Viking period, the period from about 700 till a little after 1000 A.D.) the dead on being laid to rest in the sepulchral tumulus, were not infrequently put in a ship." women were sometimes interred in this manner."

"Even "But in

all cases which have hitherto come under notice, the ships, as might easily be expected, were so much injured after having so long laid in the earth, that only few traces of them remained."

"A Norwegian tumulus has however lately disclosed a vessel from the younger iron period, which fortunately has comparatively resisted the decay of time. The discovery was made in the parish which has preserved the most remarkable and probably the oldest of Norwegian Runic stones, viz., the parish of Tune, in the amt of Smaalenene.".

"The lowest layer of the tumulus proved to consist of stiff potter's-clay, while further up were other kinds of earth. The clay had preserved the wood extremely well, but all that part of the ship which lay above this layer was so entirely destroyed, that not even a trace of it remained. It was therefore best preserved in the middle, where the clay had been thickest, and here only one or two boards seem to have disappeared. But the extremities, especially the southern one, which was last excavated, have suffered much; and only the very lowest part of the prows has been preserved (in the southern end a piece one foot in length and in the northern a piece of four feet). But what remains is however in a tolerably good condition."

"The whole work is executed with evident care and elegance for that period. All the boards are ornamented with mouldings on the edges both inside and outside; there are also mouldings and carved ornaments on the upper side of the ribs."

"The body was buried in the space just behind the mast beam and the spot indicated by small flat wooden blocks, sunk in the clay and laid in a square along the sides of the ship and right across it. Here lay some unburnt bones of a man and of a horse, of which however only a few were preserved. There were also discovered two beads of colored glass, some cloth compactly rolled together, and four small pieces of carved wood, which appear to be fragments of a saddle. Close by part of a snow-skate was found, viz., the middle piece on which the foot rests, with a hole for the strap."

"In the southern end of the mound, at the height of the

vessel's gunwale and still higher, traces of iron utensils were seen at many places, but they were so rusted away, that there was hardly any thing left but some stripes of rust in the earth. Nothing of it could be preserved, and it was only in a few instances possible to make out what it had been. For instance, near the prow at the eastern gunwale of the vessel, the handle of a sword of the form used in the Viking period, was clearly distinguished; nearly opposite on the western side the point of a spear and the boss of a shield seem to have laid. Just where the prow must have been, lay a long heavy lump of iron rust, apparently a fragment of a rolled-up coat of mail."

"The articles found in and near the vessel completely establish, what might have been supposed without their testimony, viz., that one had come on a ship-tomb from the younger iron age."

"The beads and pieces of cloth indicate, that the body was buried with clothes on. By his side a horse and saddle, harness and snow-skates were laid. Thus he had ship, saddle, horse, and snow-skates with him in the sepulchral tumulus."

"We have then here considerable fragments of a vessel undoubtedly belonging to the Viking period." ... "It is the only vessel, extant, from the Viking period, and as far as is known, the most ancient which has been preserved, with the exception of one in Denmark. Nor is there any probability, judging from previous experience, that there will ever be found another ship from the same period, better or even so well preserved."

The President said that Judge Parker had consulted him respecting the presentation of this paper, and that he had not only approved of his laying it before the Society, but had requested and received another copy, for the Peabody Museum of Archæology, of which he was a member. The details respecting the construction of the old Viking ship were of great interest.

It was voted that the thanks of the Society be presented to Consul Gadé for his valuable translation.

The President said that the reports of the Annual Meeting would now be taken up.

The Reports of the Standing Committee, the Treasurer, the Librarian, and the Cabinet-keeper, were severally laid before the meeting, and accepted. Mr. Mason, from the committee on the Treasurer's account, certified to its correctness. The reports here follow:

Report of the Standing Committee.

The Standing Committee congratulate the members of the Massachusetts Historical Society on their reoccupation of their own estate, under such favorable circumstances, after a separation from it of more than a twelvemonth. During that period, the building in which we now assemble has been begun and completed in a manner entirely satisfactory to our tenant, the City of Boston, and to ourselves. For this happy result, the Society is under great and lasting obligations to its associates, the members of the Building Committee, Messrs. Mason, Bigelow, Brooks, Green, and Frothingham, for their disinterested and indefatigable labors in conducting this transaction to a fortunate conclusion. To their sound judgment, constant supervision, and good taste, we are indebted for a substantial structure, proof against fire, externally of a simple elegance, and conveniently arranged within for the objects of its erection, which we may hope will answer the occasions of the Society for many years to come. The Building Committee employed Messrs. Ryder & Harris, architects, the latter of whom is one of our associates, to furnish the working plans and to superintend the details of the construction. For the particulars of their service and of the cost of the work, the Society is referred to the Report of the Committee, which has just been laid before it.

The Society has much reason for gratitude that its Library and Cabinet escaped the destruction which overtook so many other precious collections by the Great Fire of November 9th, 1872. While they might have been, without any imputation of imprudence, stored in one of the warehouses which were burnt, they were committed, by the kind and generous perm'ssion of the trustees, to the safe and free hospitality of the Poston Athenæum, and have thus been preserved to us. The Reports of the Librarian and the Cabinet-keeper will attest the safe and good condition in which they have been restored to their former home. We refer the Society to the Report of the Treasurer for an account of its financial condition after the large investment it has made in this building.

Our monthly meetings have been usually held, during the time of our exclusion from our proper hall, in the room No. 41 Tremont Street, hired for the purpose, and which sufficiently answered the occasions of our ordinary business. Several of our monthly meetings, as well as our last Annual Meeting, were held, by the kind permission of the Academy, in the Hall

of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. By the hospitable invitation of several of our associates, we have held social reunions at their private residences, on one of which occasions, at the house of Mr. John Amory Lowell, we had the pleasure of meeting our eminent Foreign Honorary Member, Mr. James Anthony Froude, the historian, who said that his satisfaction in meeting with us was the more because this was the first learned body that had given him the encouragement of any recognition of his claim to notice as an author.

At the last Annual Meeting, we announced that the question between the Commonwealth and the Society as to the rightful division of the Hutchinson Papers was in a fair way of adjustment through the agreement of both parties upon Professor Henry Adams as umpire. In consequence of the departure of Professor Adams for Europe, it became necessary to select a substitute in his place. After a good deal of difference of opinion on the subject, the Attorney-General and the Committee charged with the matter, with full powers, have agreed upon Robert S. Rantoul, Esq., of Salem, as an umpire between the Commonwealth and the Society, to whose impartiality and good judgment both parties could safely intrust their interests.

At the last Annual Meeting, the Committee were able to state that no death of any Resident Member had occurred during the year 1871-72. We have no such cheerful statement to repeat this year. Within the last twelve months we have had to record the deaths of four of our Resident Members, the Rev. Charles Brooks, Mr. Charles Folsom, the Rev. John S. Barry, and our oldest member and former President, the Hon. James Savage. This venerable gentleman, a member of sixty years' standing, and so long identified with all the interests and action of this Society, died on March 8th, in his eighty-ninth year, and was buried from the church in Arlington Street, on the 11th. His funeral was attended by a large delegation of our number. Mr. Savage was not forgetful of the Society he loved so well and had served so long, when making the final disposition of his property; and he has remembered us in a liberal legacy. The deaths of these gentlemen were duly noticed by the Society at the time they occurred, and full memoirs of them will appear in due time in our "Proceedings."

The vacancies caused by the loss of these members have been filled, with the exception of that occasioned by the death of Mr. Savage. Our full number of one hundred members, save one, is now complete.

During the past year, we have lost by death four of our Corresponding Members, Dr. Francis Lieber, Mr. George Catlin,

Mr. J. Francis Fisher, and the Baron Charles Dupin; and we have added three to that list, M. d'Avezac, the Hon. E. T. B. Twisleton, and Col. J. L. Chester.

All which is respectfully submitted for the Standing Committee.

EDMUND QUINCY, Chairman.

Annual Report of the Treasurer.

The Treasurer of the Massachusetts Historical Society submits the Annual Report for the year closing April 8, 1873:

The General Account will show specifically the finances of the Society: