194 



Chr. Bendix Thosthlp 



placed stones have undoubtedly not served as ballast for the tent 

 covering, but stood immediately inside the tent skin ^ ; in one case 

 (tent-ring 48,- Thomas Thomsens Næs) the ballast for the covering 

 was seen as a more scattered ring of stones lying 25— 40 cm. outside 

 the edge of closely placed stones. 



In general, though not always, the stone ring broke off at 

 the place where the doorway has been. At this spot two parallel 

 rows of stones sometimes ran outwards like a sort of entrance or 

 inwards into the tent. Where a single stone lay in the middle of 

 the doorway, this may have been used to hold the front curtain down. 



Fig. 3. Tent-ring 7.') Avith characteristic platform-edge. Syttenkilometernæsset. 

 The platform has been levelled with care. In froSt the stone-work has been disturbed. 



(Drawing liy the (ireenlander Tobias Gaüruclsen). 



The front edge of the platform might be formed by stones, but 

 just as often no stone edge could be seen and the position of the 

 platform could then not be indicated. In tent-rings yvith platform- 

 edge one can often see that the Eskimos have taken the trouble 

 to level the place inside this much more than the remaining 

 floorplace in front (fig. 3). The edge of the platform consisted 

 in most cases of a row of stones laid across the floorplace from 

 side to side, of the same size and at the same distance from one 

 another as the tent stones. In some very old and broken down tent- 



» Cf. ScoRESBY 1 : p. 18."); Graah: p. 73, PI. VI; Holm '2: p. 71 and Amdrup 2: p. 327. 

 - For the numbers in the text see: III. Description of the settlements and stone 

 remains. 



