PREHISTORIC NAVAL ARCHITECTURE. 627 



at any time almost be gained, and in tliose days a ship kept near the 

 shore Avhenever i)ossible.^ 



The various articles of antiquarian value found in the mound, to- 

 gether with tlie style of ornamentation in the carving of different parts 

 of the ship, sufficiently attest the correctness of the inference con- 

 cerning her antiquity which the mere fact of entombing a vessel in 

 itself entitles us to draw, namely, that she belongs to the period extend- 

 ing from the year 700 to 1050 after Christ. (Plate lxxxiii.) 



The following interesting resume is obtained from a study of the 

 Ookstad ship : '^ 



Length between sterns 79' 4" 



Length of keel 66' 0" 



Width above gunwale, amidships 16' 2" 



Perpendieuhir depth from gunwale to bottom 5' 7" 



Draft at middle of keel 3' 7" 



Draft at ends of keel 3' 2" 



GunAvale above w^ater, amidships 2' 11" 



Gunwale above water, at sterns 6' 6" 



Length of uppermost water line 67' 0" 



Width of n})permost water line 14' 10" 



Area of uppermost water line square feet . . 630 



Area of middle rib square feet . . 24 



Displacement cubic feet. . 959 



Displacement center before the middle- tons . . 30. 2 



Number of oars on each side 16 



Distance between oars 3' 0" 



Middle oar above surface of water 1' 6 " 



Length of jiiiddle oar 18' 6" 



Entire crew 70 



Weight of crew with accouterments tons . . 10 



Weight of ship and equipment tons.. 20. 2 



Boats of the GoTistad tihii).'^ — According to saga account every large 

 ship had its boats, sometimes two or more,^ which were taken on board 

 when the ship was made ready for sea.-^ They ranged from two oars 

 {dri) to twelve oars {tolfccrin[/er), which were worked through rowlocks 

 {l-eiper) fastened to the gunwale and loops fastened theretoj two oars 

 were generally worked by one man.'' The boats were clinker built, 

 fitted with mast and sail, and had a movable floor between the frames. 



^ Nicolaysev, Langskibet, etc. p. 23, says: "The cooking could only be done on 

 land, which is presupposed in the municipal law of Bergen (1276), where it is enacted 

 that the mate shall, whensoever the ship lies at anchor in harbor, cause the crew to 

 be put on shore and backward once a day, but the cook thrice, once to take in water 

 and twice to prepare food." 



- Tuxcn, N. E. : De nordiske Langskibet. 



^Xicolai/sen, A". ; Langskibet fra Gokstad. 



< Sigurd Jorsalafari Saga, c. 6; Eyrbyggja, c. 29. 



•'Egils Saga, c. 60; Eyrbyggja, c. 29; Gretti's Saga, c. 17; Flateyarbok, iii; Bis- 

 kups Saga, i, 492. 



f'Flateyarb., i, 396; Heimskringla, p. 784. 



