72 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



used, and tlie names applied to the difierent parts of tte furnace. He- 

 says (p. 171) : — " Dans le cas de la ' mine ' (iron ore) c'est epigene, les 

 mineni's la designent sons le nom de mine a ^ gra de gabacli ' (graine d& 

 ble noir) ; this is seemingly the Celtic ' gran ' = ' grain, com, haul, 

 shot,' and gaba = a smith." He adds : — "Les mines de fer de Eancie 

 ont ete exploitees dans la plus haute anti quite, et elles ont toujours- 

 ete, une sorte de propriete commune, que les habitants du pays ont 

 sexds le droit d'exploiter." 



Page 187. — He describes one of the qualities of iron obtained from 

 these forges, and gives, as the name, by which it is known in the 

 country, '■^Cedat,'" which he explains as a " Variete de fer (Catalan) 

 qui casse a noir and a violette. Cest une qualite superieure a acier 

 natui'el. Elle est recherchee dans le commerce pour I'agricultui'e." 

 " May not this have to do with the Celtic Ceachta = ' plough,' a plough- 

 share." 



The fame of the Spanish steels was great in antiquity, and it is of 

 interest to point out one of the sources whence in all probability it 

 proceeded, and its connexion with Celtic races. 



At page 335, when speaking of the " Beamais," he says of 

 them : — "La race est evidemment une de ces nombreuses families 

 gauloises qui occupaient I'extreme midi de la province, connue sous le 

 nom d' ' Acquitaine,' avant I'occupation romaine. Les Benarenses 

 (Bearnais), and les Osquidates (habitants d'Aspe, d'Ossau, etBaretous) 

 formerent les premiers elements de notre race." 



The gold district of northern Spain extends southwards into the 

 province of Leon, as already shown, and is watered by the Sil and its 

 tributaries, all for the most part carrying gold in workable quantities, 

 at least for peasant workings, during the summer months. It would 

 seem at first sight that the natui'al outlet for the trade in gold dust 

 from this district should be by the valley of the Mino, and such may 

 have been the route taken by some of it, but between the city of Leon 

 and La Coruiia there exists, and has existed, from remote antiquity, a 

 trade route by which most of the traffic of merchandise between these 

 two points has been customarily carried on. Gadow, in the work 

 already cited ("In Northern Spain"), p. 171, when describing the 

 province or kingdom of Leon, says : — " The old kingdom of Leon is 

 connected with Galicia by one of the most famous roads in the whole of 

 Spain. Practically the only road mapped out by nature, it was fol- 

 lowed by all the successive masters, or would-be masters of the north- 

 west of the Peninsula." Then, in describing the "Maragatos," in 

 whose hands this trade has long been, and the district they inhabit, 



