Chapter II: Preface: To the Second Edition

The undiminished interest taken by many archæologists in the subject to which this book relates seems to justify me in again placing it before the public, though in an extended and revised form. I am further warranted in so doing by the fact that the former edition, which appeared in 1872, has now been long out of print.

In revising the work it appeared desirable to retain as much of the original text and arrangement as possible, but having regard to the large amount of new matter that had to be incorporated in it and to the necessity of keeping the bulk of the volume within moderate bounds, some condensation seemed absolutely compulsory. This I have effected, partly by omitting some of the detailed measurements of the specimens, and partly by printing a larger proportion of the text in small type. I have also omitted several passages relating to discoveries in the caverns of the South of France.

I have throughout preserved the original numbering of the Figures, so that references that have already been made to them in other works will still hold good. The new cuts, upwards of sixty in number, that have been added in this edition are distinguished by letters affixed to the No. of the Figure immediately preceding them.

The additions to the text, especially in the portion relating to the Palæolithic Period, are very extensive, and I hope that all the more important discoveries of stone antiquities made in this country during the last quarter of a century are here duly recorded, and references given to the works in which fuller details concerning them may be found. In some cases, owing to the character of the |viii| objects discovered being insufficiently described, I have not thought it necessary to cite them.

I am indebted to numerous collectors throughout the country for having called my attention to specimens that they acquired, and for having, in many cases, sent them to me for examination. I may take this opportunity of mentioning that while the whole of the objects found by Canon Greenwell during his examination of British Barrows has been most liberally presented to the nation, the remainder of his fine collection of stone antiquities, so frequently referred to in these pages, has passed into the hands of Dr. W. Allen Sturge, of Nice.

The two Indices have been carefully compiled by my sister, Mrs. Hubbard, and are fuller than those in the former edition. They will afford valuable assistance to any one who desires to consult the book.

For the new woodcuts that I have had engraved I have been so fortunate as to secure the services of Messrs. Swain, who so skilfully cut the blocks for the original work. I am indebted for the loan of numerous other blocks to several learned Societies, and especially to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and to the Geological Society of London. Mr. Worthington Smith has also most liberally placed a number of blocks at my disposal.

It remains for me to express my thanks to those who have greatly aided me in the preparation of this edition, the whole of the proofs of which have been kindly read by Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A., of the British Museum, as well as by some members of my own family. Dr. Joseph Anderson, of the National Museum at Edinburgh, has been good enough to read the parts relating to Scotland, while Professor Boyd Dawkins has gone over the chapter on Cave Implements, and Mr. William Whitaker has corrected the account of the discoveries in the River-drift. To each and all I am grateful, and as the result of their assistance I trust that, though not immaculate, the book may prove to be fairly free from glaring errors and inconsistencies.

JOHN EVANS.

_Nash Mills, Hemel Hempstead, May, 1897._

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CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.

The Iron, Bronze, and Stone Ages — Bronze in use before Iron — Persistence of Religious Rites — Use of Stone in Religious Ceremonies — Stone Antiquities not all of the same Age — Order of Treatment . . . 1

CHAPTER II.

ON THE MANUFACTURE OF STONE IMPLEMENTS IN PREHISTORIC TIMES.

Pyrites and Flint used for striking Fire — Strike-a-light Flints — The Gun-flint Manufacture — Gun-flint Production — Modes of producing Flakes — Pressigny Nuclei — Rough-hewing Stone-hatchets — Ancient Mining for Flint — Flint-mines at Grime’s Graves and Spiennes — Production of Arrow-heads — Flaking Arrow-heads — Arrow-flakers — Grinding Stone Implements — Methods of Sawing Stone — Methods of Boring Stone — Boring by means of a Tube — Progress in Modes of Manufacture . . . 14

_IMPLEMENTS OF THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD._

CHAPTER III.

CELTS.

Belief in their Meteoric Origin — Regarded as Thunderbolts — Celt with Gnostic Inscriptions — Their Origin and Virtues — How regarded by the Greeks and Romans . . . 55

CHAPTER IV.

CHIPPED OR ROUGH-HEWN CELTS.

The Kjökken-Mödding Type — Some possibly Agricultural Implements — Some carefully Chipped — The Common Forms — Their abundance — Discoveries at Cissbury — Found in company with Polished Celts — Their probable Age . . . 67

CHAPTER V.

CELTS GROUND AT THE EDGE ONLY.

Pointed at the Butt-end — Of Elongated Form — Expanding at the Ends — Of Peculiar Forms — Their Occurrence in Foreign Countries . . . 87