20 PERRY, Megalithic Monuments and Ancient Mines. 



" The process of melting the copper in these crucibles 

 differs in toto from that practised in any other country in 

 modern times ; but, as we shall see later, it is exactly the 

 same as that by which prehistoric man melted copper 

 and bronze for casting his rude implements of these 

 metals. It is hardly necessary to point out that in melt- 

 ing metals at the present day the crucible is imbedded in 

 the fuel of the furnace, the heat necessary for their fusion 

 being applied to its exterior. In the Japanese process, 

 however, the exterior of the crucible is not heated, but 

 the fire is made in the crucible itself and above it" (Gow- 

 land, op. tit., p. 281). The blast is led over the top of the 

 crucible. " The exterior of the crucible when taken out 

 of the furnace is barely red-hot. The effects of the high 

 temperature are only visible on the upper part of the 

 rim and in its interior, exactly what we find in the 

 crucibles and melting spoons of prehistoric man " - 8 

 " Should the copper ore treated by the Japanese smelting 

 process contain foreign metals such as tin, arsenic, anti- 

 mony, nickel and lead, the resulting copper will contain 

 these metals in varying proportions according to the 

 quantities of each which may have been present in the 

 ore. Similarly, and for the same reason, these metals are 

 also found in the celts and other early objects of copper 

 in Europe." - !> Professor Gowland gives a table which 

 records the analysis of objects taken from various places : 

 "those given are representative types, and are amply 

 sufficient to show how closely analogous in composition 

 the Japanese copper is to that of prehistoric times in 

 Europe. The average percentage of copper is practically 

 identical in both series, the nature of the impurities only 

 being different, and the proportion of sulphur higher in 



2S Gowland. Op. cit., p. 281. 

 29 Wd. 282. 



