45 



Somme, near Abbeville. A comparison of his description, 

 as well as of the engraving appended, shews this sword to 

 have been nearly identical in form and size with those found 

 in Ireland. This description, which applies in a remarkable 

 manner to the sword exhibited to the Academy, is as follows : 

 " Salame et sa poignee ne font qu'un tout solidenient af- 

 fermi ; elle a deux tranchans, et, loin d'etre terminee en 



pointe, elle est obtuse et arrondie a son extremite II 



n'y manque que I'osier tresse, ou la corde, ou le bois, ouenfin 

 la substance qui entouroit la sole pour former une poignee 



solide La lame prolongee forme la soie sur laquelle 



est fixee la traverse de la poignee par le moyen de deux 

 clous rives ; et la masse imparfaitement arrondie qui la ter 



mine est traversee et maintenue par cette meme soie 



Longueurtotale,33 pouces lOlignes; lame seule, 28 pouces 

 10 lignes ; poignee, 5 pouces ; largeur de la lame a la poig- 

 nee, 2 pouces 3 lignes." 



If it be kept in recollection, that the French inch is some- 

 what greater than the English, these measurements will be 

 seen to correspond surprisingly with those of the sword found 

 at Lame. M. Mongez's paper exhibits great research and 

 learning. He quotes passages at length, from Polybius, Plu- 

 tarch's Life of Camillus, Dion Cassius, and Strabo, which 

 describe with considerable minuteness the swords which the 

 Gauls used in their engagements with the Romans ; and he 

 rests his argument not only on the identity he alleges of these 

 descriptions with that of the sword found near Abbeville, but 

 also on the fact of bronze and brazen ornaments having been 

 found with skeletons having similar iron or steel weapons 

 about them, discovered in 1788 at Velu, near Bapaume, in 

 Artois. He adds, " Je puis done assurer que I'epee qui est 

 sous les yeux de la classe est I'epee gauloise decrite par lea 

 auteurs anciens. J'ajouterai que c'est la seule a ma con- 

 naissance qui soit conservee. On jugera d'apres cela com- 

 bien elle est precieuse pour I'etude des costumes anciens." 



