By the Rec. E. II Goddard. 



89 



5, Cross-bow catch of bone, figured full size. It measures 1 Jin. 

 in Length, by lin. in breadth and lin. in height. The part dotted 

 in the figure is restored in plaster of Paris. It is pierced by a hole 

 for the iron spindle on which it revolved. 



(). The steel catch of an arbalist, or cross-bow of the sixteenth (?) 

 Dentury, 1 showing how the catch is fixed in the stock — with the 

 groove for the bolt to lie in. It will be seen that this catch is 

 almost precisely similar to the Roman example, except that it is of 

 steel and of a larger size. It is here reproduced one-half the size 

 of the original. When strung the string of the cross-bow is drawn 

 back and catches behind the upstanding teeth, the butt-end of the 

 arrow or bolt lying between them. The catch revolves freely on a 

 central spindle, and, when the bow is strung, is kept from turning 

 over by a trigger which catches a projection underneath, shown in 

 the figure of the Roman example. As soon as this trigger is loosed 

 the catch instantly revolves on its axis, owing to the pressure of the 

 string ; the string is loosed and flies forward, thus propelling the 

 bolt which lies against it. It is curious that the mechanism of the 

 bone catch and that of steel should be so nearly identical when 

 one considers that one thousand years or more must have elapsed 

 between the dates of their respective manufacture. 



In addition to the objects figured, there were found a long and 

 very narrow knife blade of iron 4 Jin. long in the blade, 2 Jin. in the 

 tang, and Jin. wide — A second knife blade measuring 3Jin. in the 

 blade and 1 Jin. the tang — a large round-headed nail, with the point 

 clenched, 2in. long — a buckle ? — two small iron plugs ? — an iron 

 ring ljin. in diameter outside — two or three other pieces of iron — 

 and a curious iron object curved, 4fin. long with two iron bars 

 projecting from it at right angles ljin. in length. This piece of 

 iron still retains on its inner face traces of the wood to which it was 

 fastened, and as it much resembles in shape the iron side pieces on 

 the stocks of some of the later cross-bows figured by Meyrick, &u., 

 it seems not unlikely that it may have occupied the same position 



1 This figure is from a drawing kindly made by Mr. T. W. Leslie from an 

 arbalist in the possession of Mr. E. C. Trepplin, F.S.A. 



