46 
the original as closely as possible in texture and colour. The 
method of applying the wool has, wherever possible, been 
reproduced. ‘Thirty-five ladies, the majority residing in Leek 
and its neighbourhood, have been engaged on this extensive 
piece of needlework. There are in all 1,512 figures represented. 
The tapestry originally formed one piece, and measured 227 feet 
in length by about 20 inches in breadth. Besides the principal 
subject (which occupies the central portion of the tapestry) there 
is an ornamental border at the top and the bottom of the field 
which is filled with a variety of representations. The initiation 
of the reproduction is due to Mrs. Wardle, of Leek. 
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOIREE. 
By GEORGE C. YATES, F-.S.A., Secretary of the Lancashire 
and Cheshire Antiquarian Society. November 8th, 1892. 
A large collection of pre-historic relics, &c., stone axes, per- 
forated stone hammers, arrow heads, flakes, scrapers, &c., was 
exhibited. 
My. Yates first gave a short account of stone axes, hatchets, or 
celts, and said that they were found in almost every quarter of 
the globe, and in many parts they were supposed to be thunder- 
bolts. In Cornwall they have medical virtues assigned to them, 
the water in which a celt has been boiled is considered a specific 
for rheumatism. In the north of England and in Scotland they 
are supposed to have preservative virtues, especially against 
cattle disease. Mr. Yates exhibited a stone celt, which he had 
got from a well in Brittany, where it had been placed to purify 
the water, and to secure a plentiful supply. In Germany they 
are regarded as thunderbolts, and on account of their valuable 
properties are preserved in families for hundreds of years. They 
preserve the owners from lightning, they perspire when a storm 
is coming on, they are good for diseases of man and beast, they 
increase the milk of cows, they assist the birth of children, and 
powder scraped from them may be taken with advantage for 
various infantile disorders. In Burmah, Assam, Japan, and a 
great part of Asia they are known as thunderbolts. 
In speaking of perforated axes, Mr. Yates said they were 
evidently used for the same purposes as the ordinary axes and 
hammers of the present day. They have in many countries 
shared with the more simply formed celts the attribution of a 
heavenly origin as thunderbolts, together with the superstitious 
reverence due to their supernatural descent. They were 
popularly known in Scotland till the close of last century as 
