A HISTORY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 



loosely connected with the other similar tribes or settlements. For 

 example, the settlement upon the rising ground which surrounds St. 

 Mary's Church at Nottingham would not be very closely bound to the 

 neighbouring settlement upon Calverton Hill. 1 On the other hand 

 the tie which united the inhabitants of any single village was very 

 close, most of the land being held in common by the whole community. 

 Hence it is that the civilization of the Celts exhibits such a curious 

 mixture of what is primitive, and what is highly developed. They 

 lacked what the Romans enjoyed through their stricter national organiza- 

 tion. But, on the other hand, the very intensity of the clan life of the 

 Celts furnished more frequent exercise for the inspiration of their poets 

 and artists. The Celtic love of music is symbolized for us in the harp- 

 shaped brooch which was found at Creswell. Their power of design may 

 be more doubtfully traced in the mouldings of the bronze objects which 

 we shall now have to enumerate. 



We have followed the development of stone implements from the 

 rude quartzite lumps which were found in the lowest stratum at Creswell, 

 to the finely finished tools which were still used in the Bronze Age. 

 We pursue a similar line of advance as we come first upon the flat bronze 

 adze or axe which is a copy in metal of the most elaborate stone 

 weapons ; secondly, upon the palstave, consisting of a long axe-shaped 

 piece of bronze, with flanged edges in order to grip the wooden handle, 

 the handle being split to receive the palstave. In the third stage the 

 celt was made hollow so as to receive the end of the wooden handle entire, 

 and was often furnished with a loop through which a thong was passed, 

 in order the better to secure the handle to the head. In the Castle 

 Museum, Nottingham, is a transitional form, a looped palstave. 



We will now consider in order the discoveries of bronze objects 

 which have taken place within the county : 



A hoard of bronze objects of a most important character was discovered 

 in the course of some building operations at Great Freeman Street, 

 Nottingham, in 1860. The objects, which were exhibited at a meeting 

 of the Society of Antiquaries of London 8 on 21 February, 1861, by 

 Mr. Thomas Close, F.S.A., comprised : sixteen socketed and looped 

 celts, one palstave, four socketed spear-heads, one knife with flat tang, six 

 fragments of swords, one long ferrule gj inches long, a fragment of a quad- 

 rangular tube, and what was described as ' part of a circular ornament.' 

 The accumulation of a number of perfect and imperfect articles of bronze 

 in one spot is of great interest. All the fragments were found quite close 

 together buried in the sandy soil at a depth of 3 ft. 6 in. from the 

 surface. These were evidently buried in the earth for safety, and they 

 doubtless represent the hoard, possibly all the wealth, of some individual 

 who knew the commercial value of bronze. 



The fragments of swords are suggestive. There are many instances 

 on record of the discovery of several short sections of bronze swords which 

 have apparently been broken up purposely into convenient lengths for 



1 Wright, Celt. Rom. and Sax. nz. ' Prix. Soc. Antij. Lond. and Ser. vol. i, pp. 332-333. 



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