332 



weak, in consequence of internal wars ; which accounts for 

 the remarkable circumstance, that a small number of vikings 

 from Scandinavia were able to take possession of large tracts 

 of land in those remote countries, and keep them under their 

 control for several centuries. 



The swords which were found at Kilmainham are so like 

 the Norse swords, that if they were mixed with the swords 

 found in Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish tombs, and now in 

 the collections of Christiana, of Stockholm, and of Copenhagen, 

 it would be difficult to distinguish one from the other. The form 

 of the handle, and particularly of the knob at the end of the han- 

 dle, is quite characteristic of the Norse swords. Along with 

 the swords found at Kilmainham, some other antiquities of un- 

 doubtedly Scandinavian origin were also discovered. Mr. Wor- 

 saae here exhibited a number of old draughtsmen of bone, of a 

 hemispherical shape, and with a hole in the flat bottom, which 

 were so constructed, that they could not tumble off the table if 

 itwas shaken. Great quantities of these draughtsmen are found 

 in Norway, along with tesserae, buried with the warrior in the 

 grave. It might, perhaps, confirm what Tacitus said of the 

 "Germanni," that they were exceedingly fond of gambling, 

 so much so, that at last they staked their personal liberty, and 

 thus sometimes became slaves. At Kilmainham were also 

 found, besides the swords, large brooches of a peculiar sort, 

 of a convex form, with a pin of iron, and ornamented with 

 serpent-like devices ; such brooches had never been found in 

 other countries than in Scandinavia, or where Scandinavian 

 people were settled ; in Norway and Sweden they are most 

 common. The existence of these brooches at Kilmainham 

 along with the swords, would, therefore, furnish the strongest 

 argument in favour of the Scandinavian origin of their buried 

 owners. Similar brooches and weapons have been repeatedly 

 found in the Phoenix Park and in College-green, memorials 

 of the influence which the Norsemen had in Ireland, and 

 particularly in Dublin ; and it is a remarkable circumstance. 



