‘17 
copper and tin were found in great quantities in our islands the 
bronze age began here earlier than in Denmark. Mr. Smith 
therefore concludes with great probability that “this form 
of symbol may have been imported with other bronze orna- 
ments through Ireland and Britain into Denmark, and there 
adopted by the native craftsmen and embellished with the 
spiral ornament which found its way along the amber route 
from the Adriatic.’’ Possibly someone may suggest that inas- 
much as there is evidence of Mycenean influence in our own 
islands, the spirals also came by the way of our islands into 
Denmark. So far, however, the spiral has apparently never 
been found on metal objects so far west as Britain during 
Mycenean times. 
The next point of interest is that the finds of bronze objects 
in Scandinavia have been so numerous that we are enabled 
to fix the relative and sometimes the absolute date of objects, 
such as this sun-disc ; and the dates that have been assigned 
to it by Dr. Mueller and Professor Montelius are respectively 
about 1,000 B.C. and 1,300 B.C. Further, the connection of 
Irish and Scandinavian art has also been established by Dr. 
Montelius, and this Trundholm find therefore gives us a fixed 
point for the chronology of the Irish bronze age. 
We have now to consider the connection of our own Lans- 
down disc with-the Irish discs, and it will at once be noted 
that there are strong points of resemblance in all three. 
All three are characterised by the concentric circles, and 
also by the existence of straight lines drawn in prolongation 
of radii from the centre of the disc. Moreover, the bronze 
disc agrees wth the Lansdown disc in the existence of the 
cheyrons, or triangles. But there are the following differences 
that may be noted. First, the roundlets in the Lansdown have 
the area within the circle plain and not ornamented with con- 
centric circles as in the others. Secondly, that both the 
straight lines drawn across the bands and also the chevrons 
or triangles are more marked and of greater importance in the 
Lansdown disc than in the others. Further,in the Lansdown 
disc the chevrons are more closely associated with the centre 
than in the bronze Irish discs. If these, as I venture to 
suggest, are symbolic of the rays of the sun, as are possibly 
also the straight lines drawn across the bands, I am inclined 
to think that the Irish examples show a certain decadence as 
compared with ours,and that they are, therefore, later in date. 
But on this point I hesitate to speak with any confidence. 
B 
