In 1849 Mr. James Yates communicated a paper to the Archæological Institute of a far more speculative kind than those of Mr. Du Noyer, his object being to prove that among the various uses of bronze celts one of the most important was the application of them in destroying fortifications and entrenchments, in making roads and earthworks, and in similar military operations. He confines his inquiry, however, to those which were adapted to be fitted to straight wooden handles. Following in the steps of some of the older antiquaries, he appears to regard them as of Roman origin, and identifies them with the Roman _dolabra_, an instrument which he thinks was used as a chisel or a crowbar. In fact, he was persuaded that the celt was commonly used not as a hatchet, but as a spud or a crowbar. Had he but been acquainted with the ancient handles, such as have been discovered in the Austrian salt-mines and elsewhere, he would probably have come round to another opinion as to the ordinary method of hafting, though it is of course possible that in some instances these instruments may have been mounted and used as spuds. Had he practically tried mounting them and using them as crowbars, he would have found that with but slight strain the shafts would break or the celts become loosened upon them. And had he been better versed in archæology, he would have known that whatever was the form of the Roman _dolabra_, or whatever the uses for which it served, it can hardly have differed from their other implements in being made of bronze and not of iron; and he would have thought twice before engraving bronze celts from Cornwall and Furness as illustrations of the Roman _dolabra_ in Smith’s “Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities.” The ring or loop, which so often is found on the side of celts of the palstave and socketed forms, was thought by Mr. Yates to have been principally of use to assist in carrying them, a dozen or twenty perhaps being strung together, or a much smaller number tied to the soldier’s belt or girdle. He also thought that they might serve for the attachment of a thong or chain to draw the instrument out of a wall, should it become wedged among the stones in the process of destruction. The next essay on celts and their classification which I must adduce was written by the late Rev. Thomas Hugo, F.S.A.,[133] who followed much the same system as Mr. Du Noyer, so far as the development of the socketed celt was concerned, though he differed from him with regard to the method of hafting, as he was persuaded that, in general, celts were mounted with a straight shaft, like spuds. He considered that the loop was not used for securing the celt to its haft, but for hanging it up at home when not in use, or for suspending it from the soldier’s girdle whilst on the march.