A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



central space between the two series of ridges, and also the margins 

 of the faces, are ornamented with shallow chevrons punched in. The 

 sides have been hammered into three facets, and this has produced 

 slight flanges at the margins of the faces. The facets are ornamented with 

 diagonal lines.' 1 



The Read celt is seen to have tended towards side flanges. The third, 

 from Rixton, shows also an incipient feature, in a low ridge, just perceptible 

 to the touch, about midway of the tang, obviously designed to resist the 

 thrust of the handle in use. See the photograph in Plate IV. No. i . The 

 Rixton celt is plain, though it has been erroneously described as ' decorated 

 with punctured lines.' There seems to be no information as to its discovery. 

 Its length is 6| in. The tang widens gradually from ijin. towards the cut- 

 ting edge, which outcurves, having 

 an extreme width of 3! in. 



The development of ridge and 

 flange illustrated by the foregoing 

 leads directly to the evolution of 

 the palstave. 3 



2. PALSTAVES 



Perhaps the simplest form of 

 palstave, nearest allied to the flat 

 celt, is that found at Southworth 

 near Warrington. It is not in 

 good preservation, but it seems 

 to be without side flanges, and 

 almost of flat section, broken only 

 by the definite ridge which was 

 designed to hold back the handle. 

 Its length is 3 in. from edge to 

 ridge, and 4! in. over all the pre- 

 served portion. The edge is not 

 outcurving, measuring only i| in. 

 at its greatest width. It is possible 

 that the portion of the tang which 

 is broken was pierced for a rivet 

 hole, a very unusual feature. See Plate IV. No. 2. 



The second of these implements, which is also in the museum at War- 

 rington, illustrates a further stage of development, revealing the palstave in its 

 simple form. The edge is still hardly outcurving, but the other end is grooved 

 for reception of the handle, showing a narrower section than the blade at that 

 point, and it is supported on each side by simple flanges and ridge, against 

 which to fix the handle. The length of the blade is 3^ in., and of the whole 

 6 in., with a width at the edge of 2j in., and at the ridge of i in. The thick- 



1 Evans, Bronze Imp. 47 and Fig. 6. 



8 An instrument which from the picture given, Leigh, Nat. Hist. Lanes, Plate iv. No. 4, seems like a 

 palstave, is recorded to have been found in a moss at Salwick, Martin Mere ; but it is not possible from 

 the illustration to define its precise nature, nor from the description to identify the site. 



230 



Fie. 13. BRONZE CELT WITH SLIGHT FLANGES FROM 

 READ. Scale, i : 2. (British Museum). 



