In Fig. 516 is shown the half of a mould for palstaves, which is now in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy. The other half is with it. They are formed of sandstone. It is uncertain in what part of Ireland they were found.Another mould, formed of mica schist, and now in the British Museum, was found in the river Bann, and was intended for short palstaves about 3½ inches long.———Fig. 516.—Ireland. ½—————Fig. 517.—Ireland.1/1The half of a mould for casting palstaves of a somewhat broader form was found near Lough Corrib, Galway,[1675]and is in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh. Another has been engraved by Dunoyer,[1676]who has also figured a mould for a looped palstave, from the Museum of the University of Dublin. A stone mould from Ireland, for palstaves with double loops, is in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh. As the halves of these stone moulds are rarely made so as to be dowelled together, they are almost always of exactly the same size externally, so as to be readily adjustable into their proper position when tied together for the reception of the metal.The half of a mould for a small palstave, with transverse edge, is shown full size in Fig. 517. The original is of green schist, and is in the Royal Academy Museum at Dublin. It is remarkable that a mould for so rare a form should have been found. A stone mould for transverse palstaves of the same kind has, however, lately been discovered in the Lac de Bienne[1677]by Dr. V. Gross.On the Continent stone moulds for ordinary palstaves have been foundin some numbers, especially in the Lake habitations. In the museum at Geneva are several from the Station of Eaux Vives. The wings as originally cast were vertical to the blades, so that they might be withdrawn from the mould, and they were subsequently hammered over to form the side pockets, as in Fig. 85.Moulds for looped palstaves have been found in the Lac du Bourget, Savoy.[1678]One of them is in my own collection. A broken mould for a palstave was found at Billy (Loir et Cher).[1679]Others have been found in Hungary.[1680]A few stone moulds for casting socketed celts have been found in England. The half of one, apparently for celts without loops, was found near Milton, Dorsetshire,[1681]and is now in the Dorchester Museum. It has several holes on the face of the slab, as if for the reception of dowels, on which the other half of the mould would fit.In another instance a set of moulds has been formed of three slabs of stone, and would produce two varieties of socketed celts, one half of the mould of each being engraved on the two faces of the central slab. It is only this central piece which has been preserved. It was, I believe, found at Bulford Water, near Salisbury, and not at Chidbury Hill, near Everley, as stated in the “Barrow Diggers.”[1682]On one face is the mould for a single-looped socketed celt about 4½ inches long, of oblong section, with three vertical ribs on the face; on the other is that for a double-looped celt of the same character, but about 5¼ inches long, also with three vertical ribs. This mould is formed of some variety of greenstone, and is now in the collection of the Rev. E. Duke, of Lake House, near Salisbury.Stone moulds for socketed celts, with vertical ribs upon them, have been found in the Lacustrine Station of Eaux Vives, near Geneva. There are often moulds on each face of the stones.Others in sandstone for socketed celts have been found in Hungary.[1683]Several moulds for such instruments have been discovered in Sweden.[1684]One with diagonal air-passages, like those in Fig. 521, is in the Copenhagen Museum.Stone moulds for socketed celts have also been found in Scotland. Two pair from the parish of Rosskeen, Ross-shire,[1685]have been figured by Professor Daniel Wilson. They are for looped celts rather wide and straight at the edge, about 5 inches long and of hexagonal section. The castings from the one are plain upon the faces; in those from the other there are three annulets connected by raised ribs, much the same as on one face of the celt from Wigtonshire (Fig. 166). These moulds had the two halves dowelled together when in use. On one there appears to be a second mould for a small flat bar.In Ireland stone moulds for socketed celts are rare, and they appear tohave been for the most part cast in sand or loam. There is, however, in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy,[1686]the half of a mould of this kind made of mica slate, and much worn by age and exposure, apparently intended for a ribbed socketed celt. It has dowel-holes on the face of the slab.The mould, or more properly half of a mould, for a tanged knife, with a central rib along the blade, is shown in Fig. 518. It is of close-grained sandstone, and was found near Ballymoney, Co. Antrim. The surface on which the knife has been engraved is ground very smooth, as if to fit another half mould. In this other half there was probably little more than grooves for the central rib and tang, as the mould at the edge of the knife would produce a casting fully 1/16 inch thick, which would require a good deal of hammering out.—Fig. 518.—Ballymoney. ½——————Fig. 519.—Broughshane. ½Fig. 519 shows the half of a mould for a dagger blade of elegant form. It is of mica slate, and was found near Broughshane, Co. Antrim. It is about 1 inch in thickness; and on the other face are moulds for a small flat chisel with side stops, in total length about 2⅝ inches, for a flat triangular celt-like tool about 1½ inch long, and an unfinished mould for a segment of a flat ring.Stone moulds for daggers have been found in the Italianterramare.[1687]—————Fig. 520.—Knighton. ¼————Fig. 521.—Knighton. ¼In Figs. 520 and 521 I have reproduced on the scale of one-fourth the engravings of two stone moulds which were found near Knighton,but in the parish of Hennock, near Chudleigh, Devon, and are published in theArchæological Journal.[1688]They are of a light greenish micaceous schist, such as occurs in Cornwall. The large one is 24½ inches in length by 3 inches in its greatest width, the smaller is 21½ inches long and also 3 inches wide. When found the two halves of each mould were in apposition; the longer mould placed vertically, the shorter horizontally. As will be seen, they are for the production of rapier-shaped blades. In the smaller is a series of small channels, to allow of the escape of air during the process of casting.Fig. 522.—Maghera. ½On the larger, by the side of the main mould, is a second, which would produce a slightly tapering casting, ribbed longitudinally on one face and flat on the other. It is difficult to judge of the purpose for which it was intended, but it may possibly have been at once an ornament and a support for the scabbard of the blade.Some fluted pieces of bronze, such as would be produced from a mould of this kind, are in the museum at Tours, found in a hoard at St. Genouph.A mould for a short leaf-shaped sword has been found in Ireland.[1689]A stone mould, formed of green micaceous schist, and found at Maghera, Co. Derry, is in the collection of Canon Greenwell, F.R.S., and is shown in Fig. 522. As will be seen, it is for a spear-head of the ordinary Irish type, with loops on the socket. These, however, were probably flattened down during the finishing process. The outside of the mould has been neatly rounded, and has shallow grooves in it to assist in keeping the string in place with which the two halves of the mould were bound together when ready for use.In the same collection is the half of a mould for spear-heads, from Armoy, Co. Antrim. It is much like the figure, but 7⅞ inches long.I have the half of a mould for a nearly similar spear-head, made of light brown stone, with the sides left square, and not rounded. This is also from the North of Ireland. It is difficult to understand the manner in which the cores for forming the sockets of the spear-heads were supported in the moulds. Possibly small pins of bronze were attached to theclay core, which kept it in position, but which during the casting process got burnt into the molten metal. I have, however, found no actual traces of such a contrivance. On examining broken spear-heads it will sometimes be found that the socket core inside the blade, instead of being simply conical, has lateral projections running into the thicker part of the blade.A mould for spear-heads of the same kind as Fig. 521, found near Claran Bridge,[1690]in the barony of Dunkellen, Co. Galway, has at the base two pin-holes about 1 inch long and ¼ inch in diameter. Their axes are parallel to that of the socket. These may possibly be connected with the steadying of the core.A stone mould found at the edge of Lough Ramer, Co. Cavan,[1691]and now in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, is quadrangular in section, with moulds for very small lance-heads on three of its faces. On the fourth there are marks of a worn-out mould. The corresponding halves have not been found. Such instances of several half-moulds on a single block of stone are not unfrequent.Fig. 523.—Lough Gur. ½Fig. 524.—Campbelton. ½A moiety of a stone mould for casting spear-heads of various sizes, and also pointed objects, “possibly,” though not probably, “arrow-heads,” was found at Lough Gur,[1692]Co. Limerick, and is now in the British Museum. It is a four-sided prism, 6½ inches long and 2½ inches broad at one end of each face, and 1¾ inch at the other. A second similar prism would, it has been observed, give four perfect moulds for casting spear-heads slightly varying in form, but in each case provided with side loops. These loops are as usual semicircular in form on the mould, and were no doubt destined to be flattened in the usual manner by a subsequent process of hammering. There is one special feature in this mould, viz. that at the base of the blade there is a transverse notch in the stone, evidently destined to receive a small pin, which would serve to keep the clay core for the socket in its proper position. There is a similar transverse notch in one of the smaller moulds for the pointed objects. This mould is shown in Fig. 523.There is a similar notch in a mould for leaf-shaped spear-heads without loops in the Preusker Collection at Dresden. It would seem as if the pin which formed the hole for the rivet was also of use to support the core. Another such mould is in the museum at Modena.There are similar notches in a stone mould for spear-heads, in one of burnt clay for socketed knives, found at Mœrigen, in the Lake of Bienne, and in one found in the Lake of Varese.[1693]A small Irish mould for casting broad leaf-shaped lance-heads without loops is in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh.A mould of much the same character as the Irish examples was found near Campbelton,[1694]in Kintyre, Argyleshire. It is formed of dark serpentine, and one of its halves is shown in Fig. 524. On the same spot were found two polished stone celts and another stone mould for spear-heads, in two portions, also of serpentine, shown in Figs. 525 and 526, both sides being cut for moulds, one for a looped spear-head and the other for one without loops.—————Fig. 525.—Campbelton. ½——Fig. 526.—Campbelton. ½Dr. Arthur Mitchell, who has described this find, says that in this second mould the two halves are not alike,as in the one first described. In this case one-half has the shape of the spear-head deeply cut into the stone, so as to include the whole thickness of the edge of the spear, and the other side has simply the midrib alone cut on it, and the rest of that side of the mould is gently bevelled towards the edges, the result of which simple plan is that when the two sides are laid together a perfect mould is made, the two sides of the casting being almost exactly alike, less labour being thus required than in forming an outline exactly alike on both sides of the stone mould, and the result being equally satisfactory.An English, or rather Welsh, quadrangular mould, much like that from Lough Gur, was found between Bodwrdin[1695]and Tre Ddafydd, Anglesea. It is formed of hone-stone 9¼ inches long, with the sides tapering from 2 inches to 1½ inch. It is adapted for casting looped spear-heads of two sizes, and what has been regarded as a double-looped celt. The fourth side has a conical groove, and may be the complement of another more defined mould, as is the case with Fig. 525B. It has been thought to have been for a spike-like javelin. What has been regarded as the mould for double-looped celts seems also to be the shallow half of a mould for spear-heads. In the museum at Clermont Ferrand[1696]there is an analogous stone mould for palstaves of three types and a point or ferrule.Of other stone moulds, I may mention one for casting buckles of a kind like those from Polden Hill, which was found at Camelford, Cornwall.[1697]This is not improbably of Late Celtic date.I have a flat oval slab of compact grit, about 2 inches thick, having on one face a mould for a thin oval plate of metal about 5 inches by 4½ inches, and on the other a mould for a rather thicker oval plate, about 6 inches by 4½ inches. It was found near Nantlle, Carnarvon, and was given me by Mr. R. D. Darbishire, F.S.A. I am uncertain as to the period to which it ought to be assigned.Of foreign moulds of stone besides those already cited, I may mention some for double-ended hatchets and for flat celts which have been found in the Island of Sardinia.[1698]A number of moulds formed of stone, principally mica-schist, were found by Dr. Schliemann[1699]during his excavations on the presumed site of Troy. They were for casting flat celts, tanged spear-heads or daggers, and various other forms. Several of the blocks had moulds on both sides and ends, and served for casting as many as a dozen different objects.The moulds made of bronze which have been found in this country are for palstaves, socketed celts, and gouges only. They appear to be more abundant in England than in any of the neighbouring parts of Europe. At one time the whole school of Englishantiquaries regarded the moulds for socketed celts as cases or sheaths specially prepared to hold such instruments.[1700]To Vallancey, I think, belongs the credit of being the first to recognise their true character. In writing about the half of a bronze mould for palstaves found in Ireland, he observes,[1701]“Dr. Borlase and Mr. Lort had seen brass cases of these instruments, which fitted them as exactly as if they had been the molds in which the instruments were cast. I cannot conceive why these gentlemen hesitate to call them molds, as a certain proof that they were manufactured in Ireland, where the Romans came not, either as friends or foes, the molds are found in our bogs; they are of brass also, mixed with a greater quantity of iron, or in some manner tempered much harder than the instruments.” I am not sure that the latter remark as to the comparative hardness of the moulds holds good in all cases, otherwise the correctness of the opinion expressed by Vallancey, now about a hundred years ago, is undeniable.Fig. 527.—Hotham Carr. ½In Fig. 527 are given three views of one half of a complete mould for palstaves, which was found with a hoard of bronze objects, including seven palstaves without loops, at Hotham Carr, in Yorkshire, E.R. It is in the collection of Canon Greenwell, F.R.S. Among the palstaves which were found with it only one was in an undamaged condition.—Fig. 528—Wiltshire. ½—Fig. 529—Wiltshire. ½As will be seen from the figure, there are projections or dowels on the face of this half of the mould which fit into corresponding depressions in the counterpart, so as to steady the two halves when brought together and keep them in proper position. At the top is a cup-shaped cavity for the reception of the metal. Any portion of the casting which occupied this part of the mould was broken off from the palstave when it was cool, and was kept for re-melting. Such waste pieces, or jets, from the moulds are of common occurrence in the old founders’ hoards, and some will be subsequently noticed.Another mould for simple palstaves was found in Danesfield, near Bangor,[1702]in 1800. It is for a blade rather wider at the edge and narrower in the shank than that produced by the Yorkshire mould. With it was found another mould for a looped palstave of about the same size. One half of each pair of moulds is in the British Museum, and the other half in Lord Braybrooke’s collection at Audley End. The half of a bronze mould for a simple palstave, with a shield-shaped ornament below the stop-ridge, was found in Ireland.[1703]One of the same kind was lately in the collection of Mr. Stevenson of Lisburn.In the British Museum is another mould for looped palstaves, which is shown in Figs. 528 and 529, for the use of which I am indebted to the Council of the Society of Antiquaries.[1704]The original was found in Wiltshire. It is remarkable as bearing on each of its halves bands evidently cast from actual twine which has been upon the model; but the bands on the twohalves do not coincide, being on the one placed higher than on the other. The sides are also joggled together in a singular manner. As to the bands of cording, it may be that the model of the first half of the mould was formed of clay, which when dry, in order to prevent its being broken, was tied on to the palstave on which it had been shaped, and was thus moulded in clay or loam; and that afterwards, when the second half of the mould had to be cast by a similar process, the model for it was tied on to the half-mould already formed, the binding being in contact with the side of the band already in relief upon the back and sides of the half-mould.Several palstave moulds formed of bronze have been found in different countries in Europe.The half of one, found in the Saône, for looped palstaves, is in the museum at Lyons.[1705]Fig. 530—Harty. ½General A. Pitt Rivers, F.R.S., has one from the neighbourhood of Macon.[1706]M. Charles Seidler, of Nantes, has another.Another from the hoard of Notre-Dame d’Or, Vienne, is in the museum at Poitiers.M. Forel has another found in the Lake-dwellings at Morges.[1707]A palstave mould of bronze, found near Medingen, is in the museum at Hanover.[1708]The half of one found at Polsen, near Merseburg,[1709]is in that of Berlin.Another bronze mould from the neighbourhood of Grünberg,[1710]is in the museum at Darmstadt.There are several bronze moulds of this character in the Museum of Northern Antiquities at Copenhagen.In Figs. 530 and 531 are engraved the halves of two moulds for casting socketed celts of different sizes and patterns, which were found with a number of other relics in the Isle of Harty, Sheppey, and are now in my own collection. I have already given an account of this discovery elsewhere;[1711]but as it throws somuch light upon the whole process of casting as practised towards the close of the Bronze Period, it will be desirable to give a somewhat detailed account of the entire find and its teachings in this place.The hoard, which may very fairly be described as the stock-in-trade of an ancient bronze-founder, consisted of the following articles—Both halves of the mould, Fig. 530.5 celts cast in this mould and a fragment.Both halves of the mould, Fig. 531.1 celt cast in it.One-half of a smaller mould with a portion of a lead lining adhering to it, as kindly determined for me by Dr. J. Percy, F.R.S.Fig. 531.—Harty. ½3 celts, more or less worn out, apparently cast in it.2 large celts from different moulds.2 small socketed celts from other and different moulds.Both halves of a gouge mould, Fig. 532.2 gouges, both from one mould, but it is doubtful whether they are from this. See Fig. 205.2 pointed tools, Fig. 220.1 double-edged knife, Fig. 253.1 single-edged knife, Fig. 260.1 perforated disc, Fig. 503.1 ferrule, Fig. 377.1 part of a curved bracelet-like object of doubtful use, with small hole near the end.1 hammer or anvil, Fig. 211.1 small hammer, Fig. 212.2 pieces of rough copper.1 whetstone, Fig. 540.Of the largest mould itself, Fig. 530, not much need be said. The dowels on the face of one of the halves have been much injured by oxidation, so that the two parts of the mould do not now fit so well together as they did originally. On the outside of each valve are two projecting pins intended to hold the cord in position, by which the two parts of the mould were held together when in use.As will be seen, the mould itself is somewhat bell-mouthed. Of the ornamental “flanches” on the celt, I have already given the history at page 108. The instruments cast from this mould, and present in the hoard, are five in number, four in fairly perfect condition, and one broken in two in the middle. Though cast in the same mould, no two are absolutely alike. Not only do they vary in width at their edges—the natural result of one having been more freely hammered out than another—but in the upper part, to which very little has been done in the way of hammering or grinding since the celt left the mould, there are striking differences. As will be seen, the mould is calculated to produce three parallel mouldings round the mouth of each celt; but in one of the castings only two of these mouldings are present; in another there are three, and there is metal enough beyond to represent half the width of another moulding. In two others the length is equivalent to nearly another moulding, so that the celts appear to have four mouldings round their mouths; and in the fifth celt there is a collar of plain metal extending ⅜ inch beyond the three bands (see Fig. 113.) On comparing this instrument with that first described, the difference in the length above the loop is upwards of ½ inch. This difference can only be accounted for by a difference in the arrangement of the mould and core at the time of casting. On comparing the interior of one celt with that of another, it is evident that the core was not produced in any mould or core-box, as the small projecting ribs of metal left as usual to help in steadying the haft vary in number and position. In the case of the celt broken in two in the middle, the core has been placed so much out of the centre that there is a large hole in the casting where there was not room for the metal to run. The system adopted appears, therefore, to have been much as follows.First, the mould was tied together in proper position, and loam or clay was rammed into it so as tightly to fill the upper part. The mould was, secondly, taken apart—and the clay removed and probably left to become nearly dry. Thirdly, the lower part of the clay was then trimmed to form the core, a shoulder being left which would form the mould for the top of the celt. The upper part of the clay would be left untouched, beyond having two channels cut in it to allow of the passage of the melted metal. Fourthly, the mould would be tied together again with the prepared core inside, the untrimmed part of which would form aguide for its due position in the mould. Fifthly, the mould would then be placed vertically, probably by being stuck into sand, and the melted metal would be poured down the channels. When cool the runners thus formed would be broken off, and the fractured surfaces would be hammered or ground. The knife found with the hoard was probably used for cutting the channels and trimming the core. If such a process as that which I have described were in use, it is evident that the chances would be much against the shoulders of the clay core being always cut at exactly the same place, and we have at once a reason for the variation here observed.There is another cause for slight variations in the sharpness of the mouldings and the other details of the castings. In order to prevent the molten bronze from adhering to the bronze mould, the latter must have been smeared over with something by way of protection, so as to form a thin film between the metal of the mould and that of the casting. Modern founders, when casting pewter in brass, or even iron, moulds,[1712]“anoint” the latter with red ochre and white of egg, or smoke the inside of the mould; and our plumbers prevent solder from amalgamating with lead by using lamp-black and size, or even by rubbing it with a dock-leaf. No doubt the ancient founders had some equally simple method, such as brushing the mould over with a very thin coat of marl. Turning now to the second mould, Fig. 531, it will be seen that just below the mouldings there is accidentally present a sharply defined small recess; the impression, however, of this recess on the celt cast in this mould is not nearly so sharp, probably in consequence of the mould having been smeared as lately suggested. It will also be noticed that though there is a double band of mouldings in the mould, there is but one and a fraction on the celt itself, which is shown in Fig. 114.The outside of this mould is provided with three knobs to keep the binding cord from slipping off. The other and smallest half-mould has a single projection in the middle, like an imperfectly formed loop. The three celts which were apparently cast in this mould show great uniformity at their upper ends, and to the reason for this I think the lead adhering to the mould furnishes a clue. It is evident that if, in preparing the cores, instead of beginning by having the mould empty and ramming clay into it,which was subsequently to be trimmed, the founder placed a celt in the mould, its socket would act as a core-box or mould for a clay core which would require no further trimming so far as the part of forming the socket was concerned. On opening out the mould this core could be withdrawn from the socket of the model celt, and when dry would be ready for use. Perhaps in the celts with long and not highly tapering sockets there would be a difficulty in getting out the clay unbroken, and the process would not be found to answer; but in the case of the small celts there would probably be less difficulty. In this mould I think we have the remains of a celt formed of lead, an instrument which would be utterly useless as a cutting tool, but which might well have been made and kept as a core-box. The very fact of its being made of another metal would prevent its being confounded with the other castings and being bartered away; while in the first instance a casting in lead might have been made on a wooden core, which could probably be trimmed to the exact shape required more readily than one of clay. I have elsewhere[1713]called attention to the fact that wooden moulds were in use among the Ancient Britons for the casting of coins formed of tin. Several socketed celts made of lead have from time to time been found, though not in association with bronze-founders’ hoards, and have been a great puzzle to antiquaries. One found at Alnwick,[1714]near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, was thought to have come from a barrow. One found with bronze celts in the Morbihan, is in the collection of the Rev. Canon Greenwell, F.R.S., but it is doubtful whether it was used as a core-box. The use which I have suggested for them is at all events one that is possible, but we must wait for further discoveries before accepting it as the only cause for their existence.A mould for sword hilts found in Italy,[1715]and now in the museum at Munich, is formed by three pieces of bronze, even the core by which the cavity in them was produced being formed of that metal.But that the cores were frequently if not always made of clay, and not, as has been sometimes supposed, of metal, is proved by the numbers of socketed celts which from time to time have been found with the cores still in them, though this, it is true, has been the case in France rather than in England. In the great hoard of socketed celts found near Plénée Jugon, in Brittany, the majoritywere as they had come from the mould, with the clay cores still in them, burnt as hard as brick by the heat of the metal. I have already mentioned this fact in describing the tool from the Harty hoard, which appears to have been used for extracting the cores. I have also described the anvil, if such it be, and the hammer, Figs. 211 and 212, by means of which, probably, the edges of the celts were drawn out and hardened. I will now add that the celt, Fig. 114, is too long and too broad at the edge for that part of it to enter into the mould in which it was cast. This shows how much its edge was drawn out by hammering. The final sharpening was no doubt effected by the whetstone, Fig. 540.Fig. 532.—Harty. ½The other mould from this hoard is almost unique of its kind. Two views of each of its halves are given in Fig. 532. Originally there was a loop on the back of each half, but from one this has in old times been broken off. The arrangement for carrying the core is different from what it seems to have been in the other moulds. There is in the upper part of the mould when put together a transverse hole, which would produce what may be termed trunnions on the clay core, and assist materially in holding it in proper position during the process of casting. From the upper surfaces of the gouges found with the mould, it appears that there were two channels cut for the runners of metal, one at the middle of each half of the mould, so as to alternate with the joint of the mould through which the air could escape during the casting process.What appears to be part of a mould for gouges was found in the hoard of Notre-Dame d’Or, and is now in the museum at Poitiers.I must now return to the other examples of moulds for socketed celts which have been found in this country.One, with external loops on each half, like that on Fig. 532B, was found with looped palstaves, socketed celts, and broken dagger or sword blades, at Wilmington,[1716]Sussex, and is now in the museum at Lewes. All these objects, as is the case in many other hoards, had been deposited in a vessel of coarse pottery.Another mould, found with eleven celts and fragments of weapons at Eaton,[1717]near Norwich, has smaller and broader loops near the top. On each side of the face of one half, a little distance from the actual mould, and roughly following its contour, is a shallow groove, into which fits a corresponding ridge on the counterpart. The outer face of each half is ornamented with two slightly curved vertical ribs, one on each side of the loop, and joined at the base by a transverse rib. It is for casting celts about 4¼ inches long, and of the ordinary form.Another mould, for celts with an octagonal neck, was found on the Quantock Hills,[1718]Somersetshire (and not in Yorkshire), and is now in the British Museum. The halves are adjusted to each other by a rib and groove, as on that last mentioned, and the back is ornamented with a peculiar raised figure with three vertical lines and a straight transverse line at the top, and two lines at the bottom running up to the central vertical line so as to form on each side of it an angle of about 120°. At the junction there is a ring ornament, and two others near the angles formed with the side lines. This mould has a transverse hole at the top like that in the gouge-mould already mentioned.Another mould, also in the British Museum,[1719]is for celts with three vertical ribs on the face. This likewise has a transverse and nearly square hole at the top, and also recesses in each half-mould, so as to give four points of support to the core between which the channels for the runners might be cut. On the outside, near the top, is a loop, and near the bottom two projecting pins to retain the string. This appears to be the mould from Yorkshire belonging to Mr. Warburton, figured by Stukeley.[1720]The half of another mould for celts, of nearly the same character, was found in the Heathery Burn Cave,[1721]already so often mentioned, and is shown in Fig. 533, for the use of which I am indebted to the Council of the Society of Antiquaries.Another mould was found in the fen at Washingborough,[1722]near Lincoln. Another, from Cleveland,[1723]found with chisels, gouges, &c., is in the Bateman Collection.A part of another was found in a hoard at Beddington, Surrey,[1724]and afragment of another at Wickham Park, Croydon. This latter is now in the British Museum.A bronze mould for socketed celts, found at Eikrath, was in the collection of the late Dr. Hugo Gärthe, of Cologne. Upon the outside there are six ribs with ring ornaments at the ends, diverging from a loop in the centre.A bronze mould for socketed celts, ornamented with V-shaped lines, and found at Gnadenfeld,[1725]in Upper Silesia, is in the Berlin Museum.Another bronze mould with an external loop, also for socketed celts, was found in Gotland,[1726]and is in the Stockholm Museum.Fig. 533.—Heathery Burn. ½A magnificent mould for socketed celts was found in the Cotentin[1727]in 1827. It has broad loops outside either half, with three processes from it running up and down the mould.A bronze mould for spear-heads was exhibited in Paris in 1878. A part of another was in the Larnaud hoard, and is now in the museum at St. Germain.There were some fragments of bronze moulds in the great Bologna hoard.The process of casting bronze instruments in loam, clay, or sand must have been much the same as that in use at the present day; but it was very rarely that the mould consisted of more or less than two pieces. On a great many bronze instruments the joint of the mould is still visible; and in some of the large hoards, such as those which have been found in the North of France, we see the castings just as they came from the moulds, except that the runners have been broken off. For socketed celts there were usually two runners of metal; for palstaves sometimes two, and sometimes only one nearly the full width of the upper part. It is not uncommon to find castings which show that the two halves of the mould or the flasks have slipped sideways, so that they were not in proper position when the casting was made.I have a palstave from a large hoard found near Tours, in which the lateral displacement of the mould is as much as a quarter of an inch, so that there is what geologists might term a “fault” in the casting. The metal which has been in contact with what was the face of the mould is smooth, and appears to have been cast againstclay. A considerable variety of patterns was in use by the founder to whom this hoard belonged, and they appear to have been of metal and not of wood, some of the palstaves having been apparently cast from tools already shortened by wear.That castings were occasionally made even from tools already mounted in their handles is proved by the Swiss hatchet, Fig. 185.Some portions of moulds formed of burnt clay were found with broken palstaves, socketed celts, gouges, knives, spear-heads, daggers, swords, lumps of metal, runners, &c., at Questembert, Brittany, and are in the museum at Vannes.Part of a mould for spear-heads formed of burnt clay was found in the Lac du Bourget;[1728]but the most interesting discoveries are those which have been made by Dr. V. Gross at the station of Mœrigen,[1729]on the Lake of Bienne. He there found a considerable amount of the plant of an ancient bronze-founder, all of whose moulds, however, were either in stone or burnt clay, and not formed of metal. The stone moulds appear to have been principally used for the plainer articles, such as knives, sickles, pins, &c., while for articles with irregular surfaces, or requiring cores, clay was preferred. Of clay moulds Dr. Gross recognises two types: one formed in a single piece, which could serve but once, and which was broken in extracting the casting; and the other, which was composed of two or more pieces, and which could be used over and over again. Of the first kind there were two examples—one for a socketed chisel and the other for a socketed knife. The form of the mould for a chisel is nearly cylindrical, with a funnel-shaped opening at one end, at the bottom of which are two holes leading into the interior of the mould. The clay between these two holes forms part of a conical core. Such a mould would give the idea of its having been formed on a model of wax on the system known as that ofcire perdue; but this appears not to have been really the case, for on examination the mould itself appears to have been originally formed of two halves, or valves, formed of fine clay, which had been well burnt, and these when put together had been surrounded by an external envelope of coarse clay, which held them and the core they enclosed in their proper position. The core itself seems to have been T-shaped, the ends of the transverse line being triangular and fitting into corresponding recesses in the valves of the mould.The best-preserved mould of the second kind was one for a socketed hammer, which was also provided with a core of the same kind. It seems to me, however, that the distinction drawn by Dr. Gross between the two classes of moulds does not really exist, as by enveloping such a mould as that for the hammer in a mass of clay it would be transferred from the second class to the first.Clay moulds for socketed-celts have been found in Hungary.[1730]In some Scandinavian examples[1731]of what appear to have been ceremonial axes there is merely a thin coating of bronze cast over a clay core, but no such specimens have as yet been found in Britain. That bronze so thin could have been cast shows wonderful skill in the founder.
In Fig. 516 is shown the half of a mould for palstaves, which is now in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy. The other half is with it. They are formed of sandstone. It is uncertain in what part of Ireland they were found.Another mould, formed of mica schist, and now in the British Museum, was found in the river Bann, and was intended for short palstaves about 3½ inches long.———Fig. 516.—Ireland. ½—————Fig. 517.—Ireland.1/1The half of a mould for casting palstaves of a somewhat broader form was found near Lough Corrib, Galway,[1675]and is in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh. Another has been engraved by Dunoyer,[1676]who has also figured a mould for a looped palstave, from the Museum of the University of Dublin. A stone mould from Ireland, for palstaves with double loops, is in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh. As the halves of these stone moulds are rarely made so as to be dowelled together, they are almost always of exactly the same size externally, so as to be readily adjustable into their proper position when tied together for the reception of the metal.The half of a mould for a small palstave, with transverse edge, is shown full size in Fig. 517. The original is of green schist, and is in the Royal Academy Museum at Dublin. It is remarkable that a mould for so rare a form should have been found. A stone mould for transverse palstaves of the same kind has, however, lately been discovered in the Lac de Bienne[1677]by Dr. V. Gross.On the Continent stone moulds for ordinary palstaves have been foundin some numbers, especially in the Lake habitations. In the museum at Geneva are several from the Station of Eaux Vives. The wings as originally cast were vertical to the blades, so that they might be withdrawn from the mould, and they were subsequently hammered over to form the side pockets, as in Fig. 85.Moulds for looped palstaves have been found in the Lac du Bourget, Savoy.[1678]One of them is in my own collection. A broken mould for a palstave was found at Billy (Loir et Cher).[1679]Others have been found in Hungary.[1680]A few stone moulds for casting socketed celts have been found in England. The half of one, apparently for celts without loops, was found near Milton, Dorsetshire,[1681]and is now in the Dorchester Museum. It has several holes on the face of the slab, as if for the reception of dowels, on which the other half of the mould would fit.In another instance a set of moulds has been formed of three slabs of stone, and would produce two varieties of socketed celts, one half of the mould of each being engraved on the two faces of the central slab. It is only this central piece which has been preserved. It was, I believe, found at Bulford Water, near Salisbury, and not at Chidbury Hill, near Everley, as stated in the “Barrow Diggers.”[1682]On one face is the mould for a single-looped socketed celt about 4½ inches long, of oblong section, with three vertical ribs on the face; on the other is that for a double-looped celt of the same character, but about 5¼ inches long, also with three vertical ribs. This mould is formed of some variety of greenstone, and is now in the collection of the Rev. E. Duke, of Lake House, near Salisbury.Stone moulds for socketed celts, with vertical ribs upon them, have been found in the Lacustrine Station of Eaux Vives, near Geneva. There are often moulds on each face of the stones.Others in sandstone for socketed celts have been found in Hungary.[1683]Several moulds for such instruments have been discovered in Sweden.[1684]One with diagonal air-passages, like those in Fig. 521, is in the Copenhagen Museum.Stone moulds for socketed celts have also been found in Scotland. Two pair from the parish of Rosskeen, Ross-shire,[1685]have been figured by Professor Daniel Wilson. They are for looped celts rather wide and straight at the edge, about 5 inches long and of hexagonal section. The castings from the one are plain upon the faces; in those from the other there are three annulets connected by raised ribs, much the same as on one face of the celt from Wigtonshire (Fig. 166). These moulds had the two halves dowelled together when in use. On one there appears to be a second mould for a small flat bar.In Ireland stone moulds for socketed celts are rare, and they appear tohave been for the most part cast in sand or loam. There is, however, in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy,[1686]the half of a mould of this kind made of mica slate, and much worn by age and exposure, apparently intended for a ribbed socketed celt. It has dowel-holes on the face of the slab.The mould, or more properly half of a mould, for a tanged knife, with a central rib along the blade, is shown in Fig. 518. It is of close-grained sandstone, and was found near Ballymoney, Co. Antrim. The surface on which the knife has been engraved is ground very smooth, as if to fit another half mould. In this other half there was probably little more than grooves for the central rib and tang, as the mould at the edge of the knife would produce a casting fully 1/16 inch thick, which would require a good deal of hammering out.—Fig. 518.—Ballymoney. ½——————Fig. 519.—Broughshane. ½Fig. 519 shows the half of a mould for a dagger blade of elegant form. It is of mica slate, and was found near Broughshane, Co. Antrim. It is about 1 inch in thickness; and on the other face are moulds for a small flat chisel with side stops, in total length about 2⅝ inches, for a flat triangular celt-like tool about 1½ inch long, and an unfinished mould for a segment of a flat ring.Stone moulds for daggers have been found in the Italianterramare.[1687]—————Fig. 520.—Knighton. ¼————Fig. 521.—Knighton. ¼In Figs. 520 and 521 I have reproduced on the scale of one-fourth the engravings of two stone moulds which were found near Knighton,but in the parish of Hennock, near Chudleigh, Devon, and are published in theArchæological Journal.[1688]They are of a light greenish micaceous schist, such as occurs in Cornwall. The large one is 24½ inches in length by 3 inches in its greatest width, the smaller is 21½ inches long and also 3 inches wide. When found the two halves of each mould were in apposition; the longer mould placed vertically, the shorter horizontally. As will be seen, they are for the production of rapier-shaped blades. In the smaller is a series of small channels, to allow of the escape of air during the process of casting.Fig. 522.—Maghera. ½On the larger, by the side of the main mould, is a second, which would produce a slightly tapering casting, ribbed longitudinally on one face and flat on the other. It is difficult to judge of the purpose for which it was intended, but it may possibly have been at once an ornament and a support for the scabbard of the blade.Some fluted pieces of bronze, such as would be produced from a mould of this kind, are in the museum at Tours, found in a hoard at St. Genouph.A mould for a short leaf-shaped sword has been found in Ireland.[1689]A stone mould, formed of green micaceous schist, and found at Maghera, Co. Derry, is in the collection of Canon Greenwell, F.R.S., and is shown in Fig. 522. As will be seen, it is for a spear-head of the ordinary Irish type, with loops on the socket. These, however, were probably flattened down during the finishing process. The outside of the mould has been neatly rounded, and has shallow grooves in it to assist in keeping the string in place with which the two halves of the mould were bound together when ready for use.In the same collection is the half of a mould for spear-heads, from Armoy, Co. Antrim. It is much like the figure, but 7⅞ inches long.I have the half of a mould for a nearly similar spear-head, made of light brown stone, with the sides left square, and not rounded. This is also from the North of Ireland. It is difficult to understand the manner in which the cores for forming the sockets of the spear-heads were supported in the moulds. Possibly small pins of bronze were attached to theclay core, which kept it in position, but which during the casting process got burnt into the molten metal. I have, however, found no actual traces of such a contrivance. On examining broken spear-heads it will sometimes be found that the socket core inside the blade, instead of being simply conical, has lateral projections running into the thicker part of the blade.A mould for spear-heads of the same kind as Fig. 521, found near Claran Bridge,[1690]in the barony of Dunkellen, Co. Galway, has at the base two pin-holes about 1 inch long and ¼ inch in diameter. Their axes are parallel to that of the socket. These may possibly be connected with the steadying of the core.A stone mould found at the edge of Lough Ramer, Co. Cavan,[1691]and now in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, is quadrangular in section, with moulds for very small lance-heads on three of its faces. On the fourth there are marks of a worn-out mould. The corresponding halves have not been found. Such instances of several half-moulds on a single block of stone are not unfrequent.Fig. 523.—Lough Gur. ½Fig. 524.—Campbelton. ½A moiety of a stone mould for casting spear-heads of various sizes, and also pointed objects, “possibly,” though not probably, “arrow-heads,” was found at Lough Gur,[1692]Co. Limerick, and is now in the British Museum. It is a four-sided prism, 6½ inches long and 2½ inches broad at one end of each face, and 1¾ inch at the other. A second similar prism would, it has been observed, give four perfect moulds for casting spear-heads slightly varying in form, but in each case provided with side loops. These loops are as usual semicircular in form on the mould, and were no doubt destined to be flattened in the usual manner by a subsequent process of hammering. There is one special feature in this mould, viz. that at the base of the blade there is a transverse notch in the stone, evidently destined to receive a small pin, which would serve to keep the clay core for the socket in its proper position. There is a similar transverse notch in one of the smaller moulds for the pointed objects. This mould is shown in Fig. 523.There is a similar notch in a mould for leaf-shaped spear-heads without loops in the Preusker Collection at Dresden. It would seem as if the pin which formed the hole for the rivet was also of use to support the core. Another such mould is in the museum at Modena.There are similar notches in a stone mould for spear-heads, in one of burnt clay for socketed knives, found at Mœrigen, in the Lake of Bienne, and in one found in the Lake of Varese.[1693]A small Irish mould for casting broad leaf-shaped lance-heads without loops is in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh.A mould of much the same character as the Irish examples was found near Campbelton,[1694]in Kintyre, Argyleshire. It is formed of dark serpentine, and one of its halves is shown in Fig. 524. On the same spot were found two polished stone celts and another stone mould for spear-heads, in two portions, also of serpentine, shown in Figs. 525 and 526, both sides being cut for moulds, one for a looped spear-head and the other for one without loops.—————Fig. 525.—Campbelton. ½——Fig. 526.—Campbelton. ½Dr. Arthur Mitchell, who has described this find, says that in this second mould the two halves are not alike,as in the one first described. In this case one-half has the shape of the spear-head deeply cut into the stone, so as to include the whole thickness of the edge of the spear, and the other side has simply the midrib alone cut on it, and the rest of that side of the mould is gently bevelled towards the edges, the result of which simple plan is that when the two sides are laid together a perfect mould is made, the two sides of the casting being almost exactly alike, less labour being thus required than in forming an outline exactly alike on both sides of the stone mould, and the result being equally satisfactory.An English, or rather Welsh, quadrangular mould, much like that from Lough Gur, was found between Bodwrdin[1695]and Tre Ddafydd, Anglesea. It is formed of hone-stone 9¼ inches long, with the sides tapering from 2 inches to 1½ inch. It is adapted for casting looped spear-heads of two sizes, and what has been regarded as a double-looped celt. The fourth side has a conical groove, and may be the complement of another more defined mould, as is the case with Fig. 525B. It has been thought to have been for a spike-like javelin. What has been regarded as the mould for double-looped celts seems also to be the shallow half of a mould for spear-heads. In the museum at Clermont Ferrand[1696]there is an analogous stone mould for palstaves of three types and a point or ferrule.Of other stone moulds, I may mention one for casting buckles of a kind like those from Polden Hill, which was found at Camelford, Cornwall.[1697]This is not improbably of Late Celtic date.I have a flat oval slab of compact grit, about 2 inches thick, having on one face a mould for a thin oval plate of metal about 5 inches by 4½ inches, and on the other a mould for a rather thicker oval plate, about 6 inches by 4½ inches. It was found near Nantlle, Carnarvon, and was given me by Mr. R. D. Darbishire, F.S.A. I am uncertain as to the period to which it ought to be assigned.Of foreign moulds of stone besides those already cited, I may mention some for double-ended hatchets and for flat celts which have been found in the Island of Sardinia.[1698]A number of moulds formed of stone, principally mica-schist, were found by Dr. Schliemann[1699]during his excavations on the presumed site of Troy. They were for casting flat celts, tanged spear-heads or daggers, and various other forms. Several of the blocks had moulds on both sides and ends, and served for casting as many as a dozen different objects.The moulds made of bronze which have been found in this country are for palstaves, socketed celts, and gouges only. They appear to be more abundant in England than in any of the neighbouring parts of Europe. At one time the whole school of Englishantiquaries regarded the moulds for socketed celts as cases or sheaths specially prepared to hold such instruments.[1700]To Vallancey, I think, belongs the credit of being the first to recognise their true character. In writing about the half of a bronze mould for palstaves found in Ireland, he observes,[1701]“Dr. Borlase and Mr. Lort had seen brass cases of these instruments, which fitted them as exactly as if they had been the molds in which the instruments were cast. I cannot conceive why these gentlemen hesitate to call them molds, as a certain proof that they were manufactured in Ireland, where the Romans came not, either as friends or foes, the molds are found in our bogs; they are of brass also, mixed with a greater quantity of iron, or in some manner tempered much harder than the instruments.” I am not sure that the latter remark as to the comparative hardness of the moulds holds good in all cases, otherwise the correctness of the opinion expressed by Vallancey, now about a hundred years ago, is undeniable.Fig. 527.—Hotham Carr. ½In Fig. 527 are given three views of one half of a complete mould for palstaves, which was found with a hoard of bronze objects, including seven palstaves without loops, at Hotham Carr, in Yorkshire, E.R. It is in the collection of Canon Greenwell, F.R.S. Among the palstaves which were found with it only one was in an undamaged condition.—Fig. 528—Wiltshire. ½—Fig. 529—Wiltshire. ½As will be seen from the figure, there are projections or dowels on the face of this half of the mould which fit into corresponding depressions in the counterpart, so as to steady the two halves when brought together and keep them in proper position. At the top is a cup-shaped cavity for the reception of the metal. Any portion of the casting which occupied this part of the mould was broken off from the palstave when it was cool, and was kept for re-melting. Such waste pieces, or jets, from the moulds are of common occurrence in the old founders’ hoards, and some will be subsequently noticed.Another mould for simple palstaves was found in Danesfield, near Bangor,[1702]in 1800. It is for a blade rather wider at the edge and narrower in the shank than that produced by the Yorkshire mould. With it was found another mould for a looped palstave of about the same size. One half of each pair of moulds is in the British Museum, and the other half in Lord Braybrooke’s collection at Audley End. The half of a bronze mould for a simple palstave, with a shield-shaped ornament below the stop-ridge, was found in Ireland.[1703]One of the same kind was lately in the collection of Mr. Stevenson of Lisburn.In the British Museum is another mould for looped palstaves, which is shown in Figs. 528 and 529, for the use of which I am indebted to the Council of the Society of Antiquaries.[1704]The original was found in Wiltshire. It is remarkable as bearing on each of its halves bands evidently cast from actual twine which has been upon the model; but the bands on the twohalves do not coincide, being on the one placed higher than on the other. The sides are also joggled together in a singular manner. As to the bands of cording, it may be that the model of the first half of the mould was formed of clay, which when dry, in order to prevent its being broken, was tied on to the palstave on which it had been shaped, and was thus moulded in clay or loam; and that afterwards, when the second half of the mould had to be cast by a similar process, the model for it was tied on to the half-mould already formed, the binding being in contact with the side of the band already in relief upon the back and sides of the half-mould.Several palstave moulds formed of bronze have been found in different countries in Europe.The half of one, found in the Saône, for looped palstaves, is in the museum at Lyons.[1705]Fig. 530—Harty. ½General A. Pitt Rivers, F.R.S., has one from the neighbourhood of Macon.[1706]M. Charles Seidler, of Nantes, has another.Another from the hoard of Notre-Dame d’Or, Vienne, is in the museum at Poitiers.M. Forel has another found in the Lake-dwellings at Morges.[1707]A palstave mould of bronze, found near Medingen, is in the museum at Hanover.[1708]The half of one found at Polsen, near Merseburg,[1709]is in that of Berlin.Another bronze mould from the neighbourhood of Grünberg,[1710]is in the museum at Darmstadt.There are several bronze moulds of this character in the Museum of Northern Antiquities at Copenhagen.In Figs. 530 and 531 are engraved the halves of two moulds for casting socketed celts of different sizes and patterns, which were found with a number of other relics in the Isle of Harty, Sheppey, and are now in my own collection. I have already given an account of this discovery elsewhere;[1711]but as it throws somuch light upon the whole process of casting as practised towards the close of the Bronze Period, it will be desirable to give a somewhat detailed account of the entire find and its teachings in this place.The hoard, which may very fairly be described as the stock-in-trade of an ancient bronze-founder, consisted of the following articles—Both halves of the mould, Fig. 530.5 celts cast in this mould and a fragment.Both halves of the mould, Fig. 531.1 celt cast in it.One-half of a smaller mould with a portion of a lead lining adhering to it, as kindly determined for me by Dr. J. Percy, F.R.S.Fig. 531.—Harty. ½3 celts, more or less worn out, apparently cast in it.2 large celts from different moulds.2 small socketed celts from other and different moulds.Both halves of a gouge mould, Fig. 532.2 gouges, both from one mould, but it is doubtful whether they are from this. See Fig. 205.2 pointed tools, Fig. 220.1 double-edged knife, Fig. 253.1 single-edged knife, Fig. 260.1 perforated disc, Fig. 503.1 ferrule, Fig. 377.1 part of a curved bracelet-like object of doubtful use, with small hole near the end.1 hammer or anvil, Fig. 211.1 small hammer, Fig. 212.2 pieces of rough copper.1 whetstone, Fig. 540.Of the largest mould itself, Fig. 530, not much need be said. The dowels on the face of one of the halves have been much injured by oxidation, so that the two parts of the mould do not now fit so well together as they did originally. On the outside of each valve are two projecting pins intended to hold the cord in position, by which the two parts of the mould were held together when in use.As will be seen, the mould itself is somewhat bell-mouthed. Of the ornamental “flanches” on the celt, I have already given the history at page 108. The instruments cast from this mould, and present in the hoard, are five in number, four in fairly perfect condition, and one broken in two in the middle. Though cast in the same mould, no two are absolutely alike. Not only do they vary in width at their edges—the natural result of one having been more freely hammered out than another—but in the upper part, to which very little has been done in the way of hammering or grinding since the celt left the mould, there are striking differences. As will be seen, the mould is calculated to produce three parallel mouldings round the mouth of each celt; but in one of the castings only two of these mouldings are present; in another there are three, and there is metal enough beyond to represent half the width of another moulding. In two others the length is equivalent to nearly another moulding, so that the celts appear to have four mouldings round their mouths; and in the fifth celt there is a collar of plain metal extending ⅜ inch beyond the three bands (see Fig. 113.) On comparing this instrument with that first described, the difference in the length above the loop is upwards of ½ inch. This difference can only be accounted for by a difference in the arrangement of the mould and core at the time of casting. On comparing the interior of one celt with that of another, it is evident that the core was not produced in any mould or core-box, as the small projecting ribs of metal left as usual to help in steadying the haft vary in number and position. In the case of the celt broken in two in the middle, the core has been placed so much out of the centre that there is a large hole in the casting where there was not room for the metal to run. The system adopted appears, therefore, to have been much as follows.First, the mould was tied together in proper position, and loam or clay was rammed into it so as tightly to fill the upper part. The mould was, secondly, taken apart—and the clay removed and probably left to become nearly dry. Thirdly, the lower part of the clay was then trimmed to form the core, a shoulder being left which would form the mould for the top of the celt. The upper part of the clay would be left untouched, beyond having two channels cut in it to allow of the passage of the melted metal. Fourthly, the mould would be tied together again with the prepared core inside, the untrimmed part of which would form aguide for its due position in the mould. Fifthly, the mould would then be placed vertically, probably by being stuck into sand, and the melted metal would be poured down the channels. When cool the runners thus formed would be broken off, and the fractured surfaces would be hammered or ground. The knife found with the hoard was probably used for cutting the channels and trimming the core. If such a process as that which I have described were in use, it is evident that the chances would be much against the shoulders of the clay core being always cut at exactly the same place, and we have at once a reason for the variation here observed.There is another cause for slight variations in the sharpness of the mouldings and the other details of the castings. In order to prevent the molten bronze from adhering to the bronze mould, the latter must have been smeared over with something by way of protection, so as to form a thin film between the metal of the mould and that of the casting. Modern founders, when casting pewter in brass, or even iron, moulds,[1712]“anoint” the latter with red ochre and white of egg, or smoke the inside of the mould; and our plumbers prevent solder from amalgamating with lead by using lamp-black and size, or even by rubbing it with a dock-leaf. No doubt the ancient founders had some equally simple method, such as brushing the mould over with a very thin coat of marl. Turning now to the second mould, Fig. 531, it will be seen that just below the mouldings there is accidentally present a sharply defined small recess; the impression, however, of this recess on the celt cast in this mould is not nearly so sharp, probably in consequence of the mould having been smeared as lately suggested. It will also be noticed that though there is a double band of mouldings in the mould, there is but one and a fraction on the celt itself, which is shown in Fig. 114.The outside of this mould is provided with three knobs to keep the binding cord from slipping off. The other and smallest half-mould has a single projection in the middle, like an imperfectly formed loop. The three celts which were apparently cast in this mould show great uniformity at their upper ends, and to the reason for this I think the lead adhering to the mould furnishes a clue. It is evident that if, in preparing the cores, instead of beginning by having the mould empty and ramming clay into it,which was subsequently to be trimmed, the founder placed a celt in the mould, its socket would act as a core-box or mould for a clay core which would require no further trimming so far as the part of forming the socket was concerned. On opening out the mould this core could be withdrawn from the socket of the model celt, and when dry would be ready for use. Perhaps in the celts with long and not highly tapering sockets there would be a difficulty in getting out the clay unbroken, and the process would not be found to answer; but in the case of the small celts there would probably be less difficulty. In this mould I think we have the remains of a celt formed of lead, an instrument which would be utterly useless as a cutting tool, but which might well have been made and kept as a core-box. The very fact of its being made of another metal would prevent its being confounded with the other castings and being bartered away; while in the first instance a casting in lead might have been made on a wooden core, which could probably be trimmed to the exact shape required more readily than one of clay. I have elsewhere[1713]called attention to the fact that wooden moulds were in use among the Ancient Britons for the casting of coins formed of tin. Several socketed celts made of lead have from time to time been found, though not in association with bronze-founders’ hoards, and have been a great puzzle to antiquaries. One found at Alnwick,[1714]near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, was thought to have come from a barrow. One found with bronze celts in the Morbihan, is in the collection of the Rev. Canon Greenwell, F.R.S., but it is doubtful whether it was used as a core-box. The use which I have suggested for them is at all events one that is possible, but we must wait for further discoveries before accepting it as the only cause for their existence.A mould for sword hilts found in Italy,[1715]and now in the museum at Munich, is formed by three pieces of bronze, even the core by which the cavity in them was produced being formed of that metal.But that the cores were frequently if not always made of clay, and not, as has been sometimes supposed, of metal, is proved by the numbers of socketed celts which from time to time have been found with the cores still in them, though this, it is true, has been the case in France rather than in England. In the great hoard of socketed celts found near Plénée Jugon, in Brittany, the majoritywere as they had come from the mould, with the clay cores still in them, burnt as hard as brick by the heat of the metal. I have already mentioned this fact in describing the tool from the Harty hoard, which appears to have been used for extracting the cores. I have also described the anvil, if such it be, and the hammer, Figs. 211 and 212, by means of which, probably, the edges of the celts were drawn out and hardened. I will now add that the celt, Fig. 114, is too long and too broad at the edge for that part of it to enter into the mould in which it was cast. This shows how much its edge was drawn out by hammering. The final sharpening was no doubt effected by the whetstone, Fig. 540.Fig. 532.—Harty. ½The other mould from this hoard is almost unique of its kind. Two views of each of its halves are given in Fig. 532. Originally there was a loop on the back of each half, but from one this has in old times been broken off. The arrangement for carrying the core is different from what it seems to have been in the other moulds. There is in the upper part of the mould when put together a transverse hole, which would produce what may be termed trunnions on the clay core, and assist materially in holding it in proper position during the process of casting. From the upper surfaces of the gouges found with the mould, it appears that there were two channels cut for the runners of metal, one at the middle of each half of the mould, so as to alternate with the joint of the mould through which the air could escape during the casting process.What appears to be part of a mould for gouges was found in the hoard of Notre-Dame d’Or, and is now in the museum at Poitiers.I must now return to the other examples of moulds for socketed celts which have been found in this country.One, with external loops on each half, like that on Fig. 532B, was found with looped palstaves, socketed celts, and broken dagger or sword blades, at Wilmington,[1716]Sussex, and is now in the museum at Lewes. All these objects, as is the case in many other hoards, had been deposited in a vessel of coarse pottery.Another mould, found with eleven celts and fragments of weapons at Eaton,[1717]near Norwich, has smaller and broader loops near the top. On each side of the face of one half, a little distance from the actual mould, and roughly following its contour, is a shallow groove, into which fits a corresponding ridge on the counterpart. The outer face of each half is ornamented with two slightly curved vertical ribs, one on each side of the loop, and joined at the base by a transverse rib. It is for casting celts about 4¼ inches long, and of the ordinary form.Another mould, for celts with an octagonal neck, was found on the Quantock Hills,[1718]Somersetshire (and not in Yorkshire), and is now in the British Museum. The halves are adjusted to each other by a rib and groove, as on that last mentioned, and the back is ornamented with a peculiar raised figure with three vertical lines and a straight transverse line at the top, and two lines at the bottom running up to the central vertical line so as to form on each side of it an angle of about 120°. At the junction there is a ring ornament, and two others near the angles formed with the side lines. This mould has a transverse hole at the top like that in the gouge-mould already mentioned.Another mould, also in the British Museum,[1719]is for celts with three vertical ribs on the face. This likewise has a transverse and nearly square hole at the top, and also recesses in each half-mould, so as to give four points of support to the core between which the channels for the runners might be cut. On the outside, near the top, is a loop, and near the bottom two projecting pins to retain the string. This appears to be the mould from Yorkshire belonging to Mr. Warburton, figured by Stukeley.[1720]The half of another mould for celts, of nearly the same character, was found in the Heathery Burn Cave,[1721]already so often mentioned, and is shown in Fig. 533, for the use of which I am indebted to the Council of the Society of Antiquaries.Another mould was found in the fen at Washingborough,[1722]near Lincoln. Another, from Cleveland,[1723]found with chisels, gouges, &c., is in the Bateman Collection.A part of another was found in a hoard at Beddington, Surrey,[1724]and afragment of another at Wickham Park, Croydon. This latter is now in the British Museum.A bronze mould for socketed celts, found at Eikrath, was in the collection of the late Dr. Hugo Gärthe, of Cologne. Upon the outside there are six ribs with ring ornaments at the ends, diverging from a loop in the centre.A bronze mould for socketed celts, ornamented with V-shaped lines, and found at Gnadenfeld,[1725]in Upper Silesia, is in the Berlin Museum.Another bronze mould with an external loop, also for socketed celts, was found in Gotland,[1726]and is in the Stockholm Museum.Fig. 533.—Heathery Burn. ½A magnificent mould for socketed celts was found in the Cotentin[1727]in 1827. It has broad loops outside either half, with three processes from it running up and down the mould.A bronze mould for spear-heads was exhibited in Paris in 1878. A part of another was in the Larnaud hoard, and is now in the museum at St. Germain.There were some fragments of bronze moulds in the great Bologna hoard.The process of casting bronze instruments in loam, clay, or sand must have been much the same as that in use at the present day; but it was very rarely that the mould consisted of more or less than two pieces. On a great many bronze instruments the joint of the mould is still visible; and in some of the large hoards, such as those which have been found in the North of France, we see the castings just as they came from the moulds, except that the runners have been broken off. For socketed celts there were usually two runners of metal; for palstaves sometimes two, and sometimes only one nearly the full width of the upper part. It is not uncommon to find castings which show that the two halves of the mould or the flasks have slipped sideways, so that they were not in proper position when the casting was made.I have a palstave from a large hoard found near Tours, in which the lateral displacement of the mould is as much as a quarter of an inch, so that there is what geologists might term a “fault” in the casting. The metal which has been in contact with what was the face of the mould is smooth, and appears to have been cast againstclay. A considerable variety of patterns was in use by the founder to whom this hoard belonged, and they appear to have been of metal and not of wood, some of the palstaves having been apparently cast from tools already shortened by wear.That castings were occasionally made even from tools already mounted in their handles is proved by the Swiss hatchet, Fig. 185.Some portions of moulds formed of burnt clay were found with broken palstaves, socketed celts, gouges, knives, spear-heads, daggers, swords, lumps of metal, runners, &c., at Questembert, Brittany, and are in the museum at Vannes.Part of a mould for spear-heads formed of burnt clay was found in the Lac du Bourget;[1728]but the most interesting discoveries are those which have been made by Dr. V. Gross at the station of Mœrigen,[1729]on the Lake of Bienne. He there found a considerable amount of the plant of an ancient bronze-founder, all of whose moulds, however, were either in stone or burnt clay, and not formed of metal. The stone moulds appear to have been principally used for the plainer articles, such as knives, sickles, pins, &c., while for articles with irregular surfaces, or requiring cores, clay was preferred. Of clay moulds Dr. Gross recognises two types: one formed in a single piece, which could serve but once, and which was broken in extracting the casting; and the other, which was composed of two or more pieces, and which could be used over and over again. Of the first kind there were two examples—one for a socketed chisel and the other for a socketed knife. The form of the mould for a chisel is nearly cylindrical, with a funnel-shaped opening at one end, at the bottom of which are two holes leading into the interior of the mould. The clay between these two holes forms part of a conical core. Such a mould would give the idea of its having been formed on a model of wax on the system known as that ofcire perdue; but this appears not to have been really the case, for on examination the mould itself appears to have been originally formed of two halves, or valves, formed of fine clay, which had been well burnt, and these when put together had been surrounded by an external envelope of coarse clay, which held them and the core they enclosed in their proper position. The core itself seems to have been T-shaped, the ends of the transverse line being triangular and fitting into corresponding recesses in the valves of the mould.The best-preserved mould of the second kind was one for a socketed hammer, which was also provided with a core of the same kind. It seems to me, however, that the distinction drawn by Dr. Gross between the two classes of moulds does not really exist, as by enveloping such a mould as that for the hammer in a mass of clay it would be transferred from the second class to the first.Clay moulds for socketed-celts have been found in Hungary.[1730]In some Scandinavian examples[1731]of what appear to have been ceremonial axes there is merely a thin coating of bronze cast over a clay core, but no such specimens have as yet been found in Britain. That bronze so thin could have been cast shows wonderful skill in the founder.
In Fig. 516 is shown the half of a mould for palstaves, which is now in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy. The other half is with it. They are formed of sandstone. It is uncertain in what part of Ireland they were found.Another mould, formed of mica schist, and now in the British Museum, was found in the river Bann, and was intended for short palstaves about 3½ inches long.
In Fig. 516 is shown the half of a mould for palstaves, which is now in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy. The other half is with it. They are formed of sandstone. It is uncertain in what part of Ireland they were found.
Another mould, formed of mica schist, and now in the British Museum, was found in the river Bann, and was intended for short palstaves about 3½ inches long.
———Fig. 516.—Ireland. ½—————Fig. 517.—Ireland.1/1
———Fig. 516.—Ireland. ½—————Fig. 517.—Ireland.1/1
———Fig. 516.—Ireland. ½—————Fig. 517.—Ireland.1/1
The half of a mould for casting palstaves of a somewhat broader form was found near Lough Corrib, Galway,[1675]and is in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh. Another has been engraved by Dunoyer,[1676]who has also figured a mould for a looped palstave, from the Museum of the University of Dublin. A stone mould from Ireland, for palstaves with double loops, is in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh. As the halves of these stone moulds are rarely made so as to be dowelled together, they are almost always of exactly the same size externally, so as to be readily adjustable into their proper position when tied together for the reception of the metal.The half of a mould for a small palstave, with transverse edge, is shown full size in Fig. 517. The original is of green schist, and is in the Royal Academy Museum at Dublin. It is remarkable that a mould for so rare a form should have been found. A stone mould for transverse palstaves of the same kind has, however, lately been discovered in the Lac de Bienne[1677]by Dr. V. Gross.On the Continent stone moulds for ordinary palstaves have been foundin some numbers, especially in the Lake habitations. In the museum at Geneva are several from the Station of Eaux Vives. The wings as originally cast were vertical to the blades, so that they might be withdrawn from the mould, and they were subsequently hammered over to form the side pockets, as in Fig. 85.Moulds for looped palstaves have been found in the Lac du Bourget, Savoy.[1678]One of them is in my own collection. A broken mould for a palstave was found at Billy (Loir et Cher).[1679]Others have been found in Hungary.[1680]A few stone moulds for casting socketed celts have been found in England. The half of one, apparently for celts without loops, was found near Milton, Dorsetshire,[1681]and is now in the Dorchester Museum. It has several holes on the face of the slab, as if for the reception of dowels, on which the other half of the mould would fit.In another instance a set of moulds has been formed of three slabs of stone, and would produce two varieties of socketed celts, one half of the mould of each being engraved on the two faces of the central slab. It is only this central piece which has been preserved. It was, I believe, found at Bulford Water, near Salisbury, and not at Chidbury Hill, near Everley, as stated in the “Barrow Diggers.”[1682]On one face is the mould for a single-looped socketed celt about 4½ inches long, of oblong section, with three vertical ribs on the face; on the other is that for a double-looped celt of the same character, but about 5¼ inches long, also with three vertical ribs. This mould is formed of some variety of greenstone, and is now in the collection of the Rev. E. Duke, of Lake House, near Salisbury.Stone moulds for socketed celts, with vertical ribs upon them, have been found in the Lacustrine Station of Eaux Vives, near Geneva. There are often moulds on each face of the stones.Others in sandstone for socketed celts have been found in Hungary.[1683]Several moulds for such instruments have been discovered in Sweden.[1684]One with diagonal air-passages, like those in Fig. 521, is in the Copenhagen Museum.Stone moulds for socketed celts have also been found in Scotland. Two pair from the parish of Rosskeen, Ross-shire,[1685]have been figured by Professor Daniel Wilson. They are for looped celts rather wide and straight at the edge, about 5 inches long and of hexagonal section. The castings from the one are plain upon the faces; in those from the other there are three annulets connected by raised ribs, much the same as on one face of the celt from Wigtonshire (Fig. 166). These moulds had the two halves dowelled together when in use. On one there appears to be a second mould for a small flat bar.In Ireland stone moulds for socketed celts are rare, and they appear tohave been for the most part cast in sand or loam. There is, however, in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy,[1686]the half of a mould of this kind made of mica slate, and much worn by age and exposure, apparently intended for a ribbed socketed celt. It has dowel-holes on the face of the slab.The mould, or more properly half of a mould, for a tanged knife, with a central rib along the blade, is shown in Fig. 518. It is of close-grained sandstone, and was found near Ballymoney, Co. Antrim. The surface on which the knife has been engraved is ground very smooth, as if to fit another half mould. In this other half there was probably little more than grooves for the central rib and tang, as the mould at the edge of the knife would produce a casting fully 1/16 inch thick, which would require a good deal of hammering out.
The half of a mould for casting palstaves of a somewhat broader form was found near Lough Corrib, Galway,[1675]and is in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh. Another has been engraved by Dunoyer,[1676]who has also figured a mould for a looped palstave, from the Museum of the University of Dublin. A stone mould from Ireland, for palstaves with double loops, is in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh. As the halves of these stone moulds are rarely made so as to be dowelled together, they are almost always of exactly the same size externally, so as to be readily adjustable into their proper position when tied together for the reception of the metal.
The half of a mould for a small palstave, with transverse edge, is shown full size in Fig. 517. The original is of green schist, and is in the Royal Academy Museum at Dublin. It is remarkable that a mould for so rare a form should have been found. A stone mould for transverse palstaves of the same kind has, however, lately been discovered in the Lac de Bienne[1677]by Dr. V. Gross.
On the Continent stone moulds for ordinary palstaves have been foundin some numbers, especially in the Lake habitations. In the museum at Geneva are several from the Station of Eaux Vives. The wings as originally cast were vertical to the blades, so that they might be withdrawn from the mould, and they were subsequently hammered over to form the side pockets, as in Fig. 85.
Moulds for looped palstaves have been found in the Lac du Bourget, Savoy.[1678]One of them is in my own collection. A broken mould for a palstave was found at Billy (Loir et Cher).[1679]
Others have been found in Hungary.[1680]
A few stone moulds for casting socketed celts have been found in England. The half of one, apparently for celts without loops, was found near Milton, Dorsetshire,[1681]and is now in the Dorchester Museum. It has several holes on the face of the slab, as if for the reception of dowels, on which the other half of the mould would fit.
In another instance a set of moulds has been formed of three slabs of stone, and would produce two varieties of socketed celts, one half of the mould of each being engraved on the two faces of the central slab. It is only this central piece which has been preserved. It was, I believe, found at Bulford Water, near Salisbury, and not at Chidbury Hill, near Everley, as stated in the “Barrow Diggers.”[1682]On one face is the mould for a single-looped socketed celt about 4½ inches long, of oblong section, with three vertical ribs on the face; on the other is that for a double-looped celt of the same character, but about 5¼ inches long, also with three vertical ribs. This mould is formed of some variety of greenstone, and is now in the collection of the Rev. E. Duke, of Lake House, near Salisbury.
Stone moulds for socketed celts, with vertical ribs upon them, have been found in the Lacustrine Station of Eaux Vives, near Geneva. There are often moulds on each face of the stones.
Others in sandstone for socketed celts have been found in Hungary.[1683]
Several moulds for such instruments have been discovered in Sweden.[1684]One with diagonal air-passages, like those in Fig. 521, is in the Copenhagen Museum.
Stone moulds for socketed celts have also been found in Scotland. Two pair from the parish of Rosskeen, Ross-shire,[1685]have been figured by Professor Daniel Wilson. They are for looped celts rather wide and straight at the edge, about 5 inches long and of hexagonal section. The castings from the one are plain upon the faces; in those from the other there are three annulets connected by raised ribs, much the same as on one face of the celt from Wigtonshire (Fig. 166). These moulds had the two halves dowelled together when in use. On one there appears to be a second mould for a small flat bar.
In Ireland stone moulds for socketed celts are rare, and they appear tohave been for the most part cast in sand or loam. There is, however, in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy,[1686]the half of a mould of this kind made of mica slate, and much worn by age and exposure, apparently intended for a ribbed socketed celt. It has dowel-holes on the face of the slab.
The mould, or more properly half of a mould, for a tanged knife, with a central rib along the blade, is shown in Fig. 518. It is of close-grained sandstone, and was found near Ballymoney, Co. Antrim. The surface on which the knife has been engraved is ground very smooth, as if to fit another half mould. In this other half there was probably little more than grooves for the central rib and tang, as the mould at the edge of the knife would produce a casting fully 1/16 inch thick, which would require a good deal of hammering out.
—Fig. 518.—Ballymoney. ½——————Fig. 519.—Broughshane. ½
—Fig. 518.—Ballymoney. ½——————Fig. 519.—Broughshane. ½
—Fig. 518.—Ballymoney. ½——————Fig. 519.—Broughshane. ½
Fig. 519 shows the half of a mould for a dagger blade of elegant form. It is of mica slate, and was found near Broughshane, Co. Antrim. It is about 1 inch in thickness; and on the other face are moulds for a small flat chisel with side stops, in total length about 2⅝ inches, for a flat triangular celt-like tool about 1½ inch long, and an unfinished mould for a segment of a flat ring.Stone moulds for daggers have been found in the Italianterramare.[1687]
Fig. 519 shows the half of a mould for a dagger blade of elegant form. It is of mica slate, and was found near Broughshane, Co. Antrim. It is about 1 inch in thickness; and on the other face are moulds for a small flat chisel with side stops, in total length about 2⅝ inches, for a flat triangular celt-like tool about 1½ inch long, and an unfinished mould for a segment of a flat ring.
Stone moulds for daggers have been found in the Italianterramare.[1687]
—————Fig. 520.—Knighton. ¼————Fig. 521.—Knighton. ¼
—————Fig. 520.—Knighton. ¼————Fig. 521.—Knighton. ¼
—————Fig. 520.—Knighton. ¼————Fig. 521.—Knighton. ¼
In Figs. 520 and 521 I have reproduced on the scale of one-fourth the engravings of two stone moulds which were found near Knighton,but in the parish of Hennock, near Chudleigh, Devon, and are published in theArchæological Journal.[1688]They are of a light greenish micaceous schist, such as occurs in Cornwall. The large one is 24½ inches in length by 3 inches in its greatest width, the smaller is 21½ inches long and also 3 inches wide. When found the two halves of each mould were in apposition; the longer mould placed vertically, the shorter horizontally. As will be seen, they are for the production of rapier-shaped blades. In the smaller is a series of small channels, to allow of the escape of air during the process of casting.Fig. 522.—Maghera. ½On the larger, by the side of the main mould, is a second, which would produce a slightly tapering casting, ribbed longitudinally on one face and flat on the other. It is difficult to judge of the purpose for which it was intended, but it may possibly have been at once an ornament and a support for the scabbard of the blade.Some fluted pieces of bronze, such as would be produced from a mould of this kind, are in the museum at Tours, found in a hoard at St. Genouph.A mould for a short leaf-shaped sword has been found in Ireland.[1689]
In Figs. 520 and 521 I have reproduced on the scale of one-fourth the engravings of two stone moulds which were found near Knighton,but in the parish of Hennock, near Chudleigh, Devon, and are published in theArchæological Journal.[1688]They are of a light greenish micaceous schist, such as occurs in Cornwall. The large one is 24½ inches in length by 3 inches in its greatest width, the smaller is 21½ inches long and also 3 inches wide. When found the two halves of each mould were in apposition; the longer mould placed vertically, the shorter horizontally. As will be seen, they are for the production of rapier-shaped blades. In the smaller is a series of small channels, to allow of the escape of air during the process of casting.
Fig. 522.—Maghera. ½
Fig. 522.—Maghera. ½
Fig. 522.—Maghera. ½
On the larger, by the side of the main mould, is a second, which would produce a slightly tapering casting, ribbed longitudinally on one face and flat on the other. It is difficult to judge of the purpose for which it was intended, but it may possibly have been at once an ornament and a support for the scabbard of the blade.
Some fluted pieces of bronze, such as would be produced from a mould of this kind, are in the museum at Tours, found in a hoard at St. Genouph.
A mould for a short leaf-shaped sword has been found in Ireland.[1689]
A stone mould, formed of green micaceous schist, and found at Maghera, Co. Derry, is in the collection of Canon Greenwell, F.R.S., and is shown in Fig. 522. As will be seen, it is for a spear-head of the ordinary Irish type, with loops on the socket. These, however, were probably flattened down during the finishing process. The outside of the mould has been neatly rounded, and has shallow grooves in it to assist in keeping the string in place with which the two halves of the mould were bound together when ready for use.
In the same collection is the half of a mould for spear-heads, from Armoy, Co. Antrim. It is much like the figure, but 7⅞ inches long.I have the half of a mould for a nearly similar spear-head, made of light brown stone, with the sides left square, and not rounded. This is also from the North of Ireland. It is difficult to understand the manner in which the cores for forming the sockets of the spear-heads were supported in the moulds. Possibly small pins of bronze were attached to theclay core, which kept it in position, but which during the casting process got burnt into the molten metal. I have, however, found no actual traces of such a contrivance. On examining broken spear-heads it will sometimes be found that the socket core inside the blade, instead of being simply conical, has lateral projections running into the thicker part of the blade.A mould for spear-heads of the same kind as Fig. 521, found near Claran Bridge,[1690]in the barony of Dunkellen, Co. Galway, has at the base two pin-holes about 1 inch long and ¼ inch in diameter. Their axes are parallel to that of the socket. These may possibly be connected with the steadying of the core.A stone mould found at the edge of Lough Ramer, Co. Cavan,[1691]and now in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, is quadrangular in section, with moulds for very small lance-heads on three of its faces. On the fourth there are marks of a worn-out mould. The corresponding halves have not been found. Such instances of several half-moulds on a single block of stone are not unfrequent.
In the same collection is the half of a mould for spear-heads, from Armoy, Co. Antrim. It is much like the figure, but 7⅞ inches long.
I have the half of a mould for a nearly similar spear-head, made of light brown stone, with the sides left square, and not rounded. This is also from the North of Ireland. It is difficult to understand the manner in which the cores for forming the sockets of the spear-heads were supported in the moulds. Possibly small pins of bronze were attached to theclay core, which kept it in position, but which during the casting process got burnt into the molten metal. I have, however, found no actual traces of such a contrivance. On examining broken spear-heads it will sometimes be found that the socket core inside the blade, instead of being simply conical, has lateral projections running into the thicker part of the blade.
A mould for spear-heads of the same kind as Fig. 521, found near Claran Bridge,[1690]in the barony of Dunkellen, Co. Galway, has at the base two pin-holes about 1 inch long and ¼ inch in diameter. Their axes are parallel to that of the socket. These may possibly be connected with the steadying of the core.
A stone mould found at the edge of Lough Ramer, Co. Cavan,[1691]and now in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, is quadrangular in section, with moulds for very small lance-heads on three of its faces. On the fourth there are marks of a worn-out mould. The corresponding halves have not been found. Such instances of several half-moulds on a single block of stone are not unfrequent.
Fig. 523.—Lough Gur. ½
Fig. 523.—Lough Gur. ½
Fig. 523.—Lough Gur. ½
Fig. 524.—Campbelton. ½
Fig. 524.—Campbelton. ½
Fig. 524.—Campbelton. ½
A moiety of a stone mould for casting spear-heads of various sizes, and also pointed objects, “possibly,” though not probably, “arrow-heads,” was found at Lough Gur,[1692]Co. Limerick, and is now in the British Museum. It is a four-sided prism, 6½ inches long and 2½ inches broad at one end of each face, and 1¾ inch at the other. A second similar prism would, it has been observed, give four perfect moulds for casting spear-heads slightly varying in form, but in each case provided with side loops. These loops are as usual semicircular in form on the mould, and were no doubt destined to be flattened in the usual manner by a subsequent process of hammering. There is one special feature in this mould, viz. that at the base of the blade there is a transverse notch in the stone, evidently destined to receive a small pin, which would serve to keep the clay core for the socket in its proper position. There is a similar transverse notch in one of the smaller moulds for the pointed objects. This mould is shown in Fig. 523.
There is a similar notch in a mould for leaf-shaped spear-heads without loops in the Preusker Collection at Dresden. It would seem as if the pin which formed the hole for the rivet was also of use to support the core. Another such mould is in the museum at Modena.There are similar notches in a stone mould for spear-heads, in one of burnt clay for socketed knives, found at Mœrigen, in the Lake of Bienne, and in one found in the Lake of Varese.[1693]A small Irish mould for casting broad leaf-shaped lance-heads without loops is in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh.
There is a similar notch in a mould for leaf-shaped spear-heads without loops in the Preusker Collection at Dresden. It would seem as if the pin which formed the hole for the rivet was also of use to support the core. Another such mould is in the museum at Modena.
There are similar notches in a stone mould for spear-heads, in one of burnt clay for socketed knives, found at Mœrigen, in the Lake of Bienne, and in one found in the Lake of Varese.[1693]
A small Irish mould for casting broad leaf-shaped lance-heads without loops is in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh.
A mould of much the same character as the Irish examples was found near Campbelton,[1694]in Kintyre, Argyleshire. It is formed of dark serpentine, and one of its halves is shown in Fig. 524. On the same spot were found two polished stone celts and another stone mould for spear-heads, in two portions, also of serpentine, shown in Figs. 525 and 526, both sides being cut for moulds, one for a looped spear-head and the other for one without loops.
—————Fig. 525.—Campbelton. ½——Fig. 526.—Campbelton. ½
—————Fig. 525.—Campbelton. ½——Fig. 526.—Campbelton. ½
—————Fig. 525.—Campbelton. ½——Fig. 526.—Campbelton. ½
Dr. Arthur Mitchell, who has described this find, says that in this second mould the two halves are not alike,as in the one first described. In this case one-half has the shape of the spear-head deeply cut into the stone, so as to include the whole thickness of the edge of the spear, and the other side has simply the midrib alone cut on it, and the rest of that side of the mould is gently bevelled towards the edges, the result of which simple plan is that when the two sides are laid together a perfect mould is made, the two sides of the casting being almost exactly alike, less labour being thus required than in forming an outline exactly alike on both sides of the stone mould, and the result being equally satisfactory.
An English, or rather Welsh, quadrangular mould, much like that from Lough Gur, was found between Bodwrdin[1695]and Tre Ddafydd, Anglesea. It is formed of hone-stone 9¼ inches long, with the sides tapering from 2 inches to 1½ inch. It is adapted for casting looped spear-heads of two sizes, and what has been regarded as a double-looped celt. The fourth side has a conical groove, and may be the complement of another more defined mould, as is the case with Fig. 525B. It has been thought to have been for a spike-like javelin. What has been regarded as the mould for double-looped celts seems also to be the shallow half of a mould for spear-heads. In the museum at Clermont Ferrand[1696]there is an analogous stone mould for palstaves of three types and a point or ferrule.Of other stone moulds, I may mention one for casting buckles of a kind like those from Polden Hill, which was found at Camelford, Cornwall.[1697]This is not improbably of Late Celtic date.I have a flat oval slab of compact grit, about 2 inches thick, having on one face a mould for a thin oval plate of metal about 5 inches by 4½ inches, and on the other a mould for a rather thicker oval plate, about 6 inches by 4½ inches. It was found near Nantlle, Carnarvon, and was given me by Mr. R. D. Darbishire, F.S.A. I am uncertain as to the period to which it ought to be assigned.Of foreign moulds of stone besides those already cited, I may mention some for double-ended hatchets and for flat celts which have been found in the Island of Sardinia.[1698]A number of moulds formed of stone, principally mica-schist, were found by Dr. Schliemann[1699]during his excavations on the presumed site of Troy. They were for casting flat celts, tanged spear-heads or daggers, and various other forms. Several of the blocks had moulds on both sides and ends, and served for casting as many as a dozen different objects.
An English, or rather Welsh, quadrangular mould, much like that from Lough Gur, was found between Bodwrdin[1695]and Tre Ddafydd, Anglesea. It is formed of hone-stone 9¼ inches long, with the sides tapering from 2 inches to 1½ inch. It is adapted for casting looped spear-heads of two sizes, and what has been regarded as a double-looped celt. The fourth side has a conical groove, and may be the complement of another more defined mould, as is the case with Fig. 525B. It has been thought to have been for a spike-like javelin. What has been regarded as the mould for double-looped celts seems also to be the shallow half of a mould for spear-heads. In the museum at Clermont Ferrand[1696]there is an analogous stone mould for palstaves of three types and a point or ferrule.
Of other stone moulds, I may mention one for casting buckles of a kind like those from Polden Hill, which was found at Camelford, Cornwall.[1697]This is not improbably of Late Celtic date.
I have a flat oval slab of compact grit, about 2 inches thick, having on one face a mould for a thin oval plate of metal about 5 inches by 4½ inches, and on the other a mould for a rather thicker oval plate, about 6 inches by 4½ inches. It was found near Nantlle, Carnarvon, and was given me by Mr. R. D. Darbishire, F.S.A. I am uncertain as to the period to which it ought to be assigned.
Of foreign moulds of stone besides those already cited, I may mention some for double-ended hatchets and for flat celts which have been found in the Island of Sardinia.[1698]
A number of moulds formed of stone, principally mica-schist, were found by Dr. Schliemann[1699]during his excavations on the presumed site of Troy. They were for casting flat celts, tanged spear-heads or daggers, and various other forms. Several of the blocks had moulds on both sides and ends, and served for casting as many as a dozen different objects.
The moulds made of bronze which have been found in this country are for palstaves, socketed celts, and gouges only. They appear to be more abundant in England than in any of the neighbouring parts of Europe. At one time the whole school of Englishantiquaries regarded the moulds for socketed celts as cases or sheaths specially prepared to hold such instruments.[1700]To Vallancey, I think, belongs the credit of being the first to recognise their true character. In writing about the half of a bronze mould for palstaves found in Ireland, he observes,[1701]“Dr. Borlase and Mr. Lort had seen brass cases of these instruments, which fitted them as exactly as if they had been the molds in which the instruments were cast. I cannot conceive why these gentlemen hesitate to call them molds, as a certain proof that they were manufactured in Ireland, where the Romans came not, either as friends or foes, the molds are found in our bogs; they are of brass also, mixed with a greater quantity of iron, or in some manner tempered much harder than the instruments.” I am not sure that the latter remark as to the comparative hardness of the moulds holds good in all cases, otherwise the correctness of the opinion expressed by Vallancey, now about a hundred years ago, is undeniable.
Fig. 527.—Hotham Carr. ½
Fig. 527.—Hotham Carr. ½
Fig. 527.—Hotham Carr. ½
In Fig. 527 are given three views of one half of a complete mould for palstaves, which was found with a hoard of bronze objects, including seven palstaves without loops, at Hotham Carr, in Yorkshire, E.R. It is in the collection of Canon Greenwell, F.R.S. Among the palstaves which were found with it only one was in an undamaged condition.
—Fig. 528—Wiltshire. ½—Fig. 529—Wiltshire. ½
—Fig. 528—Wiltshire. ½—Fig. 529—Wiltshire. ½
—Fig. 528—Wiltshire. ½—Fig. 529—Wiltshire. ½
As will be seen from the figure, there are projections or dowels on the face of this half of the mould which fit into corresponding depressions in the counterpart, so as to steady the two halves when brought together and keep them in proper position. At the top is a cup-shaped cavity for the reception of the metal. Any portion of the casting which occupied this part of the mould was broken off from the palstave when it was cool, and was kept for re-melting. Such waste pieces, or jets, from the moulds are of common occurrence in the old founders’ hoards, and some will be subsequently noticed.
Another mould for simple palstaves was found in Danesfield, near Bangor,[1702]in 1800. It is for a blade rather wider at the edge and narrower in the shank than that produced by the Yorkshire mould. With it was found another mould for a looped palstave of about the same size. One half of each pair of moulds is in the British Museum, and the other half in Lord Braybrooke’s collection at Audley End. The half of a bronze mould for a simple palstave, with a shield-shaped ornament below the stop-ridge, was found in Ireland.[1703]One of the same kind was lately in the collection of Mr. Stevenson of Lisburn.In the British Museum is another mould for looped palstaves, which is shown in Figs. 528 and 529, for the use of which I am indebted to the Council of the Society of Antiquaries.[1704]The original was found in Wiltshire. It is remarkable as bearing on each of its halves bands evidently cast from actual twine which has been upon the model; but the bands on the twohalves do not coincide, being on the one placed higher than on the other. The sides are also joggled together in a singular manner. As to the bands of cording, it may be that the model of the first half of the mould was formed of clay, which when dry, in order to prevent its being broken, was tied on to the palstave on which it had been shaped, and was thus moulded in clay or loam; and that afterwards, when the second half of the mould had to be cast by a similar process, the model for it was tied on to the half-mould already formed, the binding being in contact with the side of the band already in relief upon the back and sides of the half-mould.Several palstave moulds formed of bronze have been found in different countries in Europe.The half of one, found in the Saône, for looped palstaves, is in the museum at Lyons.[1705]
Another mould for simple palstaves was found in Danesfield, near Bangor,[1702]in 1800. It is for a blade rather wider at the edge and narrower in the shank than that produced by the Yorkshire mould. With it was found another mould for a looped palstave of about the same size. One half of each pair of moulds is in the British Museum, and the other half in Lord Braybrooke’s collection at Audley End. The half of a bronze mould for a simple palstave, with a shield-shaped ornament below the stop-ridge, was found in Ireland.[1703]One of the same kind was lately in the collection of Mr. Stevenson of Lisburn.
In the British Museum is another mould for looped palstaves, which is shown in Figs. 528 and 529, for the use of which I am indebted to the Council of the Society of Antiquaries.[1704]The original was found in Wiltshire. It is remarkable as bearing on each of its halves bands evidently cast from actual twine which has been upon the model; but the bands on the twohalves do not coincide, being on the one placed higher than on the other. The sides are also joggled together in a singular manner. As to the bands of cording, it may be that the model of the first half of the mould was formed of clay, which when dry, in order to prevent its being broken, was tied on to the palstave on which it had been shaped, and was thus moulded in clay or loam; and that afterwards, when the second half of the mould had to be cast by a similar process, the model for it was tied on to the half-mould already formed, the binding being in contact with the side of the band already in relief upon the back and sides of the half-mould.
Several palstave moulds formed of bronze have been found in different countries in Europe.
The half of one, found in the Saône, for looped palstaves, is in the museum at Lyons.[1705]
Fig. 530—Harty. ½
Fig. 530—Harty. ½
Fig. 530—Harty. ½
General A. Pitt Rivers, F.R.S., has one from the neighbourhood of Macon.[1706]M. Charles Seidler, of Nantes, has another.Another from the hoard of Notre-Dame d’Or, Vienne, is in the museum at Poitiers.M. Forel has another found in the Lake-dwellings at Morges.[1707]A palstave mould of bronze, found near Medingen, is in the museum at Hanover.[1708]The half of one found at Polsen, near Merseburg,[1709]is in that of Berlin.Another bronze mould from the neighbourhood of Grünberg,[1710]is in the museum at Darmstadt.There are several bronze moulds of this character in the Museum of Northern Antiquities at Copenhagen.
General A. Pitt Rivers, F.R.S., has one from the neighbourhood of Macon.[1706]
M. Charles Seidler, of Nantes, has another.
Another from the hoard of Notre-Dame d’Or, Vienne, is in the museum at Poitiers.
M. Forel has another found in the Lake-dwellings at Morges.[1707]
A palstave mould of bronze, found near Medingen, is in the museum at Hanover.[1708]The half of one found at Polsen, near Merseburg,[1709]is in that of Berlin.
Another bronze mould from the neighbourhood of Grünberg,[1710]is in the museum at Darmstadt.
There are several bronze moulds of this character in the Museum of Northern Antiquities at Copenhagen.
In Figs. 530 and 531 are engraved the halves of two moulds for casting socketed celts of different sizes and patterns, which were found with a number of other relics in the Isle of Harty, Sheppey, and are now in my own collection. I have already given an account of this discovery elsewhere;[1711]but as it throws somuch light upon the whole process of casting as practised towards the close of the Bronze Period, it will be desirable to give a somewhat detailed account of the entire find and its teachings in this place.
The hoard, which may very fairly be described as the stock-in-trade of an ancient bronze-founder, consisted of the following articles—
Both halves of the mould, Fig. 530.
5 celts cast in this mould and a fragment.
Both halves of the mould, Fig. 531.
1 celt cast in it.
One-half of a smaller mould with a portion of a lead lining adhering to it, as kindly determined for me by Dr. J. Percy, F.R.S.
Fig. 531.—Harty. ½
Fig. 531.—Harty. ½
Fig. 531.—Harty. ½
3 celts, more or less worn out, apparently cast in it.
2 large celts from different moulds.
2 small socketed celts from other and different moulds.
Both halves of a gouge mould, Fig. 532.
2 gouges, both from one mould, but it is doubtful whether they are from this. See Fig. 205.
2 pointed tools, Fig. 220.
1 double-edged knife, Fig. 253.
1 single-edged knife, Fig. 260.
1 perforated disc, Fig. 503.
1 ferrule, Fig. 377.
1 part of a curved bracelet-like object of doubtful use, with small hole near the end.
1 hammer or anvil, Fig. 211.
1 small hammer, Fig. 212.
2 pieces of rough copper.
1 whetstone, Fig. 540.
Of the largest mould itself, Fig. 530, not much need be said. The dowels on the face of one of the halves have been much injured by oxidation, so that the two parts of the mould do not now fit so well together as they did originally. On the outside of each valve are two projecting pins intended to hold the cord in position, by which the two parts of the mould were held together when in use.As will be seen, the mould itself is somewhat bell-mouthed. Of the ornamental “flanches” on the celt, I have already given the history at page 108. The instruments cast from this mould, and present in the hoard, are five in number, four in fairly perfect condition, and one broken in two in the middle. Though cast in the same mould, no two are absolutely alike. Not only do they vary in width at their edges—the natural result of one having been more freely hammered out than another—but in the upper part, to which very little has been done in the way of hammering or grinding since the celt left the mould, there are striking differences. As will be seen, the mould is calculated to produce three parallel mouldings round the mouth of each celt; but in one of the castings only two of these mouldings are present; in another there are three, and there is metal enough beyond to represent half the width of another moulding. In two others the length is equivalent to nearly another moulding, so that the celts appear to have four mouldings round their mouths; and in the fifth celt there is a collar of plain metal extending ⅜ inch beyond the three bands (see Fig. 113.) On comparing this instrument with that first described, the difference in the length above the loop is upwards of ½ inch. This difference can only be accounted for by a difference in the arrangement of the mould and core at the time of casting. On comparing the interior of one celt with that of another, it is evident that the core was not produced in any mould or core-box, as the small projecting ribs of metal left as usual to help in steadying the haft vary in number and position. In the case of the celt broken in two in the middle, the core has been placed so much out of the centre that there is a large hole in the casting where there was not room for the metal to run. The system adopted appears, therefore, to have been much as follows.
First, the mould was tied together in proper position, and loam or clay was rammed into it so as tightly to fill the upper part. The mould was, secondly, taken apart—and the clay removed and probably left to become nearly dry. Thirdly, the lower part of the clay was then trimmed to form the core, a shoulder being left which would form the mould for the top of the celt. The upper part of the clay would be left untouched, beyond having two channels cut in it to allow of the passage of the melted metal. Fourthly, the mould would be tied together again with the prepared core inside, the untrimmed part of which would form aguide for its due position in the mould. Fifthly, the mould would then be placed vertically, probably by being stuck into sand, and the melted metal would be poured down the channels. When cool the runners thus formed would be broken off, and the fractured surfaces would be hammered or ground. The knife found with the hoard was probably used for cutting the channels and trimming the core. If such a process as that which I have described were in use, it is evident that the chances would be much against the shoulders of the clay core being always cut at exactly the same place, and we have at once a reason for the variation here observed.
There is another cause for slight variations in the sharpness of the mouldings and the other details of the castings. In order to prevent the molten bronze from adhering to the bronze mould, the latter must have been smeared over with something by way of protection, so as to form a thin film between the metal of the mould and that of the casting. Modern founders, when casting pewter in brass, or even iron, moulds,[1712]“anoint” the latter with red ochre and white of egg, or smoke the inside of the mould; and our plumbers prevent solder from amalgamating with lead by using lamp-black and size, or even by rubbing it with a dock-leaf. No doubt the ancient founders had some equally simple method, such as brushing the mould over with a very thin coat of marl. Turning now to the second mould, Fig. 531, it will be seen that just below the mouldings there is accidentally present a sharply defined small recess; the impression, however, of this recess on the celt cast in this mould is not nearly so sharp, probably in consequence of the mould having been smeared as lately suggested. It will also be noticed that though there is a double band of mouldings in the mould, there is but one and a fraction on the celt itself, which is shown in Fig. 114.
The outside of this mould is provided with three knobs to keep the binding cord from slipping off. The other and smallest half-mould has a single projection in the middle, like an imperfectly formed loop. The three celts which were apparently cast in this mould show great uniformity at their upper ends, and to the reason for this I think the lead adhering to the mould furnishes a clue. It is evident that if, in preparing the cores, instead of beginning by having the mould empty and ramming clay into it,which was subsequently to be trimmed, the founder placed a celt in the mould, its socket would act as a core-box or mould for a clay core which would require no further trimming so far as the part of forming the socket was concerned. On opening out the mould this core could be withdrawn from the socket of the model celt, and when dry would be ready for use. Perhaps in the celts with long and not highly tapering sockets there would be a difficulty in getting out the clay unbroken, and the process would not be found to answer; but in the case of the small celts there would probably be less difficulty. In this mould I think we have the remains of a celt formed of lead, an instrument which would be utterly useless as a cutting tool, but which might well have been made and kept as a core-box. The very fact of its being made of another metal would prevent its being confounded with the other castings and being bartered away; while in the first instance a casting in lead might have been made on a wooden core, which could probably be trimmed to the exact shape required more readily than one of clay. I have elsewhere[1713]called attention to the fact that wooden moulds were in use among the Ancient Britons for the casting of coins formed of tin. Several socketed celts made of lead have from time to time been found, though not in association with bronze-founders’ hoards, and have been a great puzzle to antiquaries. One found at Alnwick,[1714]near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, was thought to have come from a barrow. One found with bronze celts in the Morbihan, is in the collection of the Rev. Canon Greenwell, F.R.S., but it is doubtful whether it was used as a core-box. The use which I have suggested for them is at all events one that is possible, but we must wait for further discoveries before accepting it as the only cause for their existence.
A mould for sword hilts found in Italy,[1715]and now in the museum at Munich, is formed by three pieces of bronze, even the core by which the cavity in them was produced being formed of that metal.
But that the cores were frequently if not always made of clay, and not, as has been sometimes supposed, of metal, is proved by the numbers of socketed celts which from time to time have been found with the cores still in them, though this, it is true, has been the case in France rather than in England. In the great hoard of socketed celts found near Plénée Jugon, in Brittany, the majoritywere as they had come from the mould, with the clay cores still in them, burnt as hard as brick by the heat of the metal. I have already mentioned this fact in describing the tool from the Harty hoard, which appears to have been used for extracting the cores. I have also described the anvil, if such it be, and the hammer, Figs. 211 and 212, by means of which, probably, the edges of the celts were drawn out and hardened. I will now add that the celt, Fig. 114, is too long and too broad at the edge for that part of it to enter into the mould in which it was cast. This shows how much its edge was drawn out by hammering. The final sharpening was no doubt effected by the whetstone, Fig. 540.
Fig. 532.—Harty. ½
Fig. 532.—Harty. ½
Fig. 532.—Harty. ½
The other mould from this hoard is almost unique of its kind. Two views of each of its halves are given in Fig. 532. Originally there was a loop on the back of each half, but from one this has in old times been broken off. The arrangement for carrying the core is different from what it seems to have been in the other moulds. There is in the upper part of the mould when put together a transverse hole, which would produce what may be termed trunnions on the clay core, and assist materially in holding it in proper position during the process of casting. From the upper surfaces of the gouges found with the mould, it appears that there were two channels cut for the runners of metal, one at the middle of each half of the mould, so as to alternate with the joint of the mould through which the air could escape during the casting process.
What appears to be part of a mould for gouges was found in the hoard of Notre-Dame d’Or, and is now in the museum at Poitiers.
I must now return to the other examples of moulds for socketed celts which have been found in this country.
One, with external loops on each half, like that on Fig. 532B, was found with looped palstaves, socketed celts, and broken dagger or sword blades, at Wilmington,[1716]Sussex, and is now in the museum at Lewes. All these objects, as is the case in many other hoards, had been deposited in a vessel of coarse pottery.Another mould, found with eleven celts and fragments of weapons at Eaton,[1717]near Norwich, has smaller and broader loops near the top. On each side of the face of one half, a little distance from the actual mould, and roughly following its contour, is a shallow groove, into which fits a corresponding ridge on the counterpart. The outer face of each half is ornamented with two slightly curved vertical ribs, one on each side of the loop, and joined at the base by a transverse rib. It is for casting celts about 4¼ inches long, and of the ordinary form.Another mould, for celts with an octagonal neck, was found on the Quantock Hills,[1718]Somersetshire (and not in Yorkshire), and is now in the British Museum. The halves are adjusted to each other by a rib and groove, as on that last mentioned, and the back is ornamented with a peculiar raised figure with three vertical lines and a straight transverse line at the top, and two lines at the bottom running up to the central vertical line so as to form on each side of it an angle of about 120°. At the junction there is a ring ornament, and two others near the angles formed with the side lines. This mould has a transverse hole at the top like that in the gouge-mould already mentioned.Another mould, also in the British Museum,[1719]is for celts with three vertical ribs on the face. This likewise has a transverse and nearly square hole at the top, and also recesses in each half-mould, so as to give four points of support to the core between which the channels for the runners might be cut. On the outside, near the top, is a loop, and near the bottom two projecting pins to retain the string. This appears to be the mould from Yorkshire belonging to Mr. Warburton, figured by Stukeley.[1720]The half of another mould for celts, of nearly the same character, was found in the Heathery Burn Cave,[1721]already so often mentioned, and is shown in Fig. 533, for the use of which I am indebted to the Council of the Society of Antiquaries.Another mould was found in the fen at Washingborough,[1722]near Lincoln. Another, from Cleveland,[1723]found with chisels, gouges, &c., is in the Bateman Collection.A part of another was found in a hoard at Beddington, Surrey,[1724]and afragment of another at Wickham Park, Croydon. This latter is now in the British Museum.A bronze mould for socketed celts, found at Eikrath, was in the collection of the late Dr. Hugo Gärthe, of Cologne. Upon the outside there are six ribs with ring ornaments at the ends, diverging from a loop in the centre.A bronze mould for socketed celts, ornamented with V-shaped lines, and found at Gnadenfeld,[1725]in Upper Silesia, is in the Berlin Museum.Another bronze mould with an external loop, also for socketed celts, was found in Gotland,[1726]and is in the Stockholm Museum.
One, with external loops on each half, like that on Fig. 532B, was found with looped palstaves, socketed celts, and broken dagger or sword blades, at Wilmington,[1716]Sussex, and is now in the museum at Lewes. All these objects, as is the case in many other hoards, had been deposited in a vessel of coarse pottery.
Another mould, found with eleven celts and fragments of weapons at Eaton,[1717]near Norwich, has smaller and broader loops near the top. On each side of the face of one half, a little distance from the actual mould, and roughly following its contour, is a shallow groove, into which fits a corresponding ridge on the counterpart. The outer face of each half is ornamented with two slightly curved vertical ribs, one on each side of the loop, and joined at the base by a transverse rib. It is for casting celts about 4¼ inches long, and of the ordinary form.
Another mould, for celts with an octagonal neck, was found on the Quantock Hills,[1718]Somersetshire (and not in Yorkshire), and is now in the British Museum. The halves are adjusted to each other by a rib and groove, as on that last mentioned, and the back is ornamented with a peculiar raised figure with three vertical lines and a straight transverse line at the top, and two lines at the bottom running up to the central vertical line so as to form on each side of it an angle of about 120°. At the junction there is a ring ornament, and two others near the angles formed with the side lines. This mould has a transverse hole at the top like that in the gouge-mould already mentioned.
Another mould, also in the British Museum,[1719]is for celts with three vertical ribs on the face. This likewise has a transverse and nearly square hole at the top, and also recesses in each half-mould, so as to give four points of support to the core between which the channels for the runners might be cut. On the outside, near the top, is a loop, and near the bottom two projecting pins to retain the string. This appears to be the mould from Yorkshire belonging to Mr. Warburton, figured by Stukeley.[1720]
The half of another mould for celts, of nearly the same character, was found in the Heathery Burn Cave,[1721]already so often mentioned, and is shown in Fig. 533, for the use of which I am indebted to the Council of the Society of Antiquaries.
Another mould was found in the fen at Washingborough,[1722]near Lincoln. Another, from Cleveland,[1723]found with chisels, gouges, &c., is in the Bateman Collection.
A part of another was found in a hoard at Beddington, Surrey,[1724]and afragment of another at Wickham Park, Croydon. This latter is now in the British Museum.
A bronze mould for socketed celts, found at Eikrath, was in the collection of the late Dr. Hugo Gärthe, of Cologne. Upon the outside there are six ribs with ring ornaments at the ends, diverging from a loop in the centre.
A bronze mould for socketed celts, ornamented with V-shaped lines, and found at Gnadenfeld,[1725]in Upper Silesia, is in the Berlin Museum.
Another bronze mould with an external loop, also for socketed celts, was found in Gotland,[1726]and is in the Stockholm Museum.
Fig. 533.—Heathery Burn. ½
Fig. 533.—Heathery Burn. ½
Fig. 533.—Heathery Burn. ½
A magnificent mould for socketed celts was found in the Cotentin[1727]in 1827. It has broad loops outside either half, with three processes from it running up and down the mould.A bronze mould for spear-heads was exhibited in Paris in 1878. A part of another was in the Larnaud hoard, and is now in the museum at St. Germain.There were some fragments of bronze moulds in the great Bologna hoard.
A magnificent mould for socketed celts was found in the Cotentin[1727]in 1827. It has broad loops outside either half, with three processes from it running up and down the mould.
A bronze mould for spear-heads was exhibited in Paris in 1878. A part of another was in the Larnaud hoard, and is now in the museum at St. Germain.
There were some fragments of bronze moulds in the great Bologna hoard.
The process of casting bronze instruments in loam, clay, or sand must have been much the same as that in use at the present day; but it was very rarely that the mould consisted of more or less than two pieces. On a great many bronze instruments the joint of the mould is still visible; and in some of the large hoards, such as those which have been found in the North of France, we see the castings just as they came from the moulds, except that the runners have been broken off. For socketed celts there were usually two runners of metal; for palstaves sometimes two, and sometimes only one nearly the full width of the upper part. It is not uncommon to find castings which show that the two halves of the mould or the flasks have slipped sideways, so that they were not in proper position when the casting was made.
I have a palstave from a large hoard found near Tours, in which the lateral displacement of the mould is as much as a quarter of an inch, so that there is what geologists might term a “fault” in the casting. The metal which has been in contact with what was the face of the mould is smooth, and appears to have been cast againstclay. A considerable variety of patterns was in use by the founder to whom this hoard belonged, and they appear to have been of metal and not of wood, some of the palstaves having been apparently cast from tools already shortened by wear.
That castings were occasionally made even from tools already mounted in their handles is proved by the Swiss hatchet, Fig. 185.
Some portions of moulds formed of burnt clay were found with broken palstaves, socketed celts, gouges, knives, spear-heads, daggers, swords, lumps of metal, runners, &c., at Questembert, Brittany, and are in the museum at Vannes.
Part of a mould for spear-heads formed of burnt clay was found in the Lac du Bourget;[1728]but the most interesting discoveries are those which have been made by Dr. V. Gross at the station of Mœrigen,[1729]on the Lake of Bienne. He there found a considerable amount of the plant of an ancient bronze-founder, all of whose moulds, however, were either in stone or burnt clay, and not formed of metal. The stone moulds appear to have been principally used for the plainer articles, such as knives, sickles, pins, &c., while for articles with irregular surfaces, or requiring cores, clay was preferred. Of clay moulds Dr. Gross recognises two types: one formed in a single piece, which could serve but once, and which was broken in extracting the casting; and the other, which was composed of two or more pieces, and which could be used over and over again. Of the first kind there were two examples—one for a socketed chisel and the other for a socketed knife. The form of the mould for a chisel is nearly cylindrical, with a funnel-shaped opening at one end, at the bottom of which are two holes leading into the interior of the mould. The clay between these two holes forms part of a conical core. Such a mould would give the idea of its having been formed on a model of wax on the system known as that ofcire perdue; but this appears not to have been really the case, for on examination the mould itself appears to have been originally formed of two halves, or valves, formed of fine clay, which had been well burnt, and these when put together had been surrounded by an external envelope of coarse clay, which held them and the core they enclosed in their proper position. The core itself seems to have been T-shaped, the ends of the transverse line being triangular and fitting into corresponding recesses in the valves of the mould.
The best-preserved mould of the second kind was one for a socketed hammer, which was also provided with a core of the same kind. It seems to me, however, that the distinction drawn by Dr. Gross between the two classes of moulds does not really exist, as by enveloping such a mould as that for the hammer in a mass of clay it would be transferred from the second class to the first.
Clay moulds for socketed-celts have been found in Hungary.[1730]
In some Scandinavian examples[1731]of what appear to have been ceremonial axes there is merely a thin coating of bronze cast over a clay core, but no such specimens have as yet been found in Britain. That bronze so thin could have been cast shows wonderful skill in the founder.