378 ON THE TORC OF THE CELTS.

the balls of gold, at the end of the moinche, are described to be as big as a man's fist^. One continnous stream of history and art shews that this singnlar decoration had essentially the same form from the fourth century before, to the tenth century of our era. The true difficulty is the determination of the relative antiquity of the different forms, a task at present, owing to the total want of sufficiently accurate notices of finds, all but impossible. Funicular torques. — The shape of the oldest torques was funicular^ ; if a rope were taken, cut to a length suitable to theq|?^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^=^^^^^@<^ neck, and tied at each end with Rope wi ai knotat e ac-h end. a single knot, it would nearly represent this object, Avhich was no doubt originally suggested by some such simple form. Leaving the rope unconnect- ed at one point, Avas a much simpler contrivance than a clasp, as the elasticity of the metal allowed of its being stretched to fit the neck, to the size of Rope mmmea as a torques. which it then contracted, and the weight of the bulbs at the ends kept the collar in its place. This primitive funi- culai- type is found on the as of Ariminum, on the necks of Persians in the Mosaic of Pompeii, on the small Mercury of Knight found in Prance, on the coins of the Manila family, on the so called dying gladiator, and on the precited . coin of Domitian ; and, under certain modifications, it was continued till a very late period ; indeed Mr. Petrie would assign some found at the Tara hills to a period as late as the 10th or 12th century. This type, the funicular, generally consists of a prismatic wire twisted by the goldsmith into a single rope, with the spirals at a great distance. The earliest without doubt should be those of massive form and ruder pattern, terminating in solid and heavy bulbous or glandular extremities, but few of these exist. The next in point of age and style are those in which the metallic wire still retains its fimicular type, but where oAving to a scarcity of metal, or a desire to render ' Petvie ill Tiaii.s. Roy. Irish Acad., ' For an allusion to this type, cf. Virgil, Im-.L'it. (icovg. iii. Isidor. xix. c. ol.