502 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



In several examples of this form the socket is unusually long 

 as compared with the blade. In these cases it seems difficult to 

 understand how the attachment was made, as the apertures are so far 

 up the socket as to render cording a clumsy mode of fixing the head to 

 the shaft. In some of these specimens, as also in the case of some of 

 the slender-looped type, the hase of the socket appears to have been 

 hammered in at the mouth, so as to grip the shaft; and in such cases it 

 may be doubted if the apertures in the blade were used for attachment. 

 However, the type of spear-head under consideration is rare ; the col 

 lection of the Academy contains only eight examples, and anomalies in 

 the form may be accounted for on the supposition that the form is 

 transitional, or a side product in which the features of more than one 

 type have been copied or survive. This type is rare in England and 

 Scotland, as well as in Ireland. Evans mentions four English examples 

 and one Scotch. 



It is of interest to note that the preceding forms, which have been 

 called transitional are remarkable as including the largest spear- 

 heads known. The tradition of manufacture appears to be broken ; and 

 freaks of a more or less exaggerated character would appear to indicate 

 the absence of a governing idea preceding the settled form of the 

 riveted spear-head. This period probably coincides with the introduc- 

 tion of improved methods of casting. 



Evans mentions a spear-head from Surrey of the leaf-shaped class, 

 20 inches in length (p. 316). A similar one in the Grainger collec- 

 tion, Belfast, measures 2 If inches. Examples of the leaf-shaped form, 

 with rivet-holes of such length, are very exceptional. They rarely 

 exceed 15 inches in length. Of 137 specimens in the Academy collec- 

 tion the longest is 17|- inches. It resembles figure 19. Several speci- 

 mens of forms I regard as belonging to the transitional period, exceed 

 these figures, and in proportion to total numbers the unusual length of 

 the spear -heads of this class is very remarkable. 



The following are the most notable references : — 

 "With loops connecting the blade with the socket : 



British Museum (longest found in Ireland), 



Royal Irish Academy, . 



Do., 



Do. (Restored length), 

 Do., 



Mr. Robert Day's collection, Cork, 



Inches. 

 36 

 26^ 

 23 

 20 

 171 

 22i 



