EARLY MAN after that form had ceased to be of use. The flanges common in earlier forms are there represented by somewhat hollowed oval projections on each side of the blade. A bronze celt-mould was found in Unthanks Road near Norwich.' Of the buildings erected by man during the Bronze age not much is certainly known. His domestic buildings were probably constructed upon practically the same lines as those of the Neolithic tribes ; and it is not improbable that a certain proportion of the hut-circles attributed to the Neolithic age really belong to that of Bronze. The possession of improved tools for working timber, such as bronze axes, gouges, chisels, etc. would suggest however that the dwellings of the later age were more commodious and more perfectly constructed than those of Neolithic times. In the Bronze age moreover advantage was taken of lakes and rivers by building crannoges or artificial islands, which although damp and unhealthy furnished some compensating advantages in the way of protection from unwelcome visitors. The art of dressing stone and rearing gigantic structures of massive rocks was possessed by this race, as is clearly shown by the marvellous works at Stonehenge, which there is good reason to believe were constructed towards the end of the Bronze age. In various departments of human advancement and civilization the people who used bronze exhibit a distinct advance upon those who, at an earlier period, had been furnished only with implements of stone. In husbandry this advance is indicated by the use of bronze reaping-hooks, by the employment of oxen in ploughing, and by the cultivation of several plants, such as beans and oats, which had not previously been made to minister to the wants of man. Bronze age man seems to have possessed the knowledge of working the lathe and of shaping vessels of amber and of gold. Spinning, weaving and pottery-making were well- known arts. The costume of Bronze age man comprised articles of linen and woollen homespun in the form of cloaks, caps, leggings and sandals. Personal ornaments of this age consisted of beads, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, collars and coronets made of gold, stone, glass, bronze or bone. Examples of personal ornaments in gold of this period have been found at Ashill,^ Downham,^ and Foulsham.* The objects, consisting of two torques or collars and one armilla, are of the usual twisted pattern. The graves or sepulchral barrows of this age, generally speaking, were circular in form and intended for the interment of the cremated remains of only one person, whilst the oval barrows of the Neolithic age were constructed for several interments and sometimes furnished with a central chamber of stone. Men of the Bronze age appear to have worshipped the heavenly bodies, and the temples of Avebury and Stonehenge are considered by some archasologists to have been associated with the religious rites in connection therewith. ' Archaeological Institute, Noruilch Volume, xxvi. 2 Norfolk Architology, v. 193. ^ Qp f-i/_ ; 2j,_ 4 qj, „-^ ; 231. 271
