Deck prism

Deck prisms are glass prisms that were set flush into the decks of sailing ships. They allow concentrated light to pass into the cabins below deck. The alternative of using lanterns lit by burning oil could be dangerous aboard a ship, but using glass prisms helped illuminate the ship below deck without risking a fire. This prism is thought to be from the deck of the french hospital ship Saint Paul, which ran aground on the south coast of Iceland by Meðalland in 1899. In the Skógar Museum we have a lot of artifacts from this ship, because when the ship ran aground, the locals in the area emptied it of all valuables and sold them at an auction.