Page:Natural History Review (1861).djvu/503

Rh Appear less surprising when we consider that, in more modern times, coins were struck in the South of England before the commencement of our era, while in Ireland none were made before the tenth century, so that London has had a coinage for move than twice as long as Dublin. For the present however I confine myself to Denmark, reserving the consideration of other countries for a future opportunity.

Two or three battle fields belonging to the Bronze period have been found, and have supplied a great number of interesting objects. It is curious, that besides dice of the common shape, some have been discovered which are elongated and cylindrical, a peculiar form which is still however used in some parts of India. Many of the spears had one or more nails driven into them, in a manner apparently useless, but Professor Thomsen observed the same thing in some spears from India, and ascertained that, in these, a nail was inserted for every enemy killed. Metal was, however, rare and precious, and therefore only used in instruments which could not easily be made from flint. The beautiful flint knives of the Stone period must have been extremely difficult to make. We cannot imitate them now, and even in those days, when they had such wonderful skill in workiug flint, a flint knife must have been made with great difficulty. Axes, on the contrary, were easily formed, and therefore stone was used for them long after the introduction of bronze, as is shown by the fact that while in the Museum at Copenhagen thero are about 300 bronze swords, there are not more than 20 bronze axes. The arrow heads also were made of flint.

A confusion is sometimes made between the bronze of the true Bronze age, and that which is found together with iron. The former, however, is composed of about 9 parts of copper to 1 of tin, while in the bronze, or rather brass, of the Iron period, the tin is generally replaced by zinc, and the composition thus obtained is used only for ornaments; and though sometimes, as for instance in the umbos of the shields, it may form part of a weapon, it is never the cutting or striking edge, which is always formed of iron.

The number of objects belonging to the Bronze age, which have been found in Denmark is very remarkable, and together with the great differences apparent in the workmanship, indicate that the period was of great duration. The same appears to have been the case in Ireland, as in the great museum of the Royal Irish Academy there are six hundred and eighty-six of these weapons, and yet no two of them were cast in the same mould.

Some of them are merely repetitions, in bronze, of the older stone weapons, as may very well be seen, for instance, in the British Museum; but, at what was perhaps a later period; the art had wonderfully improved, and the bronze instruments are more varied in form and more skilfully made. That they were cast, and