620 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1891. 



Ill placing the ship in position at the time of the interment support 

 had been provided by phicing heavy, round logs at regular intervals 

 horizontally against both sides of the vessel, and thus the ship could 

 be fully excavated and left standing free without receiving additional 

 sui)port. (Fig. 137.) 



The vessel rested ujxtn l)lne clay, and to the u))])er limit of this all 

 the woodwork had been well ]>reserved; farther u\), where tlie clay oc- 

 curred intermixed with sand, the comparative lightness ot the soil and 

 its greater cai)iicity for absorbing moisture had caused some of the wood 

 to rot iiway, among it the stem and stern, with the iidjoiuing planks, and 



.^.s^'C^'y^- 



/-^^ X- -'- 



'1i\fh)^jsUA^^^^ 



Fi.i;-. r.!7. 

 The KxcAVATEi) Ship. 



ii.sfhen Vory.eit," WestHrmiiiiii's 



rte M,in;il»l,^lti 



the gunwale (Plates lxxix, lxxx), and the same fate the rest of the ves- 

 sel would in all i)robability have shared, hut for the imperviousness to 

 moisture of the stratum of blue cla>- in which it was imbedded to a large 

 degree, and for the ])ressure of the sui)erincund>ent stratum of earth 

 which had bent the frames at almost light angles, thus removing them 

 from contact with the lighter top sod. 



Upon the completion of the successful excavation the vessel was re- 

 moved to (Miristiania. and now forms a great attraction among the 

 exhibits in the Arclueological Museum of the Koyal Frederiks Univer- 

 sity. (Plate L XXXI.) 



I had occasion to view this interesting relic on occasion of a visit to 

 Norway, and I will now give an account of the same from my own ob- 

 servations and from the descrii)tion given in Mr. Nicolaysen's splendid 

 work, "Langskibet fra- Gokstad ved Sandefjord," from whitdi I have 

 drawn information as well as borrowed ilhistrations. (Plate lxxxii.) 



The dimensions of the ship are : Length of keel, 06 feet (20.10 meters), 

 with a length over all of 79 feet 4 in(;hes (23.S0 meters) from stem to stern ; 

 breadth of beam, 10 J feet (5.10 meters), and perpendicular depth, 

 feet in the middle and 8.] feet at the extremities. It is of oak, nni)ainted, 

 clinker-built, and composed of keel, stein and sternposts, frame tim- 

 bers, beams, knees, and external planking, and in its construction bears 

 a striking resemblance to the Tune ship, x)revioiisly described. 



The keel is GO feet in length, ending in strongly prominent stems 

 almost ])erpendicular at the top, joined to the keel by an intervening 

 tongued and grooved connection that is further secured by a double 

 row of spikes. The height of the keel is 12 inches, with an inner convex 



