520 



left of the illustration is seen a part of the lid (the rest is 

 missing), by it one of the longer sides of the chest, next to it 

 the bottom piece (fragment, fig. 91c), and at the extreme right 

 the highly weathered other side. We observe the nail-holes 

 along the bottom edge of the side piece (b), which match exactly 

 with corresponding holes in the edge of the bottom piece. The 

 movable part of the lid (a) has also two single holes near the 

 edge, which correspond to two isolated holes in the upper 

 edge of the side; through these holes must have passed hide 

 thongs for fastening down the lid. The end walls of the chest 

 are missing. Wooden nails have been used for the joints. 



Fig. 91. Part of a wooden chest. North East Greenland. ^/47 



Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin. 



This beautifully worked chest is interesting in the first 

 place as an evidence of the skill with which the Eskimo 

 knew how to work the drift timber washed in from the coast; 

 in the second place as a testimony that these northerly inhab- 

 itants of the coast used chests in their houses such as are 

 to this very day in use at Ammassalik, under the name of 

 tumarqat^). Finally it is worth while to observe the little 

 remnant of a hide thong sticking in a hole in the lid; it has 



') Holm PI. 24. 



