Page:Shetland Folk-Lore - Spence - 1899.pdf/74

 that, though at other times dry, during a thunderstorm the stone became quite moist.

These weapons are axe or adze shaped and vary considerably as regards size, specimens as small as 4 inches in length and some as large as 14½ inches having been met with. They are frequently composed of serpentine, porphyry, or other hard, finely grained stone suitable for taking a keen edge and high polish. Many of these instruments when found show no traces of having been in use, the cutting edges being as smooth and sharp as when first ground. From the great care evidently displayed in the selection of material and in the finishing of these implements, it is believed that they have been devoted to special use as weapons of war. It is, however, probable that they were also employed as hatchets for hewing wood. When large pieces of timber had to be dealt with, fire was likely used to assist the process, the charred