[gothic-l] Goths and ships

[keth at ONLINE.NO]

>If the Goths started in Vastergotland and Ostergotland and the island
>of Gotland, how did they get across the Baltic Sea? How certain is it
>that they needed ships? How many winters a century (before the recent
>global warming started) does that part of the Baltic Sea freeze
>across sound enough for the people to walk across?


The Bronze Age is supposed to have had a warmer climate.
The Iron Age was somewhat colder with more rain.
No doubt it would have been possible to walk across,
but is it likely? If it wasn't a habit they had, how could
they for instance have known it was safe, or in what
direction to go? And how many miles is it across?

More likely is that they had ships, especially since
archaeology has discovered advanced ships from the Iron Age
in that region. Also Bronze Age petrographs attest a widespread
cult of ships and shipping in all of Scandinavia.

Keth



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