1905] Gravene ved Myklebostad paa Nordfjordeid. 5]^ 



Grave Y. All over the central parts of the mound were 

 found a number of nails and rivets, undoiibtedly belonging to a boat 

 or a ship but showing- no traces of having- been exposed to the 

 action of fire. In spite of this, the nails were discovered in entire 

 disorder from which may be inferred that the boat was no more 

 intact when the nails got their present places in the mound. Under 

 the same circumstances as the nails were also found two bits, a 

 little spear-head, a scythe, an arrow-head and some frag-ments, all 

 of iron. No doubt these things are the scattered remains of a fifth 

 grave in the mound; probably it has been a man's grave. I am 

 not able to explain the startling disorder observed in this grave; 

 perhaps it has been disturbed by the formation of graves I and IV 

 which, after all, seem to be of later date than grave V. 



Respecting the chronological relations which the graves bear 

 to each other it seems certain that graves II and III are older than 

 graves I and IV. Grave II seems to be the oldest of them all as 

 inhumation in connection with a wooden chamber is of extremely 

 rare occurrence in the Viking age in Norway but recalls an arrange- 

 ment which has been often observed in graves dating from the 

 preceding period. The umbo found in this grave (fig. 13) is also 

 of a type properly belonging to the Migration period and, as far as 

 I know, found in no other grave from the Viking period. In the 

 same way the shape of the sword (fig. 12), of the weaving instru- 

 ment (fig. 17) and of the brooch (fig. 19) seem to be characteristic 

 of the very first part of the Viking age. — Grave III has also an 

 appearance suggesting its belonging to an early part of the Viking- 

 age. Thus the umbo (fig. 25) is of a very rare form which is cer- 

 tainly allied to a type known from the Migration period, and the 

 one-edged swords (fig. 22) of a form derived from the Franconian 

 scramasaxa, ought to be regarded as older than most of the com- 

 mon Viking swords. But the cremation as well as the arrangement 

 and the copious equipment of the grave indicate a more advanccd 

 part of the Viking age, and accordingiy I think that this grave is 

 of a somewhat later date than grave II. — All the antiquities of 

 grave I present the characteristics of the fully developed types of 

 the Viking age and the same is the case with the contents of grave 

 IV. From our point of view all these antiquities must be regarded 



