506 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



rings, and tlie additional fact that in some of the countries on the west 

 coast of Africa nianilhis somewhat resembling these have been used as 

 currency, has caused it to be said that these were not bracelets, but 

 were money, and the name of ring- money has been given to them. It 

 is evident that these latter specimens behmg to later prehistoric peoples. 

 In Ireland these have been called Celtic; in France, Gaulish. 



Laissegraisse. — Fig. 162 represents one of these Gaulish torques or 

 collars, while tig, 163 represents a bracelet. They are both of the same 

 style, and were found about 1885 in the little hamlet of Laissegraisse, 

 department of Tarn, France, by a peasant while digging in his vineyard. 

 The author happened at that time to be in the city of Toulouse, and 

 accepted the kind offer of M, Cartailhac to visit the locality and inspect 

 the objects. They were found at about 18 inches beneath the surface, 

 just below the ordinary reach of plow or mattock, and it was only an 



Fig. 159. 



ENDS OF HEAVY BRACELETS, ARMLETS, TORQUES, ETC., IN GOLD OR BRONZE, SHOWING STYLE OF DECO- 

 RATION. 



Europe. 



B natural size. 



extraordinary and accidental stroke of the latter that showed a bril- 

 liant spot at the bottom of the hole. There were evidences of prehistoric 

 man in the shape of flints more or less worked, fragments of pottery 

 and bits of charcoal, but none had any particular relation to the gold 

 objects. They were not protected by box or inclosure in any way. It 

 will be seen from their work that they had been highly decorated, 

 made in repouss6, and soldered together. The details of the orna- 

 ments (fig. 161, a, h, c) and the mode of fastening (fig. 165, a, b, c) evince 

 a fair degree of civilized mechanical skill in their execution. 



Golden cinctures have been lately (1893) found at Goutras, and are 

 now in the Museum of Bordeaux. They are simply twisted coils with 

 large button-like ends. Industrially they resemble those from Laisse- 

 graisse, but artistically, they are nuich inferior. They were found en 

 cache, forming part of the stock of a goldsmith or a mint worker, com- 

 prising about four hundred pieces, weighing nigh 10,000 francs in gold. 



