A HISTORY OF CORNWALL 



6. At Higher Roseworthy l (Camborne) fragments of 40 to 50 socketed 

 celts of bronze were found in a pit about i ft. deep covered by a small stone. 



The secret burial of collections of metal of this kind points to a primi- 

 tive condition of the population of Cornwall. The aim was to secure 

 treasure and valuable belongings of this character from depredations of 

 enemies. It has been believed that in order to hide such deposits successfully 

 remote and unfrequented spots were selected, and this doubtless was so ; but 

 in the case of the Kenidjack Cliff hoard it seems possible that the bronze 

 valuables were buried for safety under or near a stone-built dwelling. Apart 

 from hoards such as the foregoing, some bronze weapons have been dis- 

 covered from time to time. There are records of a dagger or small sword 

 1 6 in. long, which was found with a palstave at Benallack, near Par ; 2 a 

 smaller dagger, 8| in. long, found in tin stream-works at St. Ewe ; 3 a fine 

 spear-head and a small chisel at Pentuan ; 4 a double-looped palstave of very 

 rare type found at Penvores, in the parish of Mawgan-in-Meneage; 5 and 

 isolated celts at Altarnun, 6 Carn Brea, 7 Launceston, 8 St. Merryn," and 

 Penzance, 10 and some of these were found in company with Roman coins. 11 



Although it has generally been believed that the presence of copper 

 in Cornwall was not known at such an early period, the discovery of a stone 

 with a depression made in the surface, which might have been a mould for 

 casting celts, in company with a small hollowed basin of greenstone, in a field 

 below the vicarage of Altarnun, 12 and of a stone mould for casting buckles at 

 Camelford, 13 render it possible that some of the bronze implements may have 

 been actually made in the county. 



The gold ornaments found in Cornwall are of the greatest archaeological 

 interest, and deserve careful study. They comprise no less than four examples 

 of those crescent-shaped plates to which the terms lunette, diadem, and gorget 

 have at various times and by different writers been applied. Their general forms 

 and their decorative details will be understood from the accompanying figures. 



One beautiful Cornish example was found near Penzance, and is now 

 in the British Museum. It was figured by Lysons in Magna Britannia 14 in 

 1813 or 1814, and the engraving shows very clearly the definite Bronze-Age 

 type of ornamental forms used. These consist of lozenges, triangles, zig-zags, 

 etc., and the only curves introduced are those formed by the ornament 

 following the outline of the gorget. 



A second example on record is said to have been found in the parish 

 of St. Juliot, but unfortunately it is not known where it is at present. It 

 was seen many years ago by Mr. Albert Way, from whom an outline 

 drawing was obtained by Mr. Edward Smirke. 16 



Two other gold lunulae and a bronze celt of early type were found on 

 the estate at Harlyn, in the parish of Padstow, before the year 1865. The 

 objects were claimed as treasure-trove by the Duchy of Cornwall, and were 



I Trans. Penz. Nat. Hist, and Antiq. Sac. (1880-1), 74. 

 ' Borkse, Naen. Corn. 5. 



' Borlase, Antiq. o/Cornto. 311. * Trans. Penz. Nat. Hist, and Antlq. See. ii, 88 ; now in museum. 



5 Evans, Bronze Imp. 95. 



6 Journ. Roy. last. Corntv. (l888),35o. 7 Borlase, Antiq . z 8 1 . 



8 Evans, Bronze Imp. 119. Journ. Roy. Inst. Corntv. ii, 136. 



10 Evans, Bronze Imp. 81. " Borlase, Naen. Corn. 5. 



II Journ. Roy. Inst. Corniv. (1849), 57. 1J Evans, Bronze Imp. 438. 



14 Vol. iii, plate opposite page ccxxi. 15 Journ. Roy. Inst. Cornea, ii, 135. 



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