A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE
larger, with a length of 5¼ in. These two celts are similar in general character, being worked on the side in three main triangular curved faces, of which one includes the cutting edge. A curious example is a celt from Royton Park, of which one side only is flattened. The material is a green-stone, and its size is somewhat great, being 9 in. in length by 2¾ in. wide. 'It is well polished and has a fine edge.'[1]
The other celts of the county fall chiefly under two classes, those which are smoothed all over, and those which, though worked with care, are not actually of smooth surface except near the cutting edge. Of the smooth kind that from Orford, seen in the photo No. 1 of Plate II. is a remarkable example. Its size is 5⅝ in. by 2¼ by 1¼; and its material is a 'hornstone flint.' The surface curves truly and is smoothly polished, while the cutting edge is continuous, smooth, and sharp. It is now in the museum at Warrington, near to where it was found.
Another typical celt is seen in the photo, Plate II.—2. It is of rough polished body which is smoothed towards the edge. Its length is 4 in., width 1⅝ in., and thickness ¾ in. The material is light-coloured limestone. This celt was found in Parliament Fields, Toxteth Park, Wavertree, and it remains appropriately in the public museum of the city of Liverpool. Most of the Lancashire celts, which are somewhat numerous, tend towards the last-named type. Two from the vicinity of Rochdale are examples. One of these from Wardle is 4¾ in. in length;[2] the other from Milnrow is somewhat larger, being 5 in. long by 2¾ broad: the material is black and very hard.[1] A polished flint celt was found at Morecambe in 1878, 5 ft. deep in the clay.[3] It seems to have been about 5 in. long by 2 broad. Another celt, found on Pilling Moss, also in North Lancashire, seems to have been of curious size, measuring 7 in. by 3¾ in breadth.
Other celts, of which no complete description is available, were found near Blackpool in the sandhills toward Lytham, at Chorlton-cum-Hardy in Back Lane, at Droylesden in the Moss, at Lancaster, and apparently at 'Sawick' in the Moss, about nine miles from 'Martin Mere.'[4]
A stone celt 8¼ in. long by 2½ wide was found near Weeton in the Fylde, the site of some British interments probably of the Bronze Age. A flint celt of smaller size was found at Walmsley near Bolton, in a tumulus of boulders containing a skeleton and an urn, which from its decoration seems to be of the Bronze Age. This association lends to the celt an historical importance. Small flint instruments have been found in tumuli and interments at Cliviger, Littleboro,' and Stonyhurst also.
Three curious implements should be mentioned. One of them is specially of interest, and seems to be unique among the records of the celts found in the county. This is a stone celt, or 'axe,' found in the Liverpool Docks,[5] with the rare feature of a groove down the sides for the better fitting or fixing of the handle.[6] The second is a roughly chipped
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information of Mr. S Andrew.
- ↑ Fishwick, History of Rochdale, p. 4.
- ↑ Weld MSS.
- ↑ Leigh, Natural Hist. of Lanc., Ches., and the Peak, Bk. i. pp. 17. 181. Sawick is generally identified with Salwick in the Fylde: though Martin Mere is variously identified with Marton Mere in the Fylde, and Martin Mere near to Southport.
- ↑ Trans. Hist. Soc. of Lanc, and Ches., 1867, p. 15.
- ↑ Two similar implements of interesting character are exhibited at Ashton-under-Lyne, in the Stanford Park Museum, but the probability is that they were imported. It is interesting to compare these with those used in the mines of Alderley Edge (Roeder: L.C.A. xix. 1901).
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