The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1908-09-21

L : VIA fatlf . 4 /. No.
age. In sage times such ships were
used Tor way. pleasure and other pur-
poses and when their owners died, fire.
quently became their burial places.
They are known in this country as
ship graves. The custom of burying
the dead In boats was doubtless orig
tnally associated with the idea of voy-
aging to another world, as much Of
the property, such as weapons. house,
hold utensils, clothing and jewelry Of
the deceased, was buried with them,
The most dramatic realization of this
idea was probably the funeral of King
Hake. After the battle of Fyresvol-
dene, In which he was mortally wound.
ed, he ordered that his ship be load
ed with the bodies of his dead war.
riors, together with their arms. Then
he himself was carried on board, the
rudder was adjusted. the sail hoist
ed, the ship set on fire and driven by
an of shore wind, the craft sailed
blazing out to sea and disappeared.
First Notable Discoveries
In addition to a great number OF
boat graves Of humber character.
unearthed at different times, the
year 1852 inaugurated an era of fa-
nous discoveries Of ship graves. In
large mound at Void, in eastexn
Norway, was found vessel about
sixty feet long, containing many funer-
al articles or grave goods" chiefly
ornaments, the skeletons OF two horses
and dog. The vessel, however, was
decayed beyond recovery. In 1854 in
large mound at Donner, in northern
Norway, another vessel resembling a
yacht was discovered, but in this in
stance also. the woodwork had mold
cred and the ship crumbled to dust as
the excavation proceeded. In 1867 in
large circular mound 1t Tune. in
eastern Norway, Was found "long
ship" In the wooden grave chamber
astern, which had been broken into
and disturbed by the grave robbing
treasure hunters Of the viking age, a
man had been entombed. The vessel
known as the Tune ship, was success
fully excavated and taken to Chris
tiania, where 1t iS preserved in the
antiquarian collection OF the univer-
! sity.
In 1880 in the Kings mound at Cox
stad, near the town of Sandefjord in
eastern Norway, was found long
ship which must have belonged to a
Norwegian In the ninth century The
: oaken grave chamber on the aft side
of the mast, which had been broken
into by treasure hunters, contained the
sepulcher of man. The sepulchural
equipment or grave goods, lay scat
tered about. On each side Of the ship
was long row Of shields, alternately
uyh "a jo1,
presenting the appearance of a sue
cessfon OF crescents. The rudder was
In Its place on the starboard side, the
lower portion of the mast was pre-
served and the ship was equipped with
oars projecting from the rowlocks. It
contained the remains of twelve horses
six dogs, one peacock, several small
boats and one sled.
Exhibited In America
This vessel, which is known as the
f0okstad- ship, war successfully ex-
cavated and taken TO Christiania. It
was the greatest and most, important
antiquarian discovery ever made in
the north. In 1893 the Norwegians
built long ship on the model of the
Gokstad ship, but smaller, which was
sailed to America by Captain Ander-
son and exhibited at several places
in the United States. ~.
In 1887, In the Gunnar's mound in
the island Of Karmoin, western Nor
way, was found another long. ship.
The grave chamber was Of fir and con-
tanned the skeleton of a man. The
grave goods, which were abundant,
had not been disturbed by treasure
hunters, as gold bracelet was found
which would not have been the case
had the grave been broken into. The
ship, however, was only partly re-
stored, owing to decay. The frag-
ments are preserved in the museum
of Bergen.
The Oseberg Ship
!, The most famous and interesting
discovery, however, was made in 1905,
in a mound at Oseberg in Slagen, not
TAR from Christiania. The excava-
tons revealed pleasure vessel of
elegant shape. very artistically deco
rated with autographs adornments
and containing extremely abundant
and luxuriant grave goods. The
grave chamber was that of woman
of high birth, whose skeleton was
found. Elsewhere in the ship was
found the skeleton of another woman,
presumably maid servant, whose life
lad probably been sacrificed at the
funeral that she might follow her mis-
tress in death. The skeleton Of a
horse was also discovered. The wood
work of this ancient yacht, for which
the owner of the soil was paid 10000
kroner ($5,400). was in very fra
gile, 80 1t was impossible to remove
the ship without first breaking it to
pieces This was sFillfu1ly done. IVY
Prof. g. Gustafson, formerly of B,r-
gen, who transferred 1t to Caristlaria
r.ecemeal. There the woodwork was
subjected to chemical process In or
der to strengthen it. whereupon the
various pieces we're successfully put
together. It Is known as the Oseberg
shil,
GETa TIM WRONG p1.A NH