162 DANIEL BRUUN. 
that are found in some places. The roofs were no doubt made of layers 
ol grass-turf over rafters. In the roofs the light and smoke openings 
have been situated in the same fashion as in the Icelandie and Faroe “Rög- 
stue”. Such an opening in the roof was mentioned in the “Fosterbrother 
заса”. 
Immediately in the vicinity of the dwellings, sometimes even close to 
them, some small square buildings are seen, which partly were depositories 
or provision rooms (фиг) or forges (smidja); big kitchen dung hills with 
ashes, refuse and animals’ bones are to be found in the same places. 
Here in the dwellings a number of remains of provision-vessels, 
both large and small, are to be found, made of soap stone found in the 
country, many of these things have later on been perforated and have 
evidently been used as a weight on a loom, such as are found in Nor- 
way and in Iceland, possibly also as sinkers for fishing nets. 
Besides such antiquities many other objects are found in and near 
the houses, such as iron knives, iron nails, some bone quoits, spinning 
stones, millstones, implements of bone ete., which give evidence of the 
daily life being plain and monotonous. Several of the weights have 
home-marks, and in some cases runes, besides simple strokes and circle 
ornaments; only a few are better ornamented with Roman ornaments, 
but the whole bears witness to art being at a very low standard. 
We will refer to the out-houses further on. 
Therefore piles of refuse from the Norsemen’s meals lay close 
outside the dwelling houses. As a rule they form layers, often several 
feet deep, of ashes and bones, sprinkled with fragments of “зоар stone” 
vessels, and utensils which were thrown away. The surface of the dung- 
hill is as a rule, undulated, and the whole implies that they have existed 
through long periods of regular piling up of kitchen refuse. They are 
easily discerned in the grounds by the grass’s appearance being more 
suculent and stronger than in other places, and are the best guide to 
the position of the dwelling-houses. 
It was also through them that I succeeded in substantiating the 
ancient Norse dwellings. During my stay in Greenland in 1894 and 
1903 respectively in the eastern and western settlement’s old districts, 
| undertook excavations in different kitchen dung hills by which I suc- 
ceeded in colleeting many animal bones, which later on have been deliv- 
ered to the zoological museum in Copenhagen, and were examined there 
by vice-inspector HERLUF WINGE. These investigations prove that the 
chief contents of these refuse piles are bones of seals (the bones of the 
“harpseals” are predominant), then come bones of oxen, and goats; 
in other words the ancient Norsemen have maintained themselves just 
as much through the capture of seals as through the breeding of cattle. 
Of domestic animals, besides oxen and goats, also sheep, horses 
and dogs have been found. Besides which, bones of ordinary Greenland 
mammals were found; polar fox, polar bear, walrus; beard seals, fiord 
