EARLY TRADE IN BLACK AND RED CORAL 241 



of ornaments of precious stones. They used cornelian, 

 amethyst, garnet, turquoise, lapis-lazuU, and other precious 

 stones, but rarely, if ever, red coral. 



We mav now consider the evidence of an early trade in 

 red coral in another group of countries. Some years ago a 

 great bronze shield was found in the bed of the river 

 Witham in Lincolnshire which bears five large pieces of 

 red coral, three arranged in a triangle in the centre and two 

 at the sides. Each piece is circular in outline and was ground 

 to form a convex surface and polished. This shield is sup- 

 posed to belong to the early Iron Age. 



Armour decorated with coral in a similar way has also 

 been found in Ireland. 



How did the Celts of Britain and Ireland in those early 

 days get their coral to ornament their arms ? The answer 

 to this question has been given by Reinach,^ who traces the 

 trade in coral from the Mediterranean Sea through Gaul to 

 the British Isles. So important does he consider this trade 

 to have been that he speaks of a " coral epoch " in the history 

 of the Ancient Gauls. He tells us it was used for ornament- 

 ing weapons of ceremony, shields, armour, fibulae, and other 

 things made of bronze, but rarely used on iron or gold. It 

 was also used as a medicine in various disorders. 



This trade in coral, however, came to an end with the 

 Roman Conquest, for the Romans required all the coral 

 they could get for their trade with India by way of Alexandria 

 and the Red Sea as described in the Periplits. From that 

 time onwards red enamel seems to have been used by the 

 Celts as a substitute for coral. 



It would be interesting to trace the history of the trade 

 in coral from the days of the Roman Empire to the present 

 time, but that is a task that must be left to the patience 

 and skill of the trained historian. 



A few words may be said, however, about a series of 

 events in the sixteenth century which heralded an important 

 and critical epoch in the history of the coral fishery. 



The later years of tlje Wars of the Crusaders had brought 



^ S. Reinach, " Le Corail dans I'industrie celtique," Revue Celtique, 

 tome .XX., 1899. 



