of these socketed celts are so diminutive that they could not have served for chopping of any kind. Fixed at the end of a wooden handle, they might, no doubt, well answer the purpose of chisels. The process of development here indicated must, as Sir John Evans points out, have taken a considerable period of time.[98] [Illustration: Fig. 9. Fig. 10. Fig. 11. Fig. 12. Fig. 13. Fig. 14. Fig. 15. Fig. 16. Varieties of Looped, Socketed Celts.] * * * * * [Illustration: Fig. 1. Celt Mould, Co. Leitrim.] [Illustration: Fig. 2. Celt Mould, Co. Down.] _Celt Moulds._--That Irish bronze weapons are of home manufacture, no one who has given the subject any consideration can doubt. Though bearing a general resemblance to remains of a similar class found in Britain, and on the Continent of Europe, the nationality of the majority of such relics found in the bogs, beds of rivers, and newly broken land of Ireland, is sufficiently indicated by certain minute peculiarities which, to a skilled observer, are almost invariably perceptible. Besides, the stone moulds in which many of the objects were cast have, from time to time, been turned up by the plough, or otherwise brought to light in various districts of the country. The moulds are of two kinds: the first single, containing a cutting on the surface into which the metal was poured; this was used chiefly for the flat, axe-shaped type of celt. The second was a double mould consisting of two parts fitted together, and was chiefly used for casting the winged or flanged variety of celt. Fig. 1 represents a mould found in Lough Scur Crannoge, Co. Leitrim; and fig. 2 was discovered at Ballynahinch, Co. Down. * * * * * _Bronze Swords._--Ireland is particularly rich in bronze swords; and a greater number have been found in it than in England or Scotland. The colour of the metal in the swords is usually lighter than that in the celt, as it seems to have suffered less from oxidation. Bronze swords are usually divided into (1) the leaf-shaped, (2) the rapier, and (3) the broad scythe-shaped varieties. On page 214 are given examples of the _Leaf-shaped Swords_ found in Ireland. Of these, No. 1 is the longest blade preserved in the Royal Irish Academy’s collection in the National Museum. It measures 29⅝ inches in length; and as it has been drawn to about one-sixth scale, the proportion of its parts can be relatively ascertained. The covering or mounting of the handle has been lost; but six bronze rivets, by which it was secured to the tang, still remain. In the ends of each of these are small circular depressions which were probably intended for the reception of some coloured enamel. [Illustration: Varieties of Bronze Swords found in Ireland.]