626 
MISCELLANEA. 
each board are several projections, which are not separate pieces of 
wood, hut are continuous with the boards, and were therefore left 
when the latter were cut out of the solid timber. Each of these 
projections has two small holes, through which ropes, made of the 
inner bark of trees, were passed in order to fasten the sides of the 
boat to the ribs. The rowlocks are formed by a projecting horn of 
wood, under which is an orifice, so that a rope fastened to the horn 
and passing through the orifice, leaves a hole through which the oar 
plays. There appear to have been about fifty pairs of oars, of -which 
sixteen have already been discovered. The bottom of the boat was 
covered by matting. 
I visited the spot about a week after the boat had been discovered, 
but was unable to see much of it, as it had been taken to pieces and 
the boards, &c. were covered over with straw and peat, that they 
might dry slowly. In this manner M. Engelhardt hopes that they 
will perhaps, at least in part, retain their original shape. 
The freight of the boat consisted of iron axes, including a socketed 
celt with its handle, swords, lances, knives, brooches, whetstones, 
wooden vessels, with, oddly enough, two birch brooms, and many 
smaller articles. Only those however have yet been found which 
remained actually in the boat, and as in sinking it turned partly 
over on its side, no doubt many more articles will reward the farther 
explorations which M. Engelhardt proposes to make next summer. 
It is evident that this interesting boat was sunk on purpose, because 
there is a square hole about six inches in diameter, hewn out of the 
bottom, and it is probable, that in some time of panic or danger 
the objects contained in it were hidden by their owner, who was 
never able to recover them. 
Even in recent times of disturbance, as for instance in the be¬ 
ginning of this century and in 1848, many arms, ornaments, household 
utensils, &c. were so effectually hidden in the lakes and peat-mosses, 
that they could never be found again. 
Much interest is added to this vessel and its contents by the fact 
that we can fix almost their exact date. The boat lies, as I have already 
mentioned, within a few yards of the spot where the previous dis¬ 
coveries at Nydam were made, and as all the arms and ornaments 
exactly correspond, there can be little doubt that they belong to the 
same period. Now the previous collection included nearly 50 Homan 
coins ranging in date from a. n. 67 to 217. Those found at Thors- 
berg in the same locality, and which are about as numerous, began with 
Nero and went down to the year 197. 
Under these circumstances we may ascribe this vessel and its 
contents to the third century, without fear of any great inaccuracy. 
Einally it may be mentioned that there are indications of a second 
boat lying close to the first. M. Engelhardt proposes to continue 
his researches next year, and we doubt not that he will discover many 
more objects of great interest. 
J. L. 
