608 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1^91. 



Ultmia ship.^ — In excavatiuj^' a saiulhill at Ultuiia, three fourtlis of a 

 mile from tJpsala, Hwedeii, two layersof a dark substance were metwhich 

 were soon discovered to be the remains of the rotten sides, or boards, of 

 an ancient ship. In these hiyers were found a large number of iron nails 

 from 1^ to 2 inclies long, with a round liead at the one end, and a square, 

 riveted footpiece on the other, undoubtedly used for holding together the 

 side planks of the ship. The width between the layers was about 8^ feet ; 

 their length could be followed 19 feet, but as a part of the hill's edge 

 was formerly dng away, the entire length of the ship can not now be 

 determined. Since the ship's bottom lay about 8 feet below the natural 

 surface level, it must be supposed that a depression was dug in the hill, 

 in which the ship was i^laced and the hill erected over it. Just on the 

 bottom layer there were found remains of a human skeleton with bones 

 of two liorses, buried in the stern of the ship; further forward there 

 were also bones of some domestic animals; a double-edged sword of 

 iron and a large number of articles and ornaments of bronze, iron, and 

 bone were found under a covering of loose stones which had probably 

 formed a tube in the interior of the mound, which had fallen to ruin 

 when the deck, where such was found, had rotted and fallen to the 

 bottom of the ship. 



Of mound-settings in ships in which the human remains were buried 

 unburnt, descriptions are given by Montelius,^ Nicalaysen,^ and others,* 

 and although in most cases the wood has molded away, the outlines of 

 the ship are shown by the numerous rivets deposited in rows, sharply 

 contrasting with the light sand in which the ships have l)een buried. 

 Among these iinds mny be meidioned the remains of a boat tmind in 

 1853 near Hof, in Donne's parish, Kordland District, which contained 

 two human skeletons, skeleton of a dog, shield bosses of iron, and near 

 one of the skeletons ornaments of bronze, pins, rings, implements of 

 bone, an iron kettle, glass, pearl, and scissors.^ 



In Korthrrn Noriray ^Trondlijem distii<'t) traces of boats have been 

 found in grave mounds, but they were so much decayed that but very 

 few important details have been observed; in fact, the wood was almost 

 everywhere completely rotted, leaving only a couple of brown-colored 

 lines in the gravel. Fragments of frame timbers, knees, etc., have 

 occasionally been found in bogs in a tolerably uncorrupted state, but 

 these seem to belong to more modei'u times and are of no particular 

 interest as to construction. 



' Sildebrand, B. E. : Nagra fyiid af foinsaker fran Bronz — ocli Jernperioden. In 

 Forhandliiiger ved de Skaiidiuaviske Naturibrskers. Syvende Mikle. Christiauia,. 

 1856, p. 643. Auualer for Nordiske Oldkyudisbed og Historie, 1858, p. 188. 



- MoHteVmn, <). : Om hogsiittning i skopp under vikingatideii. 



^ Nicolaysen, JV. : Norske fornlevningcr, p. 20, 245, 588. 



■* Aarsber. af Foren. til norske Fortidsmind, Bev. 1871, p. 13. 



■"' Xlcolftiiseii, X. : Norske fornlevn, ]). 681, ()82 ; Lorange, A. : Samlinger af Norske Old- 

 sager i Bergens Musemn, p. 192, 193. 



