Bronze CombFig. 225.—Bronze Comb found in the same Tomb.
Fig. 225.—Bronze Comb found in the same Tomb.
We must not forget to mention a bronze sword, placed on the left side of the body, in a wooden sheath; this sword measured about 26 inches in length.
There is no doubt that all these relics were those of a warrior of the bronze epoch; there is the less reason to doubt this, owing to the fact, that the objects taken from the two other coffins most certainlybelonged to that period. These were a sword, a knife, a bodkin, an awl, a pair of tweezers, a double button, and a small bronze bracelet; also a double tin button, a ball of amber and a flint spear-head.
Bronze Epoch WarriorsFig. 226.—Warriors during the Bronze Epoch.
Fig. 226.—Warriors during the Bronze Epoch.
The shape of the swords and knives shows that this burial-place in Jutland must be referred to the latter part of the bronze epoch—to a time, perhaps, when iron was first used.
Following out thedataafforded by these records, and all the discoveries which have been made in other tombs, we have given in fig. 226, a representation ofwarriors of the bronze epoch.
The accoutrements of the horseman of pre-historic ages are composed of a bronze sword, like those found in the tombs in Denmark, and a bronze hatchet and sword-belt. His horse is decked with round bronze discs, which, in after times, formed among the Romans the chief ornament of this faithful and intrepid auxiliary of man in all his combats. The horseman's head is bare; for no helmet or metallic head-covering has ever, at least, to our knowledge, been discovered in the tombs of the bronze epoch. The spear and bronze hatchet are the weapons of the foot-soldiers.
Next to the Scandinavian regions, Great Britain and Ireland occupy an important place in the history of the civilisation of the bronze epoch. The same type of implements are found in these countries as in Denmark and Switzerland.
Hatchet-moulds (fig. 227) are also found there—a circumstance which proves that the founder's art was known and practised in these countries. The Dublin Museum contains a beautiful collection of various objects belonging to the bronze epoch.
Bronze Hatchet-mouldFig. 227.—Bronze Hatchet-mould found in Ireland.
Fig. 227.—Bronze Hatchet-mould found in Ireland.
Some of the departments of France have also furnished objects belonging to the same period; but there is nothing peculiar among them which deserves mention.
Did any kind of religious worship exist among the men of the bronze epoch? Nothing would be more interesting than any discovery bearing on this point; but up to the present time no vestiges of anything in the shape of an idol have been found, nor anything whatever which authorizes us unhesitatingly to answer this question in the affirmative. The only thing which might prove the existence of any religious feeling, is the discovery, in various lacustrine settlements, of a certain number of crescent-shaped objects, most of them made of very coarse baked earth and some of stone.
The dimensions of these crescents vary considerably; there are some which measure as much as 16 inches from one point to the other. They are ornamented with perfectly primitive designs, as shown in fig. 228, drawn at the Museum of Saint-Germain from one of the numerous specimens of this class of objects.
Stone CrescentFig. 228.—Stone Crescent found in one of the Swiss Lakes
Fig. 228.—Stone Crescent found in one of the Swiss Lakes
Several archæologists consider these crescents to have been religious emblems or talismans which were suspended either outside or inside the habitations. Dr. Keller is of opinion that they bear some relation to the worship of the moon—an hypothesis which is not at all an impossible one; for all nations who have not attained to a certain degree of moral and intellectual culture adore the heavenly bodies as the sources of light and heat.
M. Carl Vogt, in considering the crescents which have been discovered in such large quantities in the lacustrine habitations, cannotadmit that they indicate that any religious belief existed among these ancient nations. He attributes to these objects a very different kind of use, and, as we shall presently show, rather an odd one.
In the lectures onpre-historic manwhich were delivered by Prof. Carl Vogt at Antwerp, in 1868, and have been reported by the Belgian journals,[37]when speaking on the subject of the crescents belonging to the bronze epoch, he expresses himself as follows:—
"My opinion is that these crescents were used as resting-places for the head during the night. Among many savage tribes we find the attention paid to the dressing of the hair carried to a high pitch, especially among the men; it was not until a later period that woman also devoted her cares to the culture of hercoiffure. Now this care is, by many nations, carried out to a really curious extent. They inflict the most severe tortures on themselves in order to satisfy their vanity. Everyone has seen, in the 'Magasin Pittoresque' and other illustrated journals, the strange head-dresses of the Abyssinian soldiers. They really seem to form a kind of fleece, and it may be noticed that each soldier carries in this hairy construction a large pin.
"Well, all this tends to explain the use of these crescents. In Abyssinia, as soon as a young girl is married it becomes her duty to devote herself to her husband's head of hair. This head of hair is made to assume a certain shape, which it has to retain during his whole lifetime. The labour which this process necessitates lasts for three years. Each hair is twisted round a stem of straw, and remains so until the straw perishes. The man's head is thus covered with a whole system of spirals, the top of which is a foot from the surface of his head. During the whole remainder of his life thiscoiffuremust never be again disturbed. When asleep, the Abyssinian rests the nape of his neck on a triangle which he carries about everywhere with him. He has also a long pin, as it would be impossible for him to reach the skin of his head with the end of his finger.
"The same custom exists among the New Zealanders, who also have an apparatus upon which they rest their necks, in order, when asleep, to save theircoiffures. They wear an enormous chignon, two feet high and ornamented with ribbons, of which they are very proud. The only difference between this chignon and certain others which I need not mention is, that the former cannot be removed at will.This object, thus adorned, rests, during the sleep of its owner, on a sort of framework.
"The Chinese and Japanese sleep, in the same way, on a bedstead bevelled off at the head; and in the Egyptian hieroglyphical drawings we find instruments evidently meant for the same use.
"It is very probable that during the bronze epoch great attention was devoted to the hair, and this is the more probable as in every tomb belonging to this period we find pins from 2 feet to 2½ feet in length, furnished with large knobs, and of the same shape as the pins used by the Abyssinian soldiers; and also, because during the Stone Age, as well as the Bronze Age, a kind of comb is found which is similar to that which is now used by the New Zealanders to scratch, rather than to comb, their heads. The heads of the pins are often very richly ornamented; they are of the most varied shapes, and are extremely common both in the tombs and also in the lacustrine dwellings.
"We have the less right to be astonished at our ancestors sleeping with their heads resting on such a machine as we have just described, knowing, as we do, that the hussars of Frederick the Great used to spend the whole night in arranging theircoiffures!"
Thus, while Dr. Keller and many other archæologists ascribe thecrescentsfound in the Swiss lakes to some kind of religious worship, M. Vogt, whose idea is of a much more prosaic character, does not attribute them to any other worship but that ofselfas represented by the hair! The reader can take his choice between these two explanations. We shall only remark, in corroboration of Dr. Keller's opinion, that certain Gallic tribes used for a religious symbol this very crescent which M. Vogt would make out to be a pillow—a stone pillow which, as it seems to us, must have been very hard, even for primitive man.
Various objects found in the dwellings of man belonging to the bronze epoch appear to have been religious symbols. Such, for instance, are the designs so often met with on swords, vases, &c. These drawings never represent objects in nature; they seem rather to be cabalistic signs or talismans. Most of them bear some relation to a circle; sometimes they are single circles, and sometimes combinations of circles. Many authors have had the idea of attributing them to the worship of the sun.
Another sign was still more often used, and it was known even as early as the Stone Age—we speak of the cross. It is one of the most ancient symbols that ever existed. M. G. de Mortillet, in a work entitled 'La Croix avant le Christianisme,' has endeavoured to establish the fact, that the cross has always been the symbol of a sect which contended against fetishism. This much is at least certain, that it is one of the most ancient symbolical signs; for it is found depicted on objects belonging to the Stone Age, and on some of the earliest relics of the Bronze Age. At the time of the Etruscans the cross was generally prevalent as a sign. But at a later period Christianity exclusively monopolized this religious symbol.
A third figure is sometimes found on various objects belonging to the bronze epoch; this figure is the triangle.
It is, on the whole, very probable that all these signs which are not connected with any known object, bear some relation to certain religious or superstitious ideas entertained by the men of the bronze epoch; and, as a consequence of this, that their hearts must have been inspired with some degree of religious feeling.
FOOTNOTE:[37]Indépendance Belge, November and December, 1868.
[37]Indépendance Belge, November and December, 1868.
[Pg 284]
Mode of Interment and Burial-places of the Bronze Epoch—Characteristics of the Human Race during the same Period.
Thequestion naturally arises—what was the mode of interment, and what was the nature of the burial-places employed by man during the bronze epoch?
In the early part of this period the dead were still buried in those sepulchral chambers which are now called by the name ofdolmens; Nilsson and Lubbock have drawn somewhat confused and arbitrary distinctions in discussing these burial-places; but it may be positively asserted that towards the conclusion of this period the practice of burning dead bodies was commenced.
In a work, published in 1869, and entitled 'Le Danemark à l'Exposition Universelle,' being a sort of catalogue of the objects which were exhibited in the galleries devoted to theHistory of Labour, in the Exhibition in the Champ de Mars, in 1867, we find several pages which we shall quote, as they seem to recapitulate pretty clearly the ideas which are now current among scientific men concerning the burial-places and funeral customs of the bronze epoch:—
"The study which, during the last few years, has been devoted by M. Worsaae to the tombs belonging to the bronze epoch, has thrown much light," says M. Valdemar Schmidt, "on the commencement of the bronze age in Denmark. It appears that at the first beginning of the bronze epoch the dead were buried in a manner similar to that practised during the stone age, that is to say, the bodies of the defunct were deposited in sepulchral chambers made of stone, and covered bytumuli; the only difference is, these chambers are rather small, and generally contain but one skeleton. But to make up for this, several of these small sepulchral chambers, or rather stone coffins, are sometimes found in the sametumulus.
"These chambers present, however, in some respects, great similarities with those of the Stone Age; thus, beds of flint which have been subjected to the action of fire are often found spread over the ground, and on these beds skeletons are met with which appear to have been placed in a contracted position before they were buried, exactly following the practice of the Stone Age.
"After this class of tombs, we have another, in which the sepulchral chamber, though always made of stone, is not covered with a stone slab but with awooden roof. Elsewhere, skeletons have been found along with bronze weapons deposited in a sort ofwooden framework, which has in many cases entirely perished except a few minute fragments. These cases were covered with small stones, which now seem to lie immediately upon the skeleton.
"Lastly, in all the Danish provinces large oak coffins are found, formed of hollowed-out trunks of trees; these also contain human bodies, which seem to have been buried in woollen garments.
"With regard to the funeral rites observed, these tombs do not appear to have differed much. The bodies were deposited in them with their implements, weapons, and utensils, either of bronze or stone; but, in addition, at the bottom of the tomb, animal skins, generally those of oxen, were often spread.
"Next, a new period succeeded, when the bodies were burned, and the remains collected together. All the ancient customs were not, however, at once given up. Thus, as the dead were formerly buried in woollen garments, thedébrisof the bones were now wrapped in pieces of cloaks made of the same material. Subsequently, however, this custom also disappeared, and the ashes and remains of bones were simply collected together in urns. This custom was observed until the bronze epoch, and characterises, so to speak, its second and last period—which was, however, the longest of that age.
"There were, then, in short, two distinct epochs in the bronze age; firstly, thatin which the dead were quite simply interred, either in small sepulchral chambers or wooden coffins, and, secondly, thatin which the bodies of the dead were incinerated.
"One of the most remarkable 'finds,' as regards the first period of the bronze epoch, was made in 1861, in the two mounds known by the names of Treenhöi and Kengehöi, and situated near Kongeaa, in Jutland. In each of thesetumulitwo people had been buried, bothhaving a double coffin, made of magnificent trunks of oak-trees. The skeletons had been almost entirely destroyed by the damp which, on the contrary, had preserved the garments. These individuals seem to have been dressed almost like the Scotch; at least they must have worn a sort of woollen petticoat, and bands by way of trousers, very like those worn by the warriors depicted in the Carlovingian miniatures, and, in addition, a cloak, a cap, and also perhaps a shawl. With these garments were found some bronze swords in wooden sheaths; also some bronze knives, a comb, some boxes, cups, small wooden coffers, a tin ball, and, lastly, in one of the coffins, a small flint arrow-head. A fragment of the cloak was to be seen in the Palace of the Champ de Mars (No. 596).
"Another 'find' made a few miles from thistumulus, at Höimp, in North Schleswig, has also brought to light skeletons in oak coffins together with bronze implements.
"Discoveries of no less interest have been made in Zealand. Thus, in 1845, in atumulusat Höidegaard, near Copenhagen, a tomb belonging to the first period of the bronze epoch was found; it was searched in the presence of some of the principal Danish archæologists. The tomb was placed at a distance of more than 10 feet below the summit of thetumulus, and was built of stones; it was more than 6 feet in length, and its width on the eastern side was about 2 feet, and on the western side 19 inches. The bottom was lined with a layer of small flint stones, on which was found, in the first place, a skin, doubtless that of an ox, and above it, besides a piece of tissue containing remains of human bones, a bronze sword with a wooden sheath, covered with leather, and in a perfect state of preservation; lastly, a box containing the following articles:—1st, a fragment of an amber bead; 2nd, a piece of reddish stone; 3rd, a small shell, which can be none other than theConus mediterraneus; it is perforated so as to be worn as a pendant for the neck; 4th, a fragment of a flint point, doubtless an amulet; 5th, the tail of a serpent (Coluber lævis); 6th, a small cube of pine or fir-wood, and 7th, a bronze knife with a convex blade and ornamented handle.
"According to the investigations of various savants, these bones belong to a man, who, to judge from the objects placed by his side in his tomb, must have been some distinguished personage, and perhaps combined the functions of a warrior and a sorcerer. The cube ofpine-wood leads us to conjecture that that tree had not then completely disappeared, and from this fact we may infer that the period at which the sorcerer in question lived was very remote. It is, however, possible that this piece of pine-wood, as well as the shell, were introduced from some other country. The existence of theConus mediterraneusseems to establish the fact that Denmark had already formed some kind of connection with the Mediterranean.
"The second period of the bronze epochis characterised by the custom of the cremation of the dead, which generally took place in the following way: the body of the defunct was usually placed, together with his weapons and ornaments, on the funeral pile, which was built on the exact spot which was destined to form the centre of thetumulus; the fire was then lighted, and, after the body was consumed, the remains of the bones were collected together in an urn. The rubbish that resulted was left on the spot, surrounded with stones, and covered with earth till thetumuluswas complete. The urn which contained the ashes was then placed in another part of thetumulus. This course of procedure was not the only one employed; in some cases the weapons and other articles of adornment were not placed upon the funeral-pile, but were afterwards brought and placed round the urn.
"The number of tombs of the bronze epoch which have been discovered in Denmark is very considerable. There are thousands oftumuli, and many of them contain a large number of funeral urns. A great many of thesetumulihave been searched at various times and have produced a number of different bronze articles. The Museum of Copenhagen possesses no less than 600 swords dating back to the bronze epoch."[38]
Twenty years ago, however, a very curious discovery was made at Lübeck (Pomerania), for it exhibited, so to speak, in the same tomb, the three modes of interment belonging to the pre-historic epochs of the stone, bronze, and iron ages.
At Waldhausen, near Lübeck, atumuluswas found, which was 13 feet 9 inches in height. Thistumuluswas pulled down in horizontal layers, and the following details were successively brought to light.
At the top was a very ancient burial-place, evidently belonging to the iron age; for the skeleton it contained was accompanied by an object made of rusty iron and several earthenware articles. It was buried in loose earth.
Underneath this, and half way down thetumulus, there were some small enclosures composed of uncemented walls, each one containing a sepulchral urn filled with calcined bones, as well as necklaces, hair-pins, and a bronze knife.
Lastly, at the base of thetumulus, there was a tomb belonging to the Stone Age. It was formed of large rough blocks of stone, and contained, in addition to the bones, some coarse specimens of pottery, with flint hatchets.
It is evident that the first inhabitants of the country began by building a tomb on the bare ground, according to the customs of the age, and then covered it up with earth. During the bronze epoch another burial-place was made on this foundation, and a fresh heap of earth doubled the height of the mound. Lastly, during the iron age, a dead body was buried in a grave hollowed out on the top of the same mound. Here, then, we have a clear delineation of the three different modes of interment belonging to the three pre-historic periods.
In short, during the bronze epoch, the dead were generally buried in sepulchral chambers, and sometimes, exceptionally, they were burned. The custom of funeral feasts still remained in full force. The pious practice of placing by the side of the dead body the instruments or weapons which the individual had been fond of during his lifetime, was likewise still kept up; and it is, moreover, owing to this circumstance that archæological science is now enabled to collect numerous vestiges of the ancient customs of these remote ages.
But we must call attention to the fact that, at the end of and after this epoch, the hatchets and instruments which were placed in the tombs were often of much smaller dimensions than those employed for every-day use. They were small and delicately-made hatchets, intended asvotiveofferings. Some might, perhaps, conclude from this that the heirs, animated by a feeling of economy, had contented themselves with depositing very diminutive offerings in the tombs of the dead. The human race was already becoming degenerate, since it curtailed its homage and its offerings to the dead!
In order to bring to a conclusion all the details which concern thebronze epoch, the question will naturally arise, what was the human type at this epoch, and did it differ from that of the preceding age? Unfortunately, the positive information which is required for the elucidation of this question is entirely wanting; this deficiency is owing to the extreme rarity of human bones, both in the lacustrine settlements of Switzerland, and also in the tombs belonging to that epoch which have been searched in different European countries. The whole of the lacustrine settlements of Switzerland have furnished no more than some seven skeletons, one of which was found at Meilen, two at Nidau, one at Sutz, one in the settlement of Bienne, and two at Auvernier. The first, that is the skeleton found at Meilen, near lake Zurich, is the only one which belongs to the Stone Age; the six others are all of the Bronze or Iron Ages.
The skeleton found at Meilen is that of a child; the skull, which is in a tolerable state of preservation, although incomplete, occupies, according to the observations of MM. His and Rütimeyer, a middle place between the long and short heads.
Figs. 229 and 230, representing this skull, are taken from M. Desor's work, entitled 'Mémoire sur les Palafittes.' From the mere fact that it is a child's skull, it is almost impossible to make any use of it in ascertaining the characteristic features of the race to which it belongs; for these features are not sufficiently marked at such an early age. The skull is of a very elongated shape, that is to say, it belongs to thedolichocephaloustype. The upper part of the skull is flattened,and it has an enormous occipital development; but, on the other hand, there is scarcely any forehead. If these special features might be generally applied, they would not prove much in favour of the intellectual capacity of the Helvetic nation, or of its superiority over the races of anterior ages; it represents, in fact, a very low type of conformation, which, however, harmonises perfectly with the rough manners and cruel practices of the Gallic tribes.
Skull found at MeilenFig. 229.—Skull found at Meilen, front view.
Fig. 229.—Skull found at Meilen, front view.
Skull found at MeilenFig. 230.—Skull found at Meilen, profile view.
Fig. 230.—Skull found at Meilen, profile view.
At the time of the discovery, this skull was accompanied by various bones belonging to the body and limbs, which show by their extraordinary bulk that their owners were men of very large size. We have already remarked upon the large size of the men existing in the Stone Age, that is to say, at the time of the first appearance of mankind. Thus, the human type had changed but little since its first appearance on the globe.
The settlement of Auvernier, in the lake of Neuchâtel has, as we have before said, contributed two skulls. One belonged to a child about eight years of age, and the other to an adult. The child's skull differs very slightly from the one found at Meilen. It is small, elongated, and has a low and narrow forehead. That of the adult presents the same characteristics, and, in addition, an extraordinary development of the occiput, a feature which is not observable in the former, probably, on account of the youth of the subject. These two skulls seem, therefore, to show that the population of the lacustrine settlements had not at all changed at the beginning of the bronze epoch.
A discovery made in the neighbourhood of Sion has confirmed these first ideas. At this spot, in tombs of rough stone, there were found some bodies bent into a contracted position, and accompanied by certain bronze objects. According to MM. His and Carl Vogt, the skulls found at Sion agree tolerably well with those discovered at Meilen and Auvernier; and, in addition to this, the same shape is perpetuated down to our own days in German Switzerland, where it strongly predominates, and constitutes what is called the Helvetic type.
Thedatawhich have been collected up to the present time are not sufficient to enable us to make any positive assertion respecting the development of the intelligence of man during the bronze epoch. The few skulls which have been recovered are always in an incomplete state, and do not justify us in forming any exact opinion on this matter.But when we are considering the degree of intelligence possessed by our ancestors at this period of man's development, there are things which will enlighten us far better than any fragments of bones or any remains of skeletons; these are the works which have been executed by their hands. The fine arts had already begun to throw out promising germs, industrial skill had become an established fact, agriculture was in full practice, and bronze was made to adapt itself to all the caprices and all the boldest ideas of the imagination. What more can be necessary to prove that man, at this epoch, was already comparatively far advanced in intellectual culture?
In concluding our account of the bronze epoch, the question naturally arises whether it is possible to form any estimate of the exact space of time embraced by this period of man's history. We shall endeavour here to give, not the solution of the problem, but merely an idea of the way in which scientific men have entered on the question.
Morlot, the Swiss archæologist and naturalist, who has written a great deal upon the subject of the lacustrine settlements, was the first to endeavour to estimate the duration of the Stone Age, as well as that of the Bronze Epoch, and the following is the way in which he set about it.
In the neighbourhood of Villeneuve there is a cone or hillock formed of gravel andalluvium, slowly deposited there by the stream of the Tinière which falls at this spot into the lake of Geneva. This cone was cut in two, to lay down the railway which runs along the side of the lake. Its interior structure was thus laid bare, and appeared to be perfectly regular, a proof that it had been gradually formed during a long course of ages. There were three layers of vegetable earth placed at different depths between the deposits ofalluvium, each of which double layers had in its turn formed the outer surface of the cone.
The first layer was found at a depth of 3 feet 6 inches from the top, and was 4 to 6 inches thick. In it were found some relics of the Roman epoch.
The second, situated 5 feet 3 inches lower, measured 6 inches in depth, and was recognised as belonging to the bronze age; it contained a pair of bronze pincers and some fragments of unglazed earthenware.
The lower bed lay at a depth of 18 feet from the top, and variedin thickness from 6 to 7 inches. It contained some rough earthenware, charcoal, and animal bones, all pointing to the Stone Age, but to the latest times of that period.
After having carefully examined these different beds and ascertained the regular structure of the cone, Morlot fancied that he could calculate approximately the age of each of them. He took for his base of operations two historical dates; that of the entrance of the Romans into Helvetia, fifty-eight years before Christ, and that of their decisive expulsion towards the end of the fifth century of the Christian era. By comparing these two dates, he came to the conclusion that the Roman layer was at the most eighteen and at the least thirteen centuries old. Then remarking that since that epoch the cone had increased 3 feet 6 inches, and always going upon the hypothesis that the increase was the same as in subsequent ages, he came to the conclusion that the bed corresponding with the bronze epoch was at least 2900 and at the most 4200 years old; and that the layer belonging to the Stone Age, forming the entire remainder of the cone, was from 4700 to 10,000 years old.
Another calculation, the conclusions of which agree tolerably well with these, was made by M. Gilliéron, professor at the college of Neuveville. We have already said that the remains of a pile-work belonging to the Stone Age was discovered near the bridge of Thièle, between the lakes of Bienne and Neuchâtel. It is evident that the valley, the narrowest part of which was occupied by the lacustrine settlement, was formerly almost entirely under water, for below this point it suddenly widens out and retains these proportions as far as the lake of Bienne. The lake must, therefore, have retired slowly and regularly, as may be ascertained from an examination of the mud deposited by it. If, therefore, we know its annual coefficient of retreat, that is to say, how much it retired every year, we should be able to estimate with a sufficient degree of approximation the age of the settlement of the bridge of Thièle.
Now there is, not far from the lake, at about 1230 feet from the present shore, an old abbey, that of Saint-Jean, which is known to have been built about the year 1100. A document of that time mentions that the cloister had the right of fishing in a certain part of the lake; and there is some likelihood that it was built on the edge of the lake; a supposition which naturally presents itself to themind. The lake, then, must have retired 1230 feet in 750 years. This granted, M. Gilliéron easily calculated the time which would be taken for a retreat of 11,072 feet, this number representing the distance from the present shore to the entrance of the defile which contains the settlement of the bridge of Thièle. He found by this means that the settlement is at least 6750 years old, a figure which confirms those of Morlot.
The preceding calculations assign to the Stone Age in Switzerland an antiquity of 6000 to 7000 years before the Christian era, and to the bronze epoch an antiquity of 4000 years before the same era. There is still much uncertainty in the figures thus given to satisfy public curiosity; but there is at least one fact which is altogether unquestionable—that these calculations have dealt a fatal blow to recognised chronology.
FOOTNOTE:[38]'Le Danemark à l'Exposition Universelle de 1867, by Valdemar Schmidt,' vol. i. pp. 60-64. Paris, 1868.
[38]'Le Danemark à l'Exposition Universelle de 1867, by Valdemar Schmidt,' vol. i. pp. 60-64. Paris, 1868.
II.
The Iron Epoch.
[Pg 297]
Essential Characteristics of the Iron Epoch—Preparation of Iron in Pre-historic Times—Discovery of Silver and Lead—Earthenware made on the Potter's Wheel—Invention of Coined Money.
Withoutmetals, as we have said in one of the preceding chapters, man must have remained for ever in a state of barbarism. To this we must add, that the civilisation of man has made progress just in proportion to the degree of perfection he has arrived at in the working of the metals and alloys which he has had at his disposal. The knowledge and use of bronze communicated a strong impulse to nascent civilisation, and was the means of founding the first human communities. But bronze is far from possessing all the qualities which ought to belong to metals when applied to various industrial purposes. This alloy is neither hard nor elastic enough to make good tools; and, in addition to this, it is composed of metals which in a natural state are very scarce. Man requires a metal which is cheap, hard, easy to work, and adapted to all the requirements which are exacted by industrial skill, which is so manifold in its works and wants.
A metal of this sort was at length discovered, and a new era opened for the future of men. They learned how to extract from its ore iron—the true king of metals, as it may well be called—on account of its inestimable qualities. From the day when iron was first placed at man's disposal civilisation began to make its longest strides, and as the working of this metal improved, so the dominion of man—his faculties and his intellectual activity—likewise enlarged in the same proportion.
It is, therefore, with good reason that the name ofIron Epochhas been given to the latest period of the development of primitive man,and it is not surprising that the last portion of the iron epoch formed the commencement of historical times. After this period, in fact, man ceased to live in that half-savage state, the most striking features of which we have endeavoured to portray.
As the use of iron essentially characterises this epoch in the history of mankind, we ought to give an account of the processes of manufacture employed by the primitive metallurgists, that is to say, we should inquire how they proceeded at this epoch to extract iron from its native ore.
The art of metallurgy had made great progress during the bronze epoch. There were at that time considerable workshops for the preparation of bronze, and small foundries for melting and casting this alloy. When once formed into weapons, instruments, and tools, bronze objects were fashioned by artisans of various professions. The moulder's art had already attained to a high degree of perfection, a fact which is proved by the gigantic bronze objects which we have already mentioned, as well as the castings, so many of which have been represented in the preceding pages. The phenomenon oftemperingwas well known, that is the principal modifications which are experienced by bronze in its cooling, whether slow or sudden. It was well known how to vary the proportions of the tin and copper so as to obtain bronze of different degrees of hardness. All the means of soldering were also familiarly known. Damascening was introduced in order to diversify the appearance of wrought metallic objects. The cutting qualities of instruments were increased by forging them and consolidating them by hammering. They had even gone so far as to discover the utility of the addition of certain mineral salts in the founder's crucible in order to facilitate the fusion of the bronze.
Thus at the end of the bronze epoch the knowledge of metals had attained to a comparatively considerable development. Hence we may conclude that the substitution of iron for bronze took place without any great difficulty. Owing to the natural progress and successive improvements made in metallurgic art, the blacksmith made his appearance on the scene and took the place of the bronze-moulder.
What, however, was the process which enabled our earliest metallurgists to extract iron from its native ore?
Native iron, that is metallic iron in a natural state, is eminentlyrare; except in aërolites it is scarcely ever found. According to Pallas, the Russian naturalist, certain Siberian tribes have succeeded, with a great amount of labour, in obtaining from the aërolites which have been met with in their country small quantities of iron, which they have made into knives. The same practice existed among the Laplanders. Lastly, we are told by Amerigo Vespucci that in the fifteenth century the Indians at the mouth of the La Plata river were in the habit of making arrow-heads and other instruments with iron extracted from aërolites.[39]
But, as we hardly need observe, stones of this kind do not often drop down from the skies, and their employment is of too accidental a character ever to have suggested to men the right mode of the extraction of iron. It is, therefore, almost certain that the first iron used was extracted from its ore just like copper and tin, that is, by the reduction of its oxide under the influence of heat and charcoal. In opposition to this explanation, some bring forward as an objection the prodigiously high temperature which is required for the fusion of iron, or, in fact, the almost impossibility of melting iron in the primitive furnaces. But the fusion of iron was in no way necessary for the extraction of this metal; and if it had been requisite to procure liquid iron, primitive industrial skill would never have succeeded in doing it. All that was necessary was so to reduce the oxide of iron as to obtain the metal in a spongy state without any fusion. The hammering of this spongy mass when in a red-hot state soon converted it into a real bar of iron.
If we cast a glance on the metallurgic industry of some of the semi-barbarous nations of ancient times, we shall find, as regards the extraction of iron, a process in use among them which will fully justify the idea we have formed of the way in which iron must have been obtained in primitive times. Gmelin, the naturalist, during his travels in Tartary, was a witness of the elementary process which was employed by these northern tribes in procuring iron. There, every one prepares his own iron just as every household might make its own bread. The furnace for the extraction of iron is placed in the kitchen, and is nothing but a mere cavity, 9 inches cube, which is filled up with iron-ore;the furnace is surmounted by an earthen chimney, and there is a door in front of the furnace for introducing the ore, this door being kept closed during the smelting process. In an orifice at the side the nozzle of a pair of bellows is inserted, which are blown by one man whilst another introduces the ore and charcoal in successive layers. The furnace never holds more than 3½ lbs. of ore for each operation. When this quantity has been placed in the furnace, in small pieces one after the other, all that is done is keeping up the action of the bellows for some minutes. Lastly, the door of the furnace is opened, and the ashes and other products of combustion having been drawn out, a small mass of spongy iron is found, which proceeds from the reduction of the oxide of iron by means of the charcoal, without the metal being in a state of fusion, properly so called. This small lump of iron was cleaned with a piece of wood, and was put on one side to be subsequently welded to others, and hammered several times when in a red-hot state; and by means of several forgings the whole mass was converted into a single bar.
This same process for the extraction of iron from its natural oxide, without fusion, is practised by the negroes of Fouta-Djallon, in Senegal.
After having become acquainted with the elementary process which is practised by the semi-barbarous tribes of the present day, we shall find but little difficulty in understanding all that Morlot, the Swiss naturalist, has said as to the iron-furnaces of pre-historic man, and shall probably agree in his opinions on the subject. Morlot, in his 'Mémoires sur l'Archéologie de la Suisse,' has described the vestiges of the pre-historic furnaces intended for the preparation of iron, which were found by him in Carinthia (Austria).
According to M. Morlot, the plan adopted for extracting iron from its oxide in pre-historic times was as follows:—On the side of a slope exposed to the wind, a hole was hollowed out. The bottom of this hole was filled up with a heap of wood, on which was placed a layer of ore. This layer of ore was covered by a second heap of wood; then, taking advantage of a strong breeze rising, which had to perform the functions of the bellows, the lowest pile of wood was kindled at its base. The wood by its combustion was converted into charcoal, and this charcoal, under the influence of heat, soon reduced the iron oxide to a metallic state. When the combustion had come to an end, a few pieces of iron were found among the ashes.
By increasing the size of the apparatus used, far more considerable results were of course obtained. In Dalecarlia (Sweden), M. Morlot found smelting-houses, so to speak, in which the original hole, of which we have just been speaking, is surrounded with stones so as to form a sort of circular receptacle. In this rough stone crucible layers of charcoal and iron-ore were placed in succession. After having burnt for some hours, the heap was searched over and the spongy iron was found mixed with the ashes at the bottom of the furnace.
The slowness of the operation and the inconsiderable metallic result induced them to increase the size of the stone receptacle. They first gave to it a depth of 7 feet and then of 13 feet, and, at the same time, coated the walls of it with clay. They thus had at their disposal a kind of vast circular crucible, in which they placed successive layers of iron-ore and wood or charcoal.
In this altogether elementary arrangement no use was made, as it seems, of the bellows. This amounts to stating that the primitive method of smelting iron was not, as is commonly thought, an adaptation of theCatalan furnace. This latter process, which, even in the present time, is made use of in the Pyrenean smelting works, does not date back further than the times of the Roman empire. It is based on the continual action of the bellows; whilst in the pre-historic furnaces this instrument, we will again repeat, was never employed.
These primitive furnaces applied to the reduction of iron-ore, traces of which had been recognised by Morlot, the naturalist, in Austria and Sweden, have lately been discovered in considerable numbers in the canton of Berne by M. Quiquerez, a scientific mining engineer. They consist of cylindrical excavations, of no great depth, dug out on the side of a hill and surmounted by a clay funnel of conical form. Wood-charcoal was the fuel employed for charging the furnaces, for stores of this combustible are always found lying round the ancient smelting works.
In an extremely curious memoir, which was published in 1866 by the Jura Society of Emulation, under the title of 'Recherches sur les anciennes Forges du Jura Bernois,' M. Quiquerez summed up the results of his protracted and minute investigations. A few extracts from this valuable work will bring to our knowledge the real construction of the furnaces used by pre-historic man; 400 of these furnaces having been discovered by M. Quiquerez in the district of the Bernese Jura.
We will, however, previously mention that M. Quiquerez had represented, or materialised, as it were, the results of his interesting labours, by constructing a model in miniature of a siderurgical establishment belonging to the earliest iron epoch. This curious specimen of workmanship showed the clay-furnace placed against the side of a hill, the heaps of charcoal, the scoriæ, the hut used as a dwelling by the workmen, the furnace-implements—in short, all the details which formed the result of the patient researches of the learned Swiss engineer.
M. Quiquerez had prepared this interesting model of the ancient industrial pursuits of man with a view of exhibiting it in theExposition Universelleof 1867, together with the very substances, productions, and implements which he had found in his explorations in the Jura. But the commission appointed for selecting objects for admission refused to grant him the modest square yard of area which he required for placing his model. How ridiculous it seems! In the immense Champ de Mars in which so many useless and absurd objects perfectly swarmed, one square yard of space was refused for one of the most curious productions which was ever turned out by the skilful hands of anysavant!
The result of this unintelligent refusal was that M. Quiquerez' model did not make its appearance in theExposition Universellein the Champ de Mars, and that it was missing from the curious Gallery of the History of Labour, which called forth so much of the attention of the public. For our readers, however, it will not be altogether lost. M. Quiquerez has been good enough to forward to us from Bellerive, where he resides (near Délémont, canton of Basle, Switzerland) a photograph of his curious model of a pre-historic workshop for the preparation of iron. From this photograph we have designed the annexed plate, representing aprimitive furnace for the extraction of iron.