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The term “Bronze Age,” so generally used for the period immediately preceding the introduction of iron, conveys to most readers very scanty ideas as to the duration of time over which it extended. Indeed, to those thoroughly conversant with the subject, the chronological arrangements of the various periods of the age, and the grouping together of these into one comprehensive whole, is practically a case for individual calculation, and these tally but seldom. However, it may be taken that, speaking broadly, the bronze period commenced in Britain about 1500 b.c., and at a much earlier age upon the Continent, one authority placing it as early as 3000 b.c. Iron was in general use about three or four centuries before Christ on the Continent, and Cæsar makes no mention of bronze in his description of the weapons and accoutrements of the Britons.

Celts.—Of all the varying forms of bronze implements the celt is probably the most widely distributed and the best known, and there is every reason to believe it was the first of the articles to be manufactured. It is generally admitted to be both an implement for everyday use and also a weapon of war. Its general utility was that of a chisel, a wedge, or a wood-splitting hatchet; in war it was the prototype of the battle-axe. It is of very wide distribution, being found all over the Continent of Europe, and has many varieties. In order of development the flat celt is undoubtedly the earliest, and was derived from the celt of the Stone Age, the example shown in Fig. 15 differing but little from the flint prototype. This pattern gradually developed until one similar to Fig. 16 was evolved. From this crude form the flanged variety was produced, giving an extra grip for the handle; then a transverse ridge was added, thus forming two receptacles to receive the split end of the handle (Fig. 17). The latest development of the celt is that in which a socket is made for the insertion of the handle (Fig. 18).

The relative form of the handle with the celt affixed has been much discussed, but the consensus of opinion leads one to believe that the handle was somewhat in the shape of a hockey-stick, the bent part being inserted in the socket of the celt. Before the evolution of the socketed celt the latter was inserted in a cleft stick and projected from one side at right angles, being firmly bound in that position by cross-lacing. This projection doubtless suggested the bent stick of a later period.

Fig. 15.—Earliest bronze celt.

Fig. 16.—Later celt.

Fig. 17.—Celt, flanged and ridged.

Fig. 18.—Latest development of celt.

Daggers.—Of contemporary date with the celt, and perhaps of even more remote antiquity, is the bronze dagger, which in its original simple form may have been used as a knife for domestic purposes and a dagger for war, though subsequently the two became quite distinct. The general form of the blade may be gleaned from Figs. 19 and 20, where the ribs towards the point may be readily seen. This ribbing and grooving of the blade are a distinctive feature, and are sometimes beautifully developed into a pattern more or less intricate. The handles were made of ivory, bone, or wood, and are very seldom found entire. The method of adjusting the haft will be gleaned from the position of the rivets; the handle was evidently either split into two pieces and then placed on either side, or a cut was made for the insertion of the tang or lower part of the blade. In some cases the pommel of bronze has been found accompanying the dagger, and also traces of what may have been the sheath. That variety of dagger having a tang to fit into the shaft seems to be peculiar to our islands, as those found on the Continent invariably possess a socket into which the handle could be fitted. Some very small and thin daggers have been found side by side with flint weapons, which appears to point to a time when the metal was very scarce, in the earliest part of the Bronze Age; subsequently the stouter form of weapon shows analogies with continental forms, and so points to intercommunication between the mainland and this island at that early date.

Fig. 19.—Bronze dagger.

Fig. 20.—Ribbed bronze dagger.

Swords.—The sword does not appear to have been contemporaneous with the early thin dagger, but was no doubt a subsequent evolution based upon the dagger. Of all the forms which have been handed down to us from the most remote antiquity, the bronze sword is the most beautiful, and it is very questionable if any of the hundreds of shapes of lethal weapons of that description which have subsequently seen the light can vie with it in symmetry of form and general gracefulness. Only one other class of weapon of this period attempts to rival in beauty the leaf-shaped sword, and that is the spear, which is often of the most graceful lines. The beautiful workmanship exhibited by these weapons raised doubt at times as to their real origin, many asserting that they were of Roman fabrication, but it has been definitely settled that they antedated the Italian historical period. Iron and steel were substituted for bronze at a very early period in the Roman army, the shape, however, being unaltered. The fact that the majority of finds of bronze swords occurs in countries where the Romans never penetrated militates against the supposition of their Roman origin. The length of the blade averages about two feet, though some are as short as one and a half feet, and some as long as two and a half. The hilt plate alters much in form, and there are many varieties: the handle was of wood, bone, or horn, split into two plates and riveted on either side (Figs. 21, 22). The blade was apparently cast in a mould so carefully made that there was no necessity for file-work or hammering afterwards, the edges being formed by the uniform reduction all round of the thickness of the metal (Fig. 23). Blade and tang were cast in one piece, although one variety which appears to be common to the British Isles has a handle affixed to the blade by rivets, after the manner of the dagger (Fig. 24). The rivet heads occasionally show signs of having depressions in them, as though they were splayed by a punch, while some have been closed by a hollow punch so as to leave a small stud. Occasionally swords are found having the hilt and finished blade cast in one piece, while others occur bearing signs of the hilt being cast upon the blade. A few swords have been found with gold ornamentation upon the hilts, and many in which the blade is decorated with a pattern produced in the casting. Although of bronze, and therefore not subject in any great degree to aerial oxidation, the sword appears to have been universally protected by enclosure in a scabbard. These in some instances were of bronze, but more often of leather or wood, with fittings of bronze, and in all cases the scabbard was of greater length than the blade it contained. Some scabbards even appear of fantastic forms, as though the man of the Bronze Age, like his successor of the Iron Period, was not averse to the occasional outshining of his fellow-man.

Fig. 21.—Bronze sword.

Fig. 22.—Bronze sword showing rivet-holes.

Fig. 23.—Bronze sword with cast edge.

Fig. 24.—British sword with riveted handle.

Fig. 25.—Bronze spear-head, leaf-shaped.

Fig. 26.—Spear-head with apertures for thongs.

The Spear.—The spear is undoubtedly of the most remote antiquity, and dates far back into the Stone Period; its inception seems to be inherent in all savage tribes, and is a natural evolution of the idea of inflicting injury upon a foe at a distance, and again of preventing his approach to do personal harm. The primitive man probably pointed a long stick by attrition on a rock, and subsequently hardened it by fire: a splint of bone, being harder than the wood, occurred next, and probably the flint succeeded, to be followed in due time by the bronze head. The difficulty of affixing the head, however, seems to have hindered progress at first in this direction, for the bronze dagger undoubtedly antedated the spear-head, which continued to be of flint for a long period after the dagger was introduced. It is highly probable that the first spear-head was not constructed until the Bronze man discovered the secret of making the socketed celt by means of a core placed within the mould; with the advent of this invention spear-heads became possible. Of course it may be open to question whether any of the blades with tangs were really spear-heads and not daggers, or incipient sword-blades. Some spear-heads have been found which are undoubtedly of the tanged description, but they are not of British, and possibly not even of European origin. The general form of the head tends towards the leaf-shape, though this is not so pronounced as it is in the sword (Fig. 25). The advent of the spear-head occurred when man had developed considerable skill in the casting of bronze and its manipulation under the hammer, and the really extraordinary deftness shown in making the core, so that the minimum of metal was used with the maximum of effect and strength, calls forth the warmest admiration. Some of these cores are prolonged through the centre of the blade, so that the metal is really attenuated, but at the same time of uniform thickness, the inserted staff providing the necessary rigidity. Respecting the sizes of those found there can be no question but that the larger heads (and some have been found nearly a yard in length) were intended for use only in the hand as spears, while some of the smaller are the heads of javelins, or possibly of arrows. The blades are at times of remarkable beauty of design and of excellent workmanship. The sage-leaf form is of very common occurrence, the central core reaching to the point, and ornamented with subordinate ribs which also strengthen the blade. In these forms a hole is punched in the socket for the insertion of a rivet to fix it to the lance shaft. Others show two small loops cast upon the socket for a thong to pass through, which was afterwards brought down to the shaft and securely fastened (Fig. 26). This variety shows no rivet-hole. Ornamentation is by no means rare upon these spear-heads; it generally takes the form of open work, such as circles and ovals perforating the blade, and of filed or cast patterns upon the sockets, some even showing traces of gold inlaying. Barbed spear-heads are extremely rare, and were probably only used in the chase.

PLATE I*

Shield of Italian Workmanship, Sixteenth Century

A. F. Calvert

Arrow-heads.—Arrow-heads in bronze practically do not exist in this country, although they occur on the Continent and in Egypt, where they are generally of the types shown in Figs. 27 and 28. It is highly probable that the flint arrow-head was in use through the whole, or nearly the whole, of the Bronze Age, being retained because of its efficiency and cheapness. Bronze must have been a comparatively rare and dear alloy, and the weapons exhibit as a rule the minimum of metal in their construction compatible with efficiency; arrows from their very nature are continually being lost, and this fact alone would render their use expensive.

Fig. 27.—Bronze arrow-head.

Fig. 28.—Bronze arrow-head.

Shields.—Among primitive races the shield was invariably of wicker-work or of wood, and as the examples in bronze which have been unearthed are of a high order of skill in workmanship and design we may naturally infer that they were of comparatively late introduction, and only appeared when the expert artizan of the age was capable of producing plates of considerable area and of uniform thickness. In the British Museum are several very fine examples of shields, one of which we illustrate to show the general form and shape (Fig. 29). It was dug up not far from the river Isis, in the vicinity of the Dyke Hills, near Dorchester in Oxfordshire. It is circular in form, about 13 inches in diameter, and ornamented with two concentric rings of bosses which encircle an umbo. All these bosses have been repousséd in the metal except four, which are used in two instances as rivet heads to fix the handle in position, and in two others to fasten buttons to the interior of the outer rim. It is probable that a guige was fastened to these buttons. So thin is the metal that it can hardly have served as a shield without some auxiliary strengthening, and this was conjecturally afforded by a lining of leather moulded into the depressions of the shield when wet. There is no reason for supposing that the metal now seen was the size of the original shield; in fact there is a probability that it was larger, and that the metal merely formed the centre. A bronze buckler found near Aberystwith was formerly in the Meyrick Collection and preserved at Goodrich Court, whence it was transferred to the British Museum. It is about 26 inches in diameter, with no less than twenty concentric circles of knobs and ribs, with the usual buttons for fixing the guige. The general type of shield is that having a series of concentric rings raised in the metal with studs between the ribs. The ornamentation is in all cases raised by hand with hammer and punch, and doubtless the metal was much thicker and the diameter much less in the early stages of making.

Fig. 29.—Bronze shield. (British Museum.)

Fig. 30.—Bronze mace-head.

A considerable number of bronze weapon-like forms have been from time to time discovered, the uses of which are only conjectural. Thus long blades of a triangular bayonet-like section occur, which may either have been a sword or rather rapier for thrusting only, or have been attached to a shaft and served as a spear. Others, again, have a socketed head from the side of which projects a cutting blade of various sizes and forms which might be the halberd in an incipient stage. There also exist short, thick, scythe-like blades of great strength, with strong rivets for attachment to some shaft, which may have been constructed to fit upon the wheels of chariots. Knobs of bronze occur having a socketed centre and projecting spikes upon the sides which undoubtedly when fitted to suitable handles formed the maces of the Bronze Age (Fig. 30), or possibly were portions of early “morning stars” or military flails.