CELT, a word in common use among British and French archaeologists to
describe the hatchets, adzes or chisels of chipped or shaped stone used
by primitive man. The word is variously derived from the Welsh _cellt_,
a flintstone (that being the material of which the weapons are chiefly
made, though celts of basalt felstone and jade are found); from being
supposed to be the implement peculiar to the Celtic peoples; or from a
Low Latin word _celtis_, a chisel. The last derivation is more probably
correct. The word has come to be somewhat loosely applied to metal as
well as stone axe-heads. The general form of stone celts is that of
blades approaching an oval in section, with sides more or less straight
and one end broader and sharper than the other. In length they vary from
about 2 to as much as 16 in. The largest and finest specimens are found
in Denmark: one in an English collection being of beautiful white flint
13 in. long, 1-1/2 in. thick and 3-1/2 in. broad. Those found in Denmark
are sometimes polished, but usually are left rough. Those found in
north-western Europe are ground to a more or less smooth surface. That
some were held in the hand and others fixed in wooden handles is clear
from the presence of peculiar polished spaces produced by the friction
of the wood. In the later stone adzes holes are sometimes found pierced
to receive the handles.

The bronze celts vary in size from an inch to a foot in length. The
earlier specimens are much like the stone ones in shape and design, but
the later manufactures show a marked improvement, the metal being
usually pierced to receive the handles. It is noteworthy that the
celtmakers never cast their axes with a transverse hole through which
the handle might pass. Bronze celts are usually plain, but some are
ornamented with ridges, dots or lines. That they were made in the
countries where they are found is proved by the presence of moulds.

A point worthy of mention is the position which stone celts hold in the
folk-lore and superstitious beliefs of many lands. In the West of
England the country folks believe the weapons fell originally from the
sky as "thunderbolts," and that the water in which they are boiled is a
specific for rheumatism. In the North and Scotland they are
preservatives against cattle diseases. In Brittany a stone celt is
thrown into a well to purify the water. In Sweden they are regarded as a
protection against lightning. In Norway the belief is