ime when copper was in use (Copper Period), which he
places at from the middle of the third to the beginning of the second
millennium B.C. Now, though the division of the Irish Bronze Age into
five periods may be accepted, we should hardly care to place the first
period as early as Dr. Montelius suggests; and without going into the
question of the time at which the period commenced, we might take the
period of its ending at from about 2000-1800 B.C. In this period would
be included the flat copper celts of early form, copied from the stone
celts of the preceding Neolithic Period, some few small, flat
knife-daggers of copper, and the earliest of the halberds. Stone
implements, no doubt, remained largely in use; and the very finely
decorated hammer-axes probably belong to this period.

It is possible that gold--which, on account of its colour and
appearance on the surface of the ground, must have been one of the
metals first noticed and made use of in prehistoric times--was used
for making ornaments at this period, or possibly, as Prof. Gowland
suggests, may have been hammered into ornaments even during the
preceding Neolithic Age.[6] There is, however, no gold object in the
National Collection which we should care to place so early.

[6] Journal Royal Anthropological Institute, vol. xlii, p. 259.

The second division of the Bronze Age (the first period of the true
Bronze Age) would fall between 1800 and 1500 B.C.; and in it would be
included, as the principal types, the flat bronze celts--including
those with the edge much wider than the blade--flanged celts, small
bronze daggers, the later halberds, jet buttons with conical
perforations, and the early types of jet necklaces, and probably
the gold lunulae.

The third period might be placed at from 1500 to 1250 B.C., and the
principal types falling within it are flanged celts with stop-ridges,
tanged spear-heads, and larger dagger-blades, sometimes with bronze
handles.

The fourth period, which was long, and during which a considerable
development takes place, might be placed at from 1280 to 900 B.C.
This period includes the later type of celts with increased stop-ridge
and flanges (palstaves), and some of the earlier forms of socketed
celts, long rapiers, the earlier type of leaf-shaped swords, and the
looped and leaf-shaped spear-heads, gold torcs, and possibly some of
the bronze fibulae, and sickles without sockets; the disk-headed pins
and bronze razors may be