mented with geometrical patterns, and present either a single or double cutting edge. All the Scottish examples are tanged, with the exception of one which has a loop at the end of a stem and semicircular edges. The British specimens have all a strong family likeness, but do not differ materially from the continental specimens, as represented in the lake-dwellings and Terremare of Italy. (For continental forms see Prehistoric Scotland, Pl. I, p. 190.)
Weapons.—Bronze daggers are usually of two kinds: (1) those with a thin, flat, tri- angular or oval blade, generally known as knife-daggers; and (2) those with a blade larger and heavier than the former and having a thick midrib. As a rule both varieties are hafted by rivets to a wooden or horn handle; but there are a few exceptions in which a tang takes the place of rivets.
Another class of weapon, sparingly found in Britain, but frequently in Ireland, is that which Sir W. Wilde calls the "broad scythe-shaped sword." It differs from the dagger in having the two edges unsymmetrical, and also in being attached at a right angle to the shaft, which gives it the appearance of a scythe. Such weapons are supposed to be battle-axes, and may, therefore, be classified with the mace, which is used for hand-to-hand encounters.
Spear-heads are, perhaps, the most abundant weapons among the relics of the Bronze Age in all countries. In Britain they are,
