Public-domain ebook
The Ancient Stone Implements, Weapons and Ornaments, of Great Britain Second Edition, Revised
by John Evans
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Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #51960.
About this book
John Evans’s work is a scholarly catalogue of British stone antiquities, assembled from the collections of noted antiquarians such as the Rev. William Greenwell and the late Mr A. W. Franks. The preface explains that the second, revised edition (1897) retains the original structure while condensing detailed measurements and adding sixty new woodcuts, all carefully engraved by Mr Swain. Evans promises a comprehensive inventory of implements, weapons and ornaments, supported by two indices, one by subject, one by locality, and a wealth of illustrations that allow the casual reader to bypass the “dry matter” of the smaller‑type text. The book’s scope runs from the Neolithic and Paleolithic periods through the Bronze Age, covering everything from celt types and flint knapping to bone ornaments and cave finds, with meticulous references to the latest discoveries of the preceding quarter‑century.
The volume reflects the Victorian era’s meticulous, often didactic style of natural history, written in a formal, third‑person voice that assumes a reader familiar with archaeological terminology. Its dense, fact‑laden prose is balanced by the extensive plates, making it most rewarding for scholars, museum curators, and serious amateurs of British prehistory who appreciate exhaustive detail and reliable illustration. Those interested in the development of stone tool technology, the regional distribution of artifacts, or the historiography of 19th‑century archaeology will find Evans’s systematic approach both informative and a valuable reference point for further research.
Who appears in this book
- Rev. William GreenwellMiddle‑aged Victorian clergyman, powdered wig, dark frock coat, spectacles, scholarly expression
- A. W. FranksGentleman collector, late‑Victorian suit with waistcoat, pocket watch, neatly trimmed beard, thoughtful gaze
- Mr. SwainArtisan engraver, ink‑stained shirt, leather apron, focused eyes, rolled sleeves, Victorian workshop setting
The opening · free to read
What now remains for me to do is to express my thanks to those numerous friends who have so kindly aided me during the progress of my work, both by placing specimens in their collections at my disposal, and by examination of my proofs. Foremost among these must be ranked the Rev. William Greenwell, F.S.A., from whose unrivalled collection of British antiquities I have largely drawn, and from whose experience and knowledge I have received much assistance in other ways.
To Mr. A. W. Franks, F.S.A.; Mr. J. W. Flower, F.G.S.; Mr. W. Pengelly, F.R.S.; Colonel A. Lane Fox, F.S.A.; Mr. E. T. Stevens, of Salisbury; Messrs. Mortimer, of Fimber; Mr. Joseph Anderson, the Curator of the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh; and to numerous others whose names are mentioned in the following pages, my thanks must also be expressed.
The work itself will, I believe, be found to contain most of the information at present available with regard to the class of antiquities of which it treats. The subject is one which does not readily lend itself to lively description, and an accumulation of facts, such as is here presented, is of necessity dull. I have, however, relegated to smaller type the bulk of the descriptive |vi| details of little interest to the ordinary reader, who will probably find more than enough of dry matter to content him if he confines himself to the larger type and an examination of the illustrations.
Whatever may be the merits or defects of the book, there are two points on which I feel that some credit may be claimed. The one is that the woodcuts—the great majority of which have been specially engraved for this work by Mr. Swain, of Bouverie Street—give accurate representations of the objects; the other is, that all the references have been carefully checked.
The Index is divided into two parts; the first showing the subjects discussed in the work, the second the localities where the various antiquities have been found.
Now that so much more attention than formerly is being bestowed on this class of antiquities, there will, no doubt, be numerous discoveries made, not only of forms with which we are at present unacquainted, but also of circumstances calculated to throw light on the uses to which stone implements and weapons were applied, and the degree of antiquity to be assigned to the various forms.
I will only add that I shall gladly receive any communications relative to such discoveries.
JOHN EVANS.
Nash Mills, Hemel Hempstead, May, 1872.
The undiminished interest taken by many archæologists in the subject to which this book relates seems to justify me in again placing it before the public, though in an extended and revised form. I am further warranted in so doing by the fact that the former edition, which appeared in 1872, has now been long out of print.
In revising the work it appeared desirable to retain as much of the original text and arrangement as possible, but having regard to the large amount of new matter that had to be incorporated in it and to the necessity of keeping the bulk of the volume within moderate bounds, some condensation seemed absolutely compulsory. This I have effected, partly by omitting some of the detailed measurements of the specimens, and partly by printing a larger proportion of the text in small type. I have also omitted several passages relating to discoveries in the caverns of the South of France.
I have throughout preserved the original numbering of the Figures, so that references that have already been made to them in other works will still hold good. The new cuts, upwards of sixty in number, that have been added in this edition are distinguished by letters affixed to the No. of the Figure immediately preceding them.
The additions to the text, especially in the portion relating to the Palæolithic Period, are very extensive, and I hope that all the more important discoveries of stone antiquities made in this country during the last quarter of a century are here duly recorded, and references given to the works in which fuller details concerning them may be found. In some cases, owing to the character of the |viii| objects discovered being insufficiently described, I have not thought it necessary to cite them.
I am indebted to numerous collectors throughout the country for having called my attention to specimens that they acquired, and for having, in many cases, sent them to me for examination. I may take this opportunity of mentioning that while the whole of the objects found by Canon Greenwell during his examination of British Barrows has been most liberally presented to the nation, the remainder of his fine collection of stone antiquities, so frequently referred to in these pages, has passed into the hands of Dr. W. Allen Sturge, of Nice.
The two Indices have been carefully compiled by my sister, Mrs. Hubbard, and are fuller than those in the former edition. They will afford valuable assistance to any one who desires to consult the book.
For the new woodcuts that I have had engraved I have been so fortunate as to secure the services of Messrs. Swain, who so skilfully cut the blocks for the original work. I am indebted for the loan of numerous other blocks to several learned Societies, and especially to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and to the Geological Society of London. Mr. Worthington Smith has also most liberally placed a number of blocks at my disposal.
It remains for me to express my thanks to those who have greatly aided me in the preparation of this edition, the whole of the proofs of which have been kindly read by Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A., of the British Museum, as well as by some members of my own family. Dr. Joseph Anderson, of the National Museum at Edinburgh, has been good enough to read the parts relating to Scotland, while Professor Boyd Dawkins has gone over the chapter on Cave Implements, and Mr. William Whitaker has corrected the account of the discoveries in the River-drift. To each and all I am grateful, and as the result of their assistance I trust that, though not immaculate, the book may prove to be fairly free from glaring errors and inconsistencies.
JOHN EVANS.
Nash Mills, Hemel Hempstead, May, 1897.
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