NORSEMEN IN NORTH AMERICA— BR0NDSTED 381 



Mr. Elliott formulates the problem as follows (Canadian Historical 

 Keview, September 1941, pp. 270-271) : 



Did Mr. Dodd discover a Norse grave containing: a set of Viking weapons on 

 May 24th, 1930? Or did John Bloch bring a part of his father's collection with 

 him when he emigrated from Norway to Canada in 1923? Is it possible that the 

 issue is being confused by two sets of similar weapons? 



Dr. Currelly (ibid.) sums up bis opinion in the following manner: 



As I see the situation, the objects were seen beside the place where they were 

 found ; they were also seen in Mr. Dodd's house by a number of people before 

 he moved to Mr. Hansen's house. John Jacob saw the imprint in rust on the 

 roclJ. The statements of all the people who saw them are met with only Mr. 

 Hansen's statement that he left them lying in his house, and that he set a value 

 of $150.00 on them; this statement was made only after Mr. Dodd had been 

 trying to sell the things for some years, and was not backed by a single state- 

 ment that anybody had ever seen them in Mr. Hansen's possession. 



Dr. Currelly concludes by reasserting his belief that the objects 

 actually were found near Beardmore and tliat Dodd is speaking the 

 truth. 



Against this Mr. Elliott argues (ibid.) by referring to the many 

 contradictions which certainly do exist in the various statements on 

 the matter. 



It is of no significance that the objects are east Norwegian, a point 

 to which Professor Br0gger seems to attach importance. Weapons 

 move about widely, and there is nothing strange or inacceptable in 

 a Viking in Greenland or America having weapons even of Danish or 

 Swedish origin. Nor is there, I suppose, any reason for doubting 

 that iron objects could last for a thousand years in Canadian soil, 

 as they can in Scandinavian. 



There is reason for drawing attention to the very far-advanced 

 corrosion of these iron objects at the time when they were sold to 

 the museum at Toronto (1936). If Lieutenant Bloch brought them 

 with him from Norway, the assumption would surely be that they 

 were in fairly decent condition ; otherwise he would not have chosen 

 these particular things from his father's collection. But it is rather 

 improbable that in the time between 1923 (Bloch's arrival in Canada) 

 and 1936 (the sale to the Toronto museum) they took on such a thick 

 coat of rust, inasmuch as they were preserved indoors during these 

 13 years. But if we assume that they were found at Beardmore by 

 Dodd, the thick rust seems feasible. 



My opinion is that the Dodd report of the find, trustworthy as it 

 sounds, is true. What the truth is regarding the Bloch weapons I 

 shall not attempt to say. Theoretically there may have been "two 

 sets of similar weapons," but it is hardly likely. As Mr. Elliott 

 correctly remarks, the Beardmore case will probably never be cleared 

 • up completely. 



