Welsh Journals

Gower,1 which, in addition to the Processional Ways, are characterised by "constructional features which seem to have a parade rather than' a military character," and which, he suggests, probably extend in date from the first century A.D. well into the Dark Ages.2 As stated above, Gaer Fawr is almost certainly the stronghold of a chieftain, and we are perhaps justified in hoping that in due course it may be possible to identify the builders of some of these forts. The philologists may be able to give decisive help, following the example of Prof. Ifor Williams, who has recently identified the occupant of a Dark Age site in Anglesey.3 W. J. HEMP. A GROOVED HAMMER FROM Rhandirmwyn, Carmarthenshire. — The hammer here illustrated was found "in the Towy river-bed about a mile below Ystradffin (Rhandirmwyn) many years ago." My attention was drawn to it by Mr. D. T. Edwards, of Rhandirmwyn and I have to thank Mr. Edwards for obtaining the information relating to it and for several other acts of kindness, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Williams, of Gelli, Rhandirmwyn, its owners, who generously agreed to lend the hammer for this drawing to be made. The hammer is 6 ins. long, 5-3 ins. wide, and 3-2 ins. thick. Its weight according to Mr. Edwards is 6 lbs. 12 ozs. It is a massive somewhat clumsy implement. The groove by which it was hafted to its handle is well towards the rear and since in thickness it also tapers slightly, too much of its weight is concentrated in front of the groove. It is in fact possible that the position of the groove and the ribs which define it and give the hammer distinction was dictated by the presence of bands of varying hardness in the stone itself. Unfortunately it has not been possible to obtain a geologist's opinion on this, or on the nature and origin of the stone used but it can be said that-as the end view shows-the natural planes of the stone are at right angles to the main plane of the hammer, while other instances have been recorded in which the natural characters of the raw material have influenced the form of the finished implement. Of the general questions affecting these grooved implements little need be said here. They are generally recognised as having been used in mining operations, so that the occurrence of one in the Rhandirmwyn district is quite in order but their range of date is such that examples found in isolation cannot be assigned to any period. On the basis of their form they appear to fall into two main classes, according as they were intended for dual or single use. Some, like the one from Nantmel, Radnorshire, described by Mr. Stanley Davies in Arch. Camb., 1934, 339-40, are axe-hammers, with one end terminating in a broad sharp-edged blade, while the other has a flat hammer-face.4 The other class has two 1 Bulletin of Board of Celtic Studies, VIII, p. 366. 2 The abnormality of the site may be due to the adaptation of earlier defences by the later occupier of the site. 3 Trans. Anglesey Antiq. Soc., 1942, pp. 19-24. 4 A variant of this from Mynachlog-ddu, Pembrokeshire, described by Dr. Savory (Arch. Camb., 1940, 247-8) has a more definitely pointed end, and must therefore be described as a pick.