Preface. 



T, 



he most necessary basis for all researches in prehistoric 

 archaeology is an.exact knowledge of the antiquities themselves, as 

 it is impossible to draw conclusions from the combinations of anti- 

 quities in the graves or from the local distribution of certain types 

 without being familiar with the forms of antiquities concerned. 



The study of forms for their own sake is thus quite as indis- 

 pensable to the archaeologist as grammatical studies are to the 

 linguist, and when published, the value of this study should not be 

 estimated from its immediate results only, but it should also be 

 considered as a contribution to the material accessible to the scientific 

 public. Upon this principle I have given in the following pages a 

 description of the cruciform brooches of Norway, recording all the 

 varieties even when my explanation of the facts may seem doubtful, 

 or when I have not been able to give any satisfactory explanation 

 at all. 



As the history of cruciform brooches, in its main features, has 

 already been given in several publications, my chief purpose has 

 not been to start any new theories, but to give a complete survey 

 of the wholo material in order to establish a basis for current 

 opinions of the subject. For this purpose I have found it desirable 

 to give as many illustrations as possible - - tåken partly from other 

 publications and partly from original drawings and photographs — 

 although the number of figures may thus seem rather out of pro- 

 portion to the text. My conclusions will be found new only in 

 very few points, and I do not pretend to have made any discoveries 

 of importance. But with regard to some questions where opinions 

 are divided, I hope to have afforded the means to a better under - 

 standing, for instance as to the origin of the type, and the relations 



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