Longfellw's "Skeleton In Armor" Poem-Any Pictures Survive?

[ralph124c]

In the 1870’s a skeleton (allegedly that of Viking) was found near Fall River, Massachusetts. H. W. Longfellow wote a famous poem, based upon this find, in which he reinforced the belief that the remains were that of a Norse explorer. Unfortunately, the skeleton (and whatever “armor” it was wearing, werre destroyed when a fire destroyed the museum housing the rmains.
Do any contemporary pictures/accounts describe the finding? What was the “armor” like-was it of scandinavian origin?

[CalMeacham]

According to Charles Michael Boland’s They All Discovered America (1961, pp. 236-7 in paperback edition):

In 1831 the skeleton of a man was dug up at the corner of what is now Fith and Hartley Streets, in the town of Fall River. The remarkable aspect of this male skeleton was that ut was adorned with metal ornaments, none of which were readily identifiable. Much speculation was offered by the newspapers of the day, and it was finally decided that the skeleton was that of a dead viking. Now discussion of the skeleton reached fever pitch, and inspired Henry Wadsworth longfellow to write a poem titled “The Skeleton in Armor.” …The poem caused a sensation and did much to substantiate the idea that the skeleton was truly a viking.

Assuming that Boland got it straight, that doesn’t sound like “armor”, really. And I hasten to point out that Boland is one of thgose who believed that the Vikings really did land in New England, so if he’s this lukewarm about it, it’s probably a pretty accurate description.
as for the destruction or survival of the metal trappings, there’s happy news for you – they weren’t destroyed:

A great fire swept through the city of Fall River [in 1843], where the wretched skeleton was housed, and it was destroyed. But the ornaments he wore were not. Some of them had been sent to the Royal Ethnological Museum in Copenhagen, some found a home at the Peabody Museum at Harvard, and, according to Miss Constance Winslow, curator of the Massachusetts Historical Society at Fall River, two little 1/4 inch metal rings from the skeleton stayed in Fall River.

As he notes further down, Samual Kneeland about 1886 wrote a paper surmising that the brass parts were part of a belt, and the implication is that it was of English manufacture. the report is in the Twentieth Annual report of the Peabody Museum, Vol. III, #7, pp. 543-546. See also Philip Ainsworth Means’ book the Newport Tower (1942)

[CalMeacham]

And, like everything else there days, it has its own Wikipedia article, which includes a sketch:

The Skeleton in Armor

One of the Copenhagen specimens was analyzed and found to be brass. The tubes themselves are similar to copper tubes found in graves elsewhere, and brass arrowheads similar to those found in the grave have been found in New York and Massachusetts Indian burial sites.[1]

aLSO OF INTEREST

http://www.neara.org/ROS/pemaquid.htm