KÄNNE, BURS, GOTLAND, SWEDEN
The first example of this long line of excavations, as just
remarked, was a three-aisled dwelling, excavated in 1928 by
John and Nils Nihlen, in a place called Känne, in the
parish of Burs, in East Gotland (fig. 290).[101]
It was 33 feet
wide (10 m.) and had the extraordinary length—not as
yet matched by any dwelling subsequently unearthed—of
203 feet (62 m.) A recent review of the site has disclosed
that the hall was constructed in two successive phases, and
in its original state was only half as long.[102]
Its roof was
supported by two rows of freestanding inner posts, rising
in pairs, at intervals of 9 to 13 feet (3 to 4 m.). Each of
these uprights was firmly secured in the ground by a
ring-shaped wrapping of stones. Over fifty charred beams
and numerous fragments of wood were found on the floor;
among these were the remains of two large beams which
were jointed into each other at right angles. The walls
consisted of solid banks of earth heavily interspersed with
small stones and were faced, outwardly and inwardly, with
a strong lining of heavier stones. The roof must have been
covered with sods of turf, as no other material would have
smothered so effectively the fire that destroyed the house
yet preserved so much of the timbered frame of the roof.
The hall received its warmth from two hearths which lay in
the middle of the center aisle, one of them 33 feet (10 m.)
long. "Longfires" of this kind are well attested from the
Sagas, where they are referred to as langeldar or máleldar.[103]
The general character of the accessories found in the house
pointed to about the year A.D. 200 as the approximate
period of construction.
