A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



larger, with a length of 5! in. These two celts are similar in general 

 character, being worked on the side in three main triangular curved faces, 

 of which one includes the cutting edge. A curious example is a celt 

 from Royton Park, of which one side only is flattened. The material is a 

 green-stone, and its size is somewhat great, being 9 in. in length by a| in. 

 wide. ' It is well polished and has a fine edge.' 1 



The other celts of the county fall chiefly under two classes, those which 

 are smoothed all over, and those which, though worked with care, are not 

 actually of smooth surface except near the cutting edge. Of the smooth 

 kind that from Orford, seen in the photo No. i of Plate II. is a remarkable 

 example. Its size is 5f in. by 2i by ij ; and its material is a 'hornstone 

 flint.' The surface curves truly and is smoothly polished, while the cutting 

 edge is continuous, smooth, and sharp. It is now in the museum at 

 Warrington, near to where it was found. 



Another typical celt is seen in the photo, Plate II.-2. It is of rough 

 polished body which is smoothed towards the edge. Its length is 4 in., 

 width i fin., and thickness fin. The material is light-coloured limestone. 

 This celt was found in Parliament Fields, Toxteth Park, Wavertree, and it 

 remains appropriately in the public museum of the city of Liverpool. Most 

 of the Lancashire celts, which are somewhat numerous, tend towards the 

 last-named type. Two from the vicinity of Rochdale are examples. One of 

 these from Wardle is 4! in. in length ; * the other from Milnrow is some- 

 what larger, being 5 in. long by 2f broad : the material is black and very hard. 1 

 A polished flint celt was found at Morecambe in 1878, 5 ft. deep in the 

 clay. 8 It seems to have been about 5 in. long by 2 broad. Another celt, 

 found on Pilling Moss, also in North Lancashire, seems to have been of 

 curious size, measuring 7 in. by 3! in breadth. 



Other celts, of which no complete description is available, were found 

 near Blackpool in the sandhills toward Lytham, at Chorlton-cum-Hardy in 

 Back Lane, at Droylesden in the Moss, at Lancaster, and apparently at 

 ' Sawick ' in the Moss, about nine miles from ' Martin Mere.'* 



A stone celt 8j in. long by 2 J wide was found near Weeton in the Fylde, 

 the site of some British interments probably of the Bronze Age. A flint celt 

 of smaller size was found at Walmsley near Bolton, in a tumulus of boulders 

 containing a skeleton and an urn, which from its decoration seems to be of 

 the Bronze Age. This association lends to the celt an historical importance. 

 Small flint instruments have been found in tumuli and interments at Cliviger, 

 Littleboro,' and Stonyhurst also. 



Three curious implements should be mentioned. One of them is 

 specially of interest, and seems to be unique among the records of the 

 celts found in the county. This is a stone celt, or ' axe,' found in the 

 Liverpool Docks, 6 with the rare feature of a groove down the sides for 

 the better fitting or fixing of the handle. 6 The second is a roughly chipped 



1 Information of Mr. S. Andrew. s Fishwick, History of Rochdale, p. 4. * Weld MSS. 



4 Leigh, Natural Hist, of Lane., Ches., and the Peak, Bk. i. pp. 17, 181. Sawick is generally identified with 

 Salwick in the Fylde : though Martin Mere is variously identified with Marton Mere in the Fylde, and 

 Martin Mere near to Southport. 



6 Trans. Hist. Soc. of Lane, and Ches., 1867, p. 15. 



6 Two similar implements of interesting character are exhibited at Ashton-under-Lyne, in the Stanford 

 Park Museum, but the probability is that they were imported. It is interesting to compare these with those 

 used in the mines of Alderley Edge (Roeder : L.C.A. xix. 1901). 



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