Ancient Mariners 



Fig. S. — A rock-cvit representation of the same type of vessel from 

 Sweden (Early Bronze Age). In this the rowers presumbly are intended 

 to be indicated ; in Stanley's picture only their oars are shown. The 

 upturned stem of the Swedish ship is a distinctively Egj'ptian feature 

 (Compare Fig. 3), which is also found in .Egean and Phoenician vessels. 



representation of a ship carved upon a rock at Tegneby in 

 Bohuslan, which is referred to the Early Bronze Age.^ In ray 

 essay upon " Ships " (p. 79), I have quoted Sir Harry Johnston's 

 account of the method of constructing these vessels. Their 

 peculiar features are exactly reproduced in the ancient Swedish 

 vessel. The remarkable forward prolongation of the keel and 

 the bar attached to the actual bows of the ship, with the character- 

 istic goat's or sheep's head (for either is used in East Africa), are 

 certain tokens of the identity of origin. Even the number of 

 rowers is almost identical. The only noteworthy distinction is 

 the absence of the great upstanding curved stern of the Swedish 

 ship. But this is a characteristic feature of the early Egyptian 

 and Mediterranean ships, which has been omitted in the case of 

 the vessel from Victoria Nyanza, but retained as a distinctive 

 badge of its origin by the Scandinavian vessel. 



In his account of the construction of the "sewed boats" of 

 Southern Arabia, Zwemer tells us that " each boat has a sort 

 of figurehead called the kubait, generally coveied with the skin 

 of a goat or sheep which was sacrificed when the boat was first 

 launched " — a custom which, in a modified form, is still perpetuated 

 in modern Europe by breaking a bottle of wine over the bows of 

 the ship when it is about to be committed to the water for the 

 first time. 



Describing the exploitation of the Cassiterides, Strabo states 



^ Monteliiis, "Sur les sculptures de rochers de la Suede," Goagrcs 

 cf Anthropologie et d' Archiologie, Stockholm, 1874, p. 454. 



