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One of the outstanding features of ancient craftsmanship in gold and bronze is the decoration of ornaments and weapons with patterns of incised lines, or with dots. Hitherto very few of the actual tools by means of which this decoration was effected have been identified, though their widespread use is proved by the very large number of specimens in our museums upon which they have been employed. Indeed, by their purely conventional use of such terms as ‘awl’ and ‘celt’ archaeologists actually blind themselves to the real nature and significance of such tools, and these notes by a metallurgical worker may accordingly serve a useful purpose in drawing attention to the true character of some of them.

The two objects here illustrated are the first recorded examples from Wales of the bronze tool variously called the ‘celt with trunnions’, ‘chisel with lugs at the sides’, ‘flat axe with lateral pegs’, or ‘lug adze’. Trunnion Celt is a convenient name to adopt, as it will cover most varieties of a class of tool which may have served more than one purpose.