no two of which were cast in the same mould.
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| Fig. 10.—Kalmuck Axe; iron. In the collection of the late Dr Klemm. | Fig. 11.—Copper (?) celt from Ireland, one-half of the actual size. |
They vary in size from an inch to a foot in length, and may be divided into three principal classes (figs. 7–9) according to the manner in which they were handled; though we must remember that there were many intermediate forms. The first class (figs. 4, 7, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, and 18) is the simplest in form, and evidently the oldest, being "formed on the type of the old stone celts." There can be little doubt that these simple celts were handled in the manner indicated (fig. 7). Fig. 19 represents a modern African axe in my collection. Here, indeed, the blade is of iron.
Fig. 12.—Half of a celt mould from Ireland. It is of mica slate, 634 inches long, 4 wide, and presents upon the surface the apertures by means of which it was adjusted by the other half.
Evidently, however, in such an axe the blade would tend to split the handle in which it was placed. To remedy this defect, a stop, or ridge, was raised across the celt, and the metal and wood were made to fit into one another (figs. 5, 8, and 20). This second form of celt is known as a Paalstab, or Paalstave, and has often a small loop on one side (which was probably used to attach the celt to the handle by a cord, as indicated in fig. 8), and a wing on each side. A still further improvement consisted (figs. 6, 9, 16) in reversing the position of the metal and the handle, making the axe hollow at one end, and so passing the handle into it.
