Page:Prehistoric Britain.djvu/186

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PREHISTORIC BRITAIN

Greece, long after the Mycenean culture had passed its zenith, spread into Central Europe by way of the Adriatic, and ultimately extended as far as the British Isles.

That the influence of the Hallstatt civilization had not entirely spent itself short of our shores is amply proved by the existence, in the museums of Britain and Ireland, of a number of objects whose origin can be clearly traced to common types in Central Europe. These continental culture and art elements were, however, so handled by the "barbarians in the ocean" as to produce within the British Isles a new school of art, known as Late Celtic, whose products can be readily differentiated from those of all other contemporary phases of European civilization. The most characteristic specimen of this art is the enamelled bronze shield found in the bed of the Thames at Battersea, now in the British Museum, and of which an excellent representation is figured in the Museum Guide.

CHAPTER VIII

RELIGIOSITY AND COMMEMORATIVE MONUMENTS—CROMLECHS, DOLMENS, BARROWS, MENHIRS, ALIGNMENTS, ETC.

The evolution of religion runs on parallel lines with human civilization, and its consummation into the various codes and creeds