As the antiquities of the united king dom are in some respects connected with those of the Danes and other northern na tions, we may suggest to the reader what are the principal rem:tins of those people, as a clue to his future inquiries.
The ancient monument.; of Denmark and Norway are chiefly- Runic, though it is far front certain at what period the use of Runic characters extended so far north. Circles of upright stones are common in all the Danish dominions, the islands, Nor way, and Iceland, in which latter country their origin is perfectly' ascertained, as some were erected even in recent times of the Icelandic republic, being called elomh-ring, or circles of judgment. Some also appear to have been the cemeteries of superior families. Monuments also occur of two upright stones with one across; and of the other forms supposed to be Druidic. The residences of the chiefs appear to have been generally constructed of wood, as there are very few ancient castles ex isting in Denmark or Norway.
Of Sweden the ancient monuments con sist chiefly of judicial circles and other erections of tinhorn stone, together with remains inscribed with Runic characters, none of which are imagined to have exist ed longer than the eleventh century.
In Russia the ancient monuments are neither numerous, nor afford much variety. There are to be met with the tombs of their pagan ancestors, containing weapons and ornaments. Front the writings of Ilerodotus NYC learn that the Sey-thians re garded the cemeteries oftheirprinees with singular veneration : the Sarmatians or Slavons seem to have imbibed the same ideas. The catacombs of Kiow, it is be lieved, were formed in the pagan period, though they are now replete with marks of Christianity. They are labyrinths of considerable extent, dug, as it should seem, through a mass of hardened clay, but they do not appear to contain the bo dies of the sovereigns. The idols of Pa. gan Russia are sometimes found cast in bronze; and Dr. Guthrie has given a good account of the Slavonic mythology. to whose " Dissertations stir les Antiquites de 'tussle" we reftr the reader. We may however observe, that the pagan Russians worshi pp ed one god, supposed to be the author of thunder; another, that resembled the Pan of the ancients ; others, answering to the Sun, Hercules, Mars, Venus, and Cupid. They had also god desses, corresponding with Ceres, Diana, and Pomona,and th ei rnymplis of the woods and waters. They worshipped Znitch or
Vesta in the form of fire, and venerated waters, the Bog being as highly regarded by the ancient Russians as the Ganges among the Indians : the lion and the Da utibe were also considered as holy streams; and there was a sacred lake, environed with a thick forest, in the isle of Rugen, which was adored by the Slavonic tribes. ..– .antiquities in the Trailqt of the Mississippi.
"Considerable curiosity has been ex cited by appearances on the MissiSsippi and its tributary waters, supposed to prove a more ancient population, than the state of the country, or the character of the tribes inhabiting it, when first visited by Europeans, would seem to indicate.
" The american bottom is a tract of rich alluvi an land, on the Mississippi, from the Kaskaskia to the Cahokia river, about eighty miles in length and five in breadth; several handsome streams mean der through it; the soil of the richest kind, and hut little subject to the effects of the Mississippi floods.—If any vestige of an cient population were to be found, this would be the place to look for it.—Ac ciiirdingly, this tract, as also the hank of the river on the western side, exhibit proofs of an immense population,—If the city of Philadelphia' and its environs were deserted,vtliere would not be more numerous traces of human existence.— The great ,inraber of mounds, and the astonishi ng quantity of human bones, every day dug up, or found on the surface of the ground; with a thousand other appear ances, announce that this valley was at one period filled with habitations and vil lages. The whole face of the bluff, or hill, which abounds to the east, appears to have been a continued burial ground.
"But the most remarkable appearances are, two groups of mounds or pyramids, the one about ten: miles above Cahokia, the other nearly the same 5listanee below it, which, in all,"exceed one hundlkd and fifty, of various sizes.—A more minute de scription of those above Cahokia will give a tolerable idea of thews all.—They are mostly of a circular shape, and at a dis tance resemble enormous haystacks scat tered through a meadow. One of the largest is about two hundred paces in cir cumference at the bottom, the form near ly square. The top level, with an area sufficient to contain several hundred men.