332 
weak, in consequence of internal wars; which accounts for 
the remarkable circumstance, that a small number of vikings 
from Scandinavia were able to take possession of large tracts 
of land in those remote countries, and keep them under their 
control for several centuries. 
The swords which were found at Kilmainham are so like 
the Norse swords, that if they were mixed with the swords 
found in Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish tombs, and now in 
the collections of Christiana, of Stockholm, and of Copenhagen, 
it would be difficult to distinguish one from the other. The form 
of the handle, and particularly of the knob at the end of the han- 
dle, is quite characteristic of the Norse swords. Along with 
the swords found at Kilmainham, some other antiquities of un- 
doubtedly Scandinavian origin were also discovered. Mr. Wor- 
saae here exhibited a number of old draughtsmen of bone, of a 
hemispherical shape, and with a hole in the flat bottom, which 
were so constructed, that they could not tumble off the table if 
itwas shaken, Great quantities of these draughtsmen are found 
in Norway, along with tesserz, buried with the warrior in the 
grave. It might, perhaps, confirm what Tacitus said of the 
“¢Germanni,” that they were exceedingly fond of gambling, 
so much so, that at last they staked their personal liberty, and 
thus sometimes became slaves. At Kilmainham were also 
found, besides the swords, large brooches of a peculiar sort, 
of a convex form, with a pin of iron, and ornamented with 
serpent-like devices ; such brooches had never been found in 
other countries than in Scandinavia, or where Scandinavian 
people were settled ; in Norway and Sweden they are most 
common. The existence of these brooches at Kilmainham 
along with the swords, would, therefore, furnish the strongest 
argument in favour of the Scandinavian origin of their buried 
owners. Similar brooches and weapons have been repeatedly 
found in the Phoenix Park and in College-green, memorials 
of the influence which the Norsemen had in Ireland, and 
particularly in Dublin; and it is a remarkable circumstance, 
NeLs7 
