518 THE NATURAL nTSTORY REYTEW. 



(4.) The " Iron age," wlien tliat metal had superseded bronze for 

 cutting instruments. 



Sir John Lubbock devotes his first chapters to the discussion of 

 the remains of the " Bronze age," and endeavours to show how they 

 may be distinguished from those of the Stone period on the one hand, 

 and those of the more recent age of Iron on the other. The 

 " commonest and perhaps most characteristic objects" belonging to 

 the Bronze age, are the so-called " celts," found in the Irish and 

 Danish tumuli. More than two thousand of these exist in the 

 different Irish collections. Swords, daggers, spear- heads and javelins, 

 are likewise common objects in series of bronze instruments. The 

 personal ornaments most frequently met with of the same date, are 

 bracelets, pins, and rings. The only remains of dwellings which can 

 be confidently referred to the Bronze age, are some of the Lake- 

 villages of Western and Central Switzerland, in several of which 

 the number of implements of this metal found have been very large. 

 But our author is of opinion that the great monuments of Abury 

 and Stonehenge should also be referred to this period. Many of our 

 readers will, no doubt, recollect the able article in the Quarterly of 

 J uly, 1 860, in which Mr. Ferguson has attempted to prove that both 

 these monuments belong to post-Iloman times. One of the chief 

 arguments used in favour of this view was, that " the Itoman road 

 from Bath to Marlborough, either passes under Silbury hill " 

 (which is on all sides admitted to be artificial, and most probably of 

 the same date as Abury), " or makes a sudden bend to get round it, 

 in a manner that no Eoman road in Britain at least, was ever known 

 to do." If the former supposition, which is maintained by Mr. 

 Ferguson to be the "inevitable conclusion" from a careful examina- 

 tion of the circumstances be admitted, Silbury hill must have been 

 erected subsequently to the time of the Eomans leaving the country. 

 But Sir John Lubbock stoutly maintains the contrary, and, as the 

 point is one of some importance, Ave give his reply to Mr. Fergu- 

 son's arguments in his own words. 



" Startled by this argument, and yet satisfied that there must 

 be some error, I turned to the Ordnance map, and found to my 

 surprise, that the Eoman road was distinctly laid down as passing, not 

 under, but at the side of Silbury hill. Not content with this, I 

 persuaded Prof. Tyndall to visit the locality with me, and we con- 

 vinced ourselves, that upon this point the map was quite correct. 

 The impression on our minds was, that the Roman engineer, in con- 



