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XVIII. 



OKNAMENTED BRONZE SPEAE-HEADS WITH APERTURES IN ; 

 THE BLADES. 



Plaies XLVI-XLVII. 

 By GEORGE COFFEY. 



Read Janhauy 13. Published February 8, 1913. 



In my paper on the classification of Spear-heads of the Bronze Age found in 

 Ireland, published in 1894, I touched upon a type of ornamented spear-head 

 with apertures in the blade, of which there are a number in the Academy's 

 collection, and I derived the type from the spear-heads with loops joined to 

 the base of the blade, these appearing to be a transitional form between the 

 looped and rivet-holed spear-heads. The manner in which I considered the 

 type evolved can be seen on reference to my paper, fig. 24, p. 499, and 

 figs. 27-30, p. 500.' ■ 



I am now somewhat doubtful as to the evolution of this type having taken 

 place in such a direct way, and am inclined to consider the openings in the 

 blade may also be due to the influence of a primitive class of spear-head 

 found in the Greek Islands. 



This is suggested by Montelius,- who includes in this class (as I did) the 

 spear-heads in which the openings in the blade are formed by the junction of 

 the wings and the loops ; he derives two examples found in Holstein from 

 England. They may, however, have come from Ireland, which was at that 

 period, according to my theory, in direct connexion with the Continent. The 

 original home of the spear-head with a tang and two side apertures is the^ 

 Greek Islands, where this type is known from the commencement of the 

 metal period, being, derived from a stone prototype and attached to the shaft 

 in the same manner ; that is by placing it in a split shaft and binding it in' 

 through the side apertures. Socketed spear-heads with openings in the 

 blades have been found in South Italy and Sicily, Austria, East Russia, and 

 France, but they are very rare in these countries. 



' Proc. R. I. A., vol. xix, p. 486. 



' Die Chronologie der altesteii Bronzezeit, p. 215. 



R.I.A. PKOC, VOL. XXX., SKOT. C. [63] 



