They were almost always painted, and inlaid with gold, or ornamented with figures in relief; occasionally symbols were introduced into the shield, which gave rise to the introduction of armorial bearings, as every succeeding race preserved its own particular symbol.
A nearer examination of the weapons here mentioned would suffice to shew that the purity in the form and workmanship, which we so much admired in the bronze-period, had been supplanted, and had given place to a totally different taste. We no longer find anything corresponding to the splendid swords, battle-axes, bosses of shields, and lures. But this difference becomes more plain and obvious when we place before our eyes the trinkets and ornaments of the iron-period.
As a characteristic ornament of this period, we must point out the oval shell-shaped breast-clasps, as they are termed, of brass. They consist chiefly of a convex plate of metal which is usually gilded, to which another metal plate is attached, having open-work and loop ornaments, so that the gilding of the lower plate shewed through. On the reverse the iron pin of the brooch is placed. Probably they may have served as female ornaments; and they are found usually in pairs, whence we may conclude that they were worn one
