The Ancient Stone Implements, Weapons and Ornaments, of Great Britain: Second Edition, RevisedEvans, John
History
The Ancient Stone Implements, Weapons and Ornaments, of Great Britain: Second Edition, Revised
Evans, John
Great Britain -- Antiquities; Stone age -- Great Britain
The late Mr. G. W. Ormerod, F.G.S., brought under my notice another
|192| specimen found, in 1865, at North Bovey, Devon. It is of
greenstone, about 3 3∕4 inches long. The sides taper towards the
butt-end, which is rounded, and the hole in the middle appears to be
only about 1∕2 inch in diameter, but bell-mouthed at each face. It
is now in the Museum at Exeter. Another (3 7∕8 inches) was found at
Ugborough, Devon.[671]
[Illustration: Fig. 124.—Stourton. 1∕2]
The implement shown in Fig. 124 seems to be an unfinished specimen
belonging to this class. It is formed of greenstone, portions of the
natural joints of which are still visible on its surface. It seems to
have been worked into shape by picking rather than by grinding; but the
hole appears, from the character of the surface, to have been ground.
Had it been continued through the stone, it would probably have been
considerably enlarged in diameter, and if so, the implement would have
been much weakened around the hole. It seems possible that it was on
this account that it was left unfinished. It was found near Stourton,
on the borders of Somerset and Wilts.
* * * * *
The third of the classes into which, for the sake of convenience, I
have divided these instruments, consists of axe-heads with a cutting
edge at one end only, the shaft-hole being near the other end, which is
rounded.
* * * * *
Fig. 125 represents an elegant specimen of this class, found at
Bardwell, in Suffolk, and formerly in the collection of Mr. Joseph
Warren, of Ixworth, but now in my own. The material appears to be
felstone. The edge is slightly rounded, the shaft-hole carefully
finished, and the two faces ground hollow, probably in the manner
suggested at p. 43. |193|
I have another made from a quartzite pebble (4 5∕8 inches) with the
sides hollowed transversely, but rounded longitudinally, found with an
urn on Wilton Heath, near Brandon, in 1873. The blunt end is bruised
and flattened by wear. I have a second, also of quartzite (5 3∕8
inches), rounded in all directions, found near Ipswich, in 1865. It
retains much of the form of the original pebble.
[Illustration: Fig. 125.—Bardwell. 1∕2]
In the Museum at Newcastle is preserved a specimen very similar to
Fig. 125, of mottled greenstone, beautifully finished; the sides
are, however, flat and not hollowed. It is 6 1∕2 inches long, the
faces are rounded, and the hole, which is about 7∕8 inch in diameter,
tapers slightly towards the middle. It was found in the River Wear at
Sunderland. Another of the same character, formed from a beautifully
veined stone, accompanied a bronze dagger in a barrow near East Kennet,
Wilts.[672]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account