Primitive Man Part 35

The remains found in the tombs of Hallstadt are almost equally divided between these two modes of inhumation. About half of the tombs contain nothing but ashes; in the other half, corpses are laid extended, according to the custom which was most prevalent in the iron age.

Lastly, as we have just stated, some of them contained skeletons which were partially burnt. Sometimes it was the head, sometimes the whole bust, or sometimes the lower limbs which were consumed, the ashes being deposited by the side of the intact portions of the skeleton. Fig. 238, which is designed from one of the ill.u.s.trations in M. Ramsauer's ma.n.u.script work 'Les Tombes de Hallstadt,' in the Museum of Saint-Germain, represents a skeleton, part of which (the chest) has been consumed. The ashes are contained in small earthen vessels which are seen near the corpse.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 237.--Funeral Ceremonies during the Iron Epoch.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 238.--A Skeleton, portions of which have been burnt, from the Tombs of Hallstadt.]

From the _data_ which we have acquired as to this custom of burning dead bodies during the iron epoch, we have been able to represent _the funeral ceremonies of the iron epoch_ in the preceding figure.

The corpse is placed on a funeral pile, and the stone door of the tumulus is raised in order to deposit in it the cinerary urn. The relations of the deceased accompany the procession clothed in their handsomest garments and adorned with the bronze and iron ornaments which were then in vogue. One of those present may be seen throwing some precious objects into the flames of the funeral pile in honour of the deceased.

The tombs of Hallstadt are the locality in which the largest number of objects, such as weapons, instruments and implements, have been met with, which have tended to throw a light upon the history of the transition from the bronze to the iron epoch. All these objects are either of bronze or iron; but in the weapons the latter predominates.

Swords, spear-heads, daggers, knives, socketed hatchets and winged hatchets form the catalogue of the sharp instruments. In the preceding pages (figs. 233, 234, 235 and 236) we have given representations of swords and daggers designed from the specimens in the Museum of Saint-Germain. In all these weapons the handle is made of bronze and the blade of iron. Warriors' sword-belts are frequently formed of plates of bronze, and are embellished with a _repousse_ ornamentation executed by the hammer.

In fig. 239 we give a representation of a necklace with pendants which is most remarkable in its workmans.h.i.+p. It may be readily seen that art had now attained some degree of maturity. This necklace was a prelude to the marvellous works of art which were about to be brought to light under the skies of Greece.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 239.--A Necklace with Pendants, from the Tombs of Hallstadt.]

The bracelets which have been met with by hundreds, hair pins and bronze fibulae are all wrought with taste, and are often adorned with very elegant pendants. In figs. 240 and 241 we show two bracelets, the sketches for which were taken from the designs in the ma.n.u.script of the 'Tombes de Hallstadt.'

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 240.--Bracelet, from the Tombs of Hallstadt.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 241.--Bracelet, from the Tombs of Hallstadt.]

We may add a few amber necklace-beads and some of enamel, and we have then concluded the series of personal ornaments.

In the tombs of Hallstadt, nearly 200 bronze vessels have been discovered, some of which are as much as 36 inches in height. These bronze vessels were composed of several pieces skilfully riveted but not soldered. Plates 242 and 243 are reproduced from the same beautiful ma.n.u.script.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 242.--Bronze Vase, from the Tombs of Hallstadt.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 243.--Bronze Vase, from the Tombs of Hallstadt.]

In the tombs of Hallstadt some small gla.s.s vessels have also been discovered.

Remains of pottery are very plentiful, and a decided improvement is shown in their workmans.h.i.+p. Some gold trinkets were also met with in these tombs. The gold was, doubtless, obtained from the mines of Transylvania.

African ivory abounds in these graves--a fact which indicates commercial intercourse with very distant countries. This product, as well as the gla.s.s, was introduced into Europe by the Phoenicians. The inhabitants of central Europe obtained ivory from Tyre and Sidon by means of barter.

The ivory objects which were found at Hallstadt consisted of the heads of hair-pins and the pommels of swords.

There were no traces whatever of money, the use of it not being then established in that part of Europe.

The population which lived in the vicinity of the Salzburg mines were in reality rich; for the salt-mines were a source of great wealth to them at a period when the deposits of rock-salt in Poland, being still buried in the depths of the earth, were as yet unknown or inaccessible. In this way, we may account for the general opulence of these commercial nations, and for the elegance and taste displayed in the objects which have been found in the tombs of Hallstadt.

Guided by these various remains, it is not difficult to reproduce an ideal picture of _the warriors of the iron epoch_, a representation of which we have endeavoured to give in fig. 244. The different pieces of the ornaments observed on the horseman, on the foot-soldier, and also on the horse, are drawn from specimens exhibited in the Museum of Saint-Germain which were modelled at Hallstadt. The helmet is in perfect preservation and resembles those which, shortly after, were worn by the Gallic soldiers. The bosses, also, on the horse's harness, ere long came into use both among the Gauls and also the Romans.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 244.--Warriors of the Iron Epoch.]

Next to the tombs of Hallstadt, we must mention the tombs discovered on the plateau of La Somma, in Lombardy, which have contributed a valuable addition to the history of the earliest period of the iron epoch.

On this plateau there were discovered certain tombs, composed of rough stones of a rectangular form. In the interior there were some vases of a shape suited to the purpose, containing ashes. The material of which they were made was fine clay; they had been wrought by means of the potter's wheel, were ornamented with various designs, and also provided with encircling projections. On some of them, representations of animals may be seen which indicate a considerable progress in the province of art. The historic date of these urns is pointed out by _fibulae_ (clasps for cloaks), iron rings and bracelets, sword-belts partly bronze and partly iron, and small bronze chains. The tombs of La Somma belong, therefore, to a period of transition between the bronze and iron epochs. According to M. Mortillet, they date back to the seventh century before Christ.

Under the same head we will cla.s.s the tombs of Saint-Jean de Belleville, in Savoy. At this spot several tombs belonging to the commencement of the iron epoch have been explored by MM. Borel and Costa de Beauregard.

The latter, in a splendid work published in Savoy, has given a detailed description of these tombs.[41]

Some of the skeletons are extended on their backs, others have been consumed, but only partially, like those which we have already mentioned in the tombs of Hallstadt. Various objects, consisting chiefly of trinkets and ornaments, have been met with in these tombs. We will mention in particular the _fibulae_, bracelets and necklaces made of amber, enamelled gla.s.s, &c.

In figs. 245 and 246 we give a representation of two skeleton arms, which are encircled with several bracelets just as they were found in these tombs.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figs. 245, 246.--Fore-arm, encircled with Bracelets, found in the Tombs of Belleville (Savoy).]

The lacustrine settlements of Switzerland have contributed a valuable element towards the historic reconstruction of the iron epoch.

In different parts of the lakes of Bienne and Neuchatel there are pile-works which contain iron objects intermingled with the remains of preceding ages. But there is only one lacustrine settlement in Switzerland which belongs exclusively to the earliest period of the Iron Age--that of La Tene on the Lake of Neuchatel.

Most of the objects which have been met with in this lacustrine settlement have been recovered from the mud in which they had been so remarkably preserved, being sheltered from any contact with the outer air. There are, however, many spots in which piles may be seen, where objects of this kind have not been found; but if subsequent researches are attended with any results, we shall be forced to attribute to the settlement of La Tene a considerable degree of importance, for the piles there extend over an area of 37 acres.

The remains of all kinds which have been found in this settlement are evidently of Gallic origin. It is an easy matter to prove this by comparing the weapons found in this settlement with those which were discovered in the trenches of Alise-Sainte-Reine, the ancient _Alesia_, where, in its last contest against Caesar, the independence of ancient Gaul came to an end.

M. de Rougemont has called attention to the fact that these weapons correspond very exactly to the description given by Diodorus Siculus of the Gallic weapons. Switzerland thus seems to have been inhabited in the earliest iron epoch by Gallic tribes, that is to say, by a different race from that which occupied it during the stone and bronze epochs; and it was this race which introduced into Switzerland the use of iron.

Among the objects collected in the lake settlement of La Tene, weapons are the most numerous; they consist of swords and the heads of spears and javelins. Most of them have been kept from oxidation by the peaty mud which entirely covered them, and they are, consequently, in a state of perfect preservation.

The swords are all straight, of no very great thickness, and perfectly flat. The blade is from 31 to 35 inches in length, and is terminated by a handle about 6 inches long. They have neither guards nor crosspieces.

Several of them were still in their sheaths, from which many of them have been drawn out in a state of perfect preservation, and even tolerably sharp.

Fig. 247 represents one of the iron swords from the Swiss lakes, which are depicted in M. Desor's memoir.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 247.--Iron Sword, found in one of the Swiss Lakes.]

On another sword, of which we also give a representation (fig. 248), a sort of damascening work extends over almost the whole surface, leaving the edges alone entirely smooth.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 248.--Sword with Damascened Blade, found in one of the Swiss Lakes.]

M. de Reffye, the archaeologist, accounts for this fact in the following way:--He is of opinion that the body of the blade is made of very hard unyielding iron, whilst the edges are made of small strips of mellower iron which have been subsequently welded and wrought by the hammer. This mode of manufacture enabled the soldier, when his sword was notched, to repair it by means of hammering. This was a most valuable resource during an epoch in which armies did not convey stores along with them, and when the soldier's baggage was reduced to very little more than he could personally carry. Several of these damascened blades have been found in the trenches of Alise.

The sheaths, the existence of which now for the first time comes under our notice, are of great importance on account of the designs with which they are ornamented. Most of these designs are engraved with a tool, others are executed in _repousse_ work. All of them show great originality and peculiar characteristics, which prevent them from being confounded with works of Roman art. One of these sheaths (fig. 249), which belongs to M. Desor's collection and is depicted in his memoir, represents the "horned horse," the emblem of Gaul, which is sufficient proof of the Gallic origin of the weapons found in the Lake of La Tene.

Below this emblem, there is a kind of granulated surface which bears some resemblance to s.h.a.green.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig 249.--Sheath of a Sword, found in one of the Swiss Lakes.]

This sheath is composed of two very thin plates of wrought iron laid one upon the other, except at the base, where they are united by means of a cleverly-wrought band of iron. At its upper extremity there is a plate, on one side of which may be seen the designs which we have already described, and on the other a ring, intended to suspend the weapon to the belt.

The lance-heads are very remarkable on account of their extraordinary shape and large size. They measure as much as 16 inches long, by 2 to 4 inches wide, and are double-edged and twisted into very diversified shapes. Some are winged, and others are irregularly indented. Some have perforations in the shape of a half-moon (fig. 250). The halberd of the middle ages was, very probably, nothing but an improvement on, or a deviation from, these singular blades.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 250.--Lance-head, found in one of the Swiss Lakes.]

Fragments of wooden staves have been met with which had been fitted into these spear-heads; they are slender, and shod with iron at one end.

The care with which these instruments are wrought proves that they are lance-heads, and not mere darts or javelins intended to be thrown to a distance and consequently lost. They certainly would not have taken so much pains with the manufacture of a weapon which would be used only once.