficult to reproduce an ideal picture of the warriors of the iron epoch, a representation of which we have endeavoured to give in fig. 244. The different pieces of the ornaments observed on the horseman, on the foot-soldier, and also on the horse, are drawn from specimens exhibited in the Museum of Saint-Germain which were modelled at Hallstadt. The helmet is in perfect preservation and resembles those which, shortly after, were worn by the Gallic soldiers. The bosses, also, on the horse's harness, ere long came into use both among the Gauls and also the Romans.

Next to the tombs of Hallstadt, we must mention the tombs discovered on the plateau of La Somma, in Lombardy, which have contributed a valuable addition to the history of the earliest period of the iron epoch.

On this plateau there were discovered certain tombs, composed of rough stones of a rectangular form. In the interior there were some vases of a shape suited to the purpose, containing ashes. The material of which they were made was fine clay; they had been wrought by means of the potter's wheel, were ornamented with various designs, and also provided with encircling projections. On some of them, representations of animals may be seen which indicate a considerable progress in the province of art. The historic date of these urns is pointed out by fibulÆ (clasps for cloaks), iron rings and bracelets, sword-belts partly bronze and partly iron, and small bronze chains. The tombs of La Somma belong, therefore, to a period of transition between the bronze and iron epochs. According to M. Mortillet, they date back to the seventh century before Christ.

Under the same head we will class the tombs of Saint-Jean de Belleville, in Savoy. At this spot several tombs belonging to the commencement of the iron epoch have been explored by MM. Borel and Costa de Beauregard. The latter, in a splendid work published in Savoy, has given a detailed description of these tombs.[41]

Some of the skeletons are extended on their backs, others have been consumed, but only partially, like those which we have already mentioned in the tombs of Hallstadt. Various objects, consisting chiefly of trinkets and ornaments, have been met with in these tombs. We will mention in particular the fibulÆ, bracelets and necklaces made of amber, enamelled glass, &c.

In figs. 245 and 246 we give a representation of two skeleton arms, which are encircled with several bracelets just as they were found in these tombs.

The lacustrine settlements of Switzerland have contributed a valuable element towards the historic reconstruction of the iron epoch.

In different parts of the lakes of Bienne and NeuchÂtel there are pile-works which contain iron objects intermingled with the remains of preceding ages. But there is only one lacustrine settlement in Switzerland which belongs exclusively to the earliest period of the Iron Age—that of La TÈne on the Lake of NeuchÂtel.

Most of the objects which have been met with in this lacustrine settlement have been recovered from the mud in which they had been so remarkably preserved, being sheltered from any contact with the outer air. There are, however, many spots in which piles may be seen, where objects of this kind have not been found; but if subsequent researches are attended with any results, we shall be forced to attribute to the settlement of La TÈne a considerable degree of importance, for the piles there extend over an area of 37 acres.

The remains of all kinds which have been found in this settlement are evidently of Gallic origin. It is an easy matter to prove this by comparing the weapons found in this settlement with those which were discovered in the trenches of Alise-Sainte-Reine, the ancient Alesia, where, in its last contest against CÆsar, the independence of ancient Gaul came to an end.

M. de Rougemont has called attention to the fact that these weapons correspond very exactly to the description given by Diodorus Siculus of the Gallic weapons. Switzerland thus seems to have been inhabited in the earliest iron epoch by Gallic tribes, that is to say, by a different race from that which occupied it during the stone and bronze epochs; and it was this race which introduced into Switzerland the use of iron.

Among the objects collected in the lake settlement of La TÈne, weapons are the most numerous; they consist of swords and the heads of spears and javelins. Most of them have been kept from oxidation by the peaty mud which entirely covered them, and they are, consequently, in a state of perfect preservation.

The swords are all straight, of no very great thickness, and perfectly flat. The blade is from 31 to 35 inches in length, and is terminated by a handle about 6 inches long. They have neither guards nor crosspieces. Several of them were still in their sheaths, from which many of them have been drawn out in a state of perfect preservation, and even tolerably sharp.

Fig. 247 represents one of the iron swords from the Swiss lakes, which are depicted in M. Desor's memoir.

On another sword, of which we also give a representation (fig. 248), a sort of damascening work extends over almost the whole surface, leaving the edges alone entirely smooth.

M. de Reffye, the archÆologist, accounts for this fact in the following way:—He is of opinion that the body of the blade is made of very hard unyielding iron, whilst the edges are made of small strips of mellower iron which have been subsequently welded and wrought by the hammer. This mode of manufacture enabled the soldier, when his sword was notched, to repair it by means of hammering. This was a most valuable resource during an epoch in which armies did not convey stores along with them, and when the soldier's baggage was reduced to very little more than he could personally carry. Several of these damascened blades have been found in the trenches of Alise.

The sheaths, the existence of which now for the first time comes under our notice, are of great importance on account of the designs with which they are ornamented. Most of these designs are engraved with a tool, others are executed in repoussÉ work. All of them show great originality and peculiar characteristics, which prevent them from being confounded with works of Roman art. One of these sheaths (fig. 249), which belongs to M. Desor's collection and is depicted in his memoir, represents the "horned horse," the emblem of Gaul, which is sufficient proof of the Gallic origin of the weapons found in the Lake of La TÈne. Below this emblem, there is a kind of granulated surface which bears some resemblance to shagreen.

This sheath is composed of two very thin plates of wrought iron laid one upon the other, except at the base, where they are united by means of a cleverly-wrought band of iron. At its upper extremity there is a plate, on one side of which may be seen the designs which we have already described, and on the other a ring, intended to suspend the weapon to the belt.

The lance-heads are very remarkable on account of their extraordinary shape and large size. They measure as much as 16 inches long, by 2 to 4 inches wide, and are double-edged and twisted into very diversified shapes. Some are winged, and others are irregularly indented. Some have perforations in the shape of a half-moon (fig. 250). The halberd of the middle ages was, very probably, nothing but an improvement on, or a deviation from, these singular blades.

Fragments of wooden staves have been met with which had been fitted into these spear-heads; they are slender, and shod with iron at one end.

The care with which these instruments are wrought proves that they are lance-heads, and not mere darts or javelins intended to be thrown to a distance and consequently lost. They certainly would not have taken so much pains with the manufacture of a weapon which would be used only once.

It is altogether a different matter with respect to the javelins, a tolerably large number of which have been found in the lacustrine settlements of La TÈne. They are simple socketed heads (fig. 251), terminating in a laurel-leaf shape, about 4 to 5 inches in length.

It appears from experiments ordered by the Emperor of the French, that these javelins could only have been used as missile weapons, and that they were thrown, not by the hand merely grasping the shaft (which would be impossible to do effectually on account of their light weight), but by means of a cord or thong, which was designated among the Romans by the name of amentum. These experiments have shown that a dart which could be thrown only 65 feet with the hand, might be cast four times that distance by the aid of the amentum. There probably existed among the Gauls certain military corps who practised the use of the amentum, that is to say, the management of thonged javelins, and threw this javelin in the same way as other warriors threw stones by means of a sling. This conclusion, which has been drawn by M. Desor, seems to us a very just one.

Javelins of the preceding type are very common in the trenches of Alise. In this neighbourhood a large number of iron arrows have also been found which have never been met with in the lacustrine settlement of La TÈne.

War was not the only purpose for which these javelins were used by the men of the iron epoch. Hunting, too, was carried on by means of these missile weapons. The bow and the thonged javelin constituted the hunting weapons of this epoch. We have depicted this in the accompanying plate, which represents the chase during the iron epoch.

Next to the weapons come the implements. We will, in the first place, mention the hatchets (fig. 253). They are larger, more solid, and have a wider cutting edge than those used in the bronze epoch; wings were no longer in use, only a square-shaped socket into which was fitted a wooden handle, probably made with an elbow.

The sickles (fig. 254) are likewise larger and also more simple than those of the bronze epoch; there are neither designs nor ornaments of any kind on them.

With the pruning-bills or sickles we must class the regular scythes (fig. 255) with stems for handling, two specimens of which have been discovered in the lake settlement of the TÈne. Their length is about 14 inches, that is, about one-third as large as the scythes used by the Swiss harvest-men of the present day. One important inference is drawn from the existence of these scythes; it is, that at the commencement of the iron epoch men were in the habit of storing up a provision of hay, and must consequently have reared cattle.

The iron fittings at the ends of the boat-hooks used by the boatmen on the lake are frequently found at La TÈne; they terminate in a quadrangular pyramid or in a cone (fig. 256). Some still contain the end of the wooden pole, which was attached to it by means of a nail.

Next in order to these objects, we must mention the horses' bits and shoes; the first being very simply constructed so as to last for a very long period of time. They were composed of a short piece of iron chain (fig. 257), which was placed in the horse's mouth, and terminated at each end in a ring to which the reins were attached.

The fibulÆ (fig. 258), or clasps for cloaks, are especially calculated to attract attention in the class of ornamental objects; they are very elegant and diversified in their shapes, their dimensions varying from 2½ to 5 inches. They are all formed of a pin in communication with a twisted spring bent in various ways. They are provided with a sheath to hold the end of the brooch pin, so as to avoid any danger of pricking. A large number of them are in an excellent state of preservation, and might well be used at the present day.

These brooches, which we have already called attention to when speaking of the tombs of Hallstadt, were also used by the Etruscans and the Romans; their existence in the pre-historic tombs tends to prove that, like the above-named nations, the Swiss and Germans wore the toga or mantle. These fibulÆ have a peculiar character, and it is impossible to confuse them with the Roman fibulÆ. They are, however, similar in every way to those which have been found at Alise.

There have also been found in the Swiss lakes, along with the fibulÆ, a number of rings, the use of which is still problematical. Some are flat and others chiselled in various ways. It is thought that some of them must have been used as buckles for soldiers' sword-belts (fig. 259); but there are others which do not afford any countenance to this explanation. Neither can they be looked on as bracelets; for most of them are too small for any such purpose. Some show numerous cuts at regular intervals all round their circumference; this fact has given rise to the supposition that they might perhaps have served as a kind of money.

In the lake-settlement of La TÈne (Lake of NeuchÂtel), iron pincers have also been found (fig. 260), which were doubtless used for pulling out hair, and are of very perfect workmanship; also scissors with a spring (fig. 261), the two legs being made in one piece, and some very thin blades (fig. 262), which must have been razors.

The specimens of pottery belonging to this date do not testify to any real progress having been made beyond the workmanship of the bronze epoch; the clay is still badly baked, and of a darkish colour. It certainly is the case, that along with these remains a quantity of fragments of vessels have been picked up, and even entire vessels, which have been made by the help of the potter's wheel and baked in an oven, and consequently present the red colour usual in modern earthenware. But archÆologists are of opinion that this class of pottery does not date back beyond the Roman epoch; and this opinion would seem to be confirmed by the existence, in the midst of the piles at the settlement of La TÈne, of a mass of tiles, evidently of Roman origin. The conclusion to be drawn from these facts is, that many of the pile-works in the Swiss lakes continued to be occupied when the country was under the Roman rule.

One of the characteristics of the iron epoch is, as we have before stated, the appearance of coin or money. In 1864, M. Desor recovered from the Lake of La TÈne five coins of unquestionable Gallic origin. They are of bronze, and bear on one side the figure of the horned horse, and on the other a human profile. In fig. 232, we gave a representation of these curious specimens of coin found by M. Desor in the lacustrine settlements of the Lake of NeuchÂtel. The marks of the mould still existing on each side show that these coins were cast in a series, and that after the casting the coins were separated from one another by means of the file.

Coins of a similar character have been discovered, as we before observed, at Tiefenau, near Berne, with others bearing the effigy of Diana and Apollo, and the imprint of Massilia, The latter date from the foundation of Marseilles, and could not, therefore, be anterior to the sixth century before the Christian era; it is probable that those discovered along with them must be referred to nearly the same epoch.

Such are the relics of instruments, tools, weapons, &c., made of iron and recovered from the lacustrine settlement of La TÈne, that is, from the Lake of NeuchÂtel. We must add that, near Berne, at a spot which is designated by the name of the "Battle-field of Tiefenau," because it appears to have been the theatre of a great conflict between the Helvetians and the Gauls, a hundred swords and spear-heads have been picked up, similar to those found at La TÈne; also fragments of coats of mail, rings, fibulÆ, the tires of chariot-wheels, horses' bits, and lastly, Gallic and Marseillaise coins in gold, silver, and bronze. This field of battle appears, therefore, to have been contemporary with the settlement at La TÈne.

In addition to these valuable sources of information—La TÈne and Tiefenau—Switzerland also possesses tumuli and simple tombs, both constituting records useful to consult in respect to the iron epoch. But on this point, it must be remarked that it is often difficult, with any degree of security, to connect them with the two preceding sites; and that considerable reserve is recommended in attempting any kind of identification.

Upon the whole, the Iron Age, looking even only to its earliest period, is the date of the beginning of real civilisation among European nations.

Their industrial skill, exercised on the earliest-used materials, such as iron and textile products, furnished all that was required by the usages of life. Commerce was already in a flourishing state, for it was no longer carried on by the process of barter only. Money, in the shape of coin, the conventional symbol of wealth, came into use during this epoch, and must have singularly facilitated the operations of trade. Agriculture, too, had advanced as much as it could at this earliest dawn of civilisation. The remains of cereals found in the lake-settlements of Switzerland, added to the iron instruments intended to secure the products of the cultivation of the ground, such as the scythes and sickles which we have previously depicted (figs. 254 and 255), are sufficient to show us that agriculture constituted at that time the chief wealth of nations. The horse, the ass, the dog, the ox, and the pig, had for long time back been devoted to the service of man, either as auxiliaries in his field-labours, or as additions to his resources in the article of food. Fruit-trees, too, were cultivated in great numbers.

As a matter of fact, we have no acquaintance with any of the iron and bronze instruments which were used by men of the iron epoch in cultivation of the ground. Scythes and sickles are the only agricultural implements which have been discovered. But even these instruments, added to a quantity of remains of the bones of cattle which have been found in the lacustrine and palustrine settlements, are sufficient to prove that the art of cultivating the earth and of extracting produce from its bosom, rendered fertile by practices sanctioned by experience, existed in full vigour among the men who lived during the period immediately preceding historic times.

The plate which accompanies this page is intended to represent in a material form the state of agriculture during the iron epoch. We may notice the corn-harvest being carried on by means of sickles, like those found in the lacustrine settlements of Switzerland. A man is engaged in beating out, with a mere stick, the wheatsheaves in order to thrash out the grain. The grain is then ground in a circular mill, worked by a horizontal handle. This mill is composed of two stones revolving one above the other, and was the substitute for the rough primitive corn-mill; it subsequently became the mill used by the Romans—the pistrinum—at which the slaves were condemned to work.

Indications of an unequivocal character have enabled us to recognise as a fact, that human sacrifices took place among the Helvetians during this period. It is, however, well known, from the accounts of ancient historians, that this barbarous custom existed among the Gauls and various nations in the north of Europe. In a tumulus situated near Lausanne, which contained four cinerary urns, there were also found the skeletons of four young females. Their broken bones testified but too surely to the tortures which had terminated their existence. The remains of their ornaments lay scattered about in every direction, and everything was calculated to lead to the belief that they had been crushed under the mass of stones which formed the tumulus—unhappy victims of a cruel superstition. Not far from this spot, another tumulus contained twelve skeletons lying in all kinds of unusual postures. It is but too probable that these were the remains of individuals who had all been immolated together on the altar of some supposed implacable divinity.

What was the character of the type of the human race during the iron epoch? It must evidently have been that of the present era. Both the skulls and the bodies of the skeletons found in the tombs of this epoch point to a race of men entirely identical with that of our own days.

We shall not carry on our study of pre-historic mankind to any later date. We have now arrived at an epoch upon which sufficient light has been thrown by oral tradition combined with historical records. The task of the historian begins at the point where the naturalist's investigations come to an end.

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