oo 



2 THE FORGERIES. 



but not in colour, and do not present white or yellow facings ; 

 moreover, the new surfaces are dead, and want the glossiness 

 of those which have been long exposed. It is almost unne- 

 cessary to say that they have no dendritic markings, nor are 

 they encrusted by carbonate of lime. 



Now the forgeries for there are forgeries differ from the 

 genuine implements by just those characteristics which dis- 

 tinguish newly-broken flints from those which have lain long 

 in sand or gravel, or exposed to atmospheric agencies. They 

 are black, never white or yellow ; their surfaces are not glossy, 

 but dull and lustreless, and they have no dendritic markings 

 or incrustations. Nor would it be possible for an ingenious 

 rogue to deceive us by taking a stained flint and fashioning it 

 into a hatchet, because the discoloration of the flint is quite 

 superficial, seldom more than a quarter of an inch in thickness, 

 and follows the outline of the present surface, showing that 

 the change of colour was subsequent to the manufacture ; 

 while if such a flint were tampered with, the fraud would be 

 easily detected, as each blow would remove part of the outer 

 coating, and expose the black flint inside, as may be seen in 



pi. 1, fig. 11. 



Moreover, it must be remembered, that when M. Boucher 

 de Perthes' work was published, the weapons therein described 

 were totally unlike any of those familiar to archaeologists. 

 Since that time, however, not only have similar implements 

 been found both in England, France, and other countries, but, 

 as already mentioned, it has since come to light that similar 

 weapons were in two cases actually described and figured in 

 England many years ago, and that in both these instances 

 they were found in association with the bones of extinct ani- 

 mals. On this point, therefore, no evidence could be more 

 conclusive. 



We may, then, pass on to the second subject, and consider 

 whether the Flint implements are as old as the beds in 



