The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-07-29
AN ANCIENT WONDER.
A viking ship Dug Up In Norway.

A viking ship Dug Up In Norway.
A recent antiquarian discovery of
most remarkable nature has put the
scientific world of Scandinavia in COM
motion, and is attracting the general
attention of the Scandinavian Nations,
fondly attached to their venerable his
tory and ancient folklore, and full of
devotion for the relics of their great
past. In age this discovery cannot
cope with the treasure-trove brought
forth by Schiiemann from 1lian or
Grecian soil, nor even with the eXcava-
tions conducted by German savans at
Olympia; it only. carries us back to a
period distant thousand years from
our time, but still it initiates the mod
ern time in the life and customs of by
gone ages, and WHITES the cycle of old
Northern poems and sages as fully as
the "Iliad" is illustrated by the exca-
vations ut Hissarlik or at Mycene, or
| the Pindaric odes by those at Olympia.
| In the southwestern part of Chris
tiania Fjord, in Norway, is situated the
| bathing establishment of Sandefjord,
renowned as q resort for rheumatic and
| nervous patients. The way from this
place to the old town of Tonsberg con-
ducts to a small village called Gogstad,
near which is tumulus or funereal hill,
long known in the local traditions under
the name, of King s-hill (Kongshaug)
In. the fat fields and meadows stretch.
ing from the ford to the foot of the
mountains this mole, nearly one hun.
dred and fifty feet in diameter, rise.
slowly from the ground, covered with
green turf. A mighty King, it wa.
told, had here found his last resting
place. surrounded by his horses anC
hounds and with costly treasures neal
his body, but for centuries superstition
and the fear of avenging ghosts hat
prevented any examination of the sup
posed grave, until now the spirit Of in
| vestigation has dared to penetrate int,
its secrets. The result has been tn
discovery of a complete vessel of war
perfect viking craft, in which tn
unknown chieftain has been entombed
The sons of the peasant on who's
ground the tumulus is situated begal
in January and February this year a
excavation; they dug down well fror
the top, and soon met with some tim
Der. Happily, they suspended thei
work at this point, and reported tn
matter to Christiania, where the "So
ciety for the Preservation of Ancien
\ tooh up thS tehohs oh
sent down Mr.. Nicolaysen, an exper
and learned antiquary, to conduct tn
= further investigation. Under his abl
guidance the excavation was carrie
on in the months of April and May
and brought to a happy conclusion, II
vealing the whole body of an old vii
ing vessel seventy-four feet long b'
tween stem and stern, sixteen fe,
broad amidships, drawing five fee
and with twenty ribs. This is by f:
the largest craft found from the oide
times. In 1868 the Danish Profess
Engelhardt dug out from the turf moo
at Nydam, in Schlesvig, a vessel fort,
five feet in length, and in 1867 anoth,
; was found at Tune, in Norway, fort
three feet long, but neither of the
can in either completeness or appon
ment be compared with the craft no
excavated at Gogstad. The tumul'
is now nearly q mile distant from til
sea. but tits evident from the natu
of the alluvial soil that in olden tim
n the waves washed its base. The We
sci had consequently been drawn I
Immediately from the ford, and plac'
upon layer of fascines or hurdles
p hazel branches and moss; the sid
. had then been covered with stiff ella
and the whole had been filled up wi
earth and sand to form the funere
"a hill. But the craft is placed with t
stem toward the sea- 1t was the graz
Imagination of the period that VIII
the great Father of the Univer
= should call him, the mighty chiefta
might start from the funereal hill wi
his fully-appointed vessel ont upon {
blue ocean
T. CT e thn chin first n
n closed to the eye, several Interest,"
y objects were found. A piece of timf
- proved to be the stock of the anchor
was perforated to hold the iron, but
this no more was found than few re
B. nants. In the bottom the remains
two or three small oaken boats oi
very elegant shape were placed over
multitude of oars, some of them for
n boats, others, twenty feet long, for
u large craft itself The form of tn
oars is highly interesting, and W
nearly like that still in use in Engl
ot1 rowing matches, ending in n SIN:
finely.cut blade, some of them with
namental carvings. The bottom de,
as we'll preserved as if they were of y
terday, are ornamented with circu
lines. Several pieces of wood had
=. appearance of having belonged
''o sledges, and some beams and deals
supposed to have formed compartme
- dividing the banks of the rowers
,,., each side from a passage or corridor
Hal the middle. In a heap of oaken cl
.ver and splinters was found an elegan
,asa ssif shaped hatchet, a couple of inches 10
ls, of the shape peculiar 10 the youn
and Iron Age. Some loose beams ende'
1%a msa roughly-carved dragons heads, pain
Is. in the same colors as the bows and 81