Some Un- Described Articles in the Stourhead Collection. 263 



I have lately acquired the original drawing of this weapon, by 

 Mr. Crocker. It was evidently made at the time of the discovery, 

 when more of the thick coating of earth and rust adhered to it, and 

 when it was longer than at present, as a broken off point is repre- 

 sented. On the same sheet is a sketch of the group of barrows 

 south (west) of Stonehenge, in one of which (No. 3) it was found* 

 and a drawing of the Stonehenge Urn, found in No. 1. 



This specimen is the only one of the kind in the Stourhead Col- 

 lection. 



The description given in "Ancient Wiltshire" of the weapon 

 from Wilsford, as affected " by the action of fire," does not apply to 

 this specimen, for though much thickened, particularly at the edges, 

 by the oxydation of the metal, it bears no appearance of having 

 been burnt. Its form is not distorted, and the side loops are well 

 preserved. It is fairly represented in the woodcut, Fig. 5. 



Bronze dagger and spear-heads have been grouped into three 

 divisions according to their structure : — I., such as are inserted in 

 the handle by means of a single tang; II., those fastened to the 

 handles with rivets (sometimes of wood, sometimes of bronze) ; III.j 

 those which were formed with a socket into which the handle was 

 inserted, and furnished with side loops for tying on. The last-men- 

 tioned are the most modern, extending down to the Roman or even 

 to later periods : and it has been argued that if these are found in 

 British barrows, the date of such barrows must be comparatively 

 recent. But in this instance only, has a socketed spear been found 

 in a Wiltshire barrow, and that under exceptional circumstances, 1 as 

 it did not occur with the original interment, but was dug up " im- 

 mediately under the turf," and consequently can only be regarded 

 " as a mere waif," as Dr. Thurnam himself expresses it, and can 

 afford no evidence as to the age of the barrow. 



All the daggers and spear-heads that have been found in Wiltshire 



1 An implement of this form was found at Hagbourne, Bucks=, in 1805, but it 

 affords no evidence on the question ; for the interment in which it was found 

 contained horse- trappings and gold and silver coins. It was of Soman or Saxon 

 date, certainly not Ancient British. Vide '* Archseologia," vol. xliii., p. 446. 



