b o o k worktnanfhip. Thefe ornaments confift o f bracelets, fome
■ ...J—i o f which weigh a pound; o f collars in the ihape of ferpents;
o f vafes, crowns, bucklers, rings, figures o f animals richly
carved in gold and filver,fabres with golden hilts, ornamented
with precious ftones; Tartar idols, and other antiquities.
The furprizing quantity o f golden ornaments, were they, not
evident to fight, would exceed all b elief; but having been
in fait, difcovered in the manner reprefented, it is certain that
the people whofe relicks were interred in thefe places muft
have been very rich. How then are we to account for a civilized
nation, capable o f thefe artificial productions, formerly
exifiirtg upon the banks o f the Irtiih, the Tobol, and
the Yenisei ? Mr. Muller, who has made refearches upon
the fubjeit, and who, during his travels through Siberia, examined
many o f the fpots where the tombs were opened, advances
the following probable conjectures concerning the
people to whom they belonged; and from him all fublequent
authors, who have written upon this point, have drawn their
conclufions
After defcribing the different fpecies o f tombs obferved in
the fouthern parts o f Siberia, he adds, “ that as in feveral of
“ lets round h e r arms . T h e h e ad, b re a d ,
44 and arms w ere nak ed . T h e body was
44 covered w ith a r ich ro b e , bu t w ith ou t
“ any b o rd e r o f gold o r jew e ls , and was
44 laid on a ih eet o f fine go ld , and covered
44 over w ith another. T h e fou r iheets o f
“ g o ld weighed 40 pou n d s . T h e robes o f
“ b o th look ed fa ir and comp lete ; b u t , up-
“ on tou ch in g , crumb led in to duft.”
D em id o f ’s a c count o f - ce rta in T a r ta r ia n
A n tiqu ities , in the A rch a jo lo g ia , V o l. II.
p . 223, 224.
, * See Mr. Muller’ s excellent Trent ife
Vo n den Altern Graebern in Siberia in
Haygold,. vol. II. p. 155. alfo in the-Journal
o f St, Pet. for 1779#
r a j thefe
•“ w h ich la y befide him. In the v au lt b e-
44 yon'd him, towards w h ich his feet la y ,
“ were his h orfe, brid le , fadd le , and ftirrups.
44 T h e b o d y o f th e p rin c e la y in a re c lin in g
44 p o ilu re , upon a ilie et o f pu re go ld , e x -
44 ten d in g from head to fo o t : and another
44 ilie e t o f g o ld of" th e lik e dimenfions were
44 fpread over him. H e was wrapped in a
•“ r ich m an tle, b ordered w ith g o ld , and
44 ftudded w ith rubies and emeralds. His
44 head, n e c k ,;b re a f i, and arms n ak ed , and
' “ w ith o u t an y ornament.
44 In th e lefler v au lt la y th e princefs, di’f -
44 tinguiflied b y h e r female ornaments . She
44 was p la c ed reclining- again ft th e w a lls ,
44 w ith a gold chain o f many lin k s , fe t'w ith
44 rubies, round h e r n e c k , and g o ld brace*
1
“ thefe burial places the bones o f men, women, and harfes, c h a p .
“ have been found with javelins, bows and arrows, and other w —i
“ weapons; it feems evident, that the fame antient fuperfti-
“ tion, which ftill reigns in India, was formerly prevalent in
“ thofe parts, namely, that the departed fouls follow the
fame kind o f life in a future ftate which they purfued in
I this world m For this purpofe, at the demife o f a perfon
“ o f diftinition, his favourite wife, his fervants, the horfes
“ upon which he was accuftomed to ride, were facrificed at
“ his tomb, and buried with h im ; and for the fame reafon
“ his arms, drefs, and other accoutrements, were alfo in-
“ terred: hence the Indian wives, to this day, throw thenv
“ felves upon the funeral pile o f their huibands.” And
Mr. Muller obferves, that, upon infpedting the antient archives
o f Yakutik, he found the fame cuttom obtained among
the inhabitants when the Ruffians firft made the conqueft
of thofe parts; and that the only effectual method o f putting
a ftop to fuch proceedings, was by puniffiing all thofe as
murderers who facrificed the wives and fervants o f the de-
ceafed.
Having thus accounted for the quantity o f gold and filver
ornaments found in thefe tombs, he next endeavours to point
out the particular people to whom thefe burial places belonged
; and he is equally judicious in the folution o f this
difficult inquiry. He begins by afferting, tht the richeft o f
thefe burial places were made in the time o f Zinghis Khan
and his immediate fucceffors. The molt valuable tombs
. being found near the banks o f the Volga, the Tobol, and the
irtiffi; the next in value in the deferts o f the Yenisei; and
O r , a s th e p o e t h a s e le g a n t l y e x p 'r e ffe d P a f c c r e e q d o s ; e a d em f e q u k u r t c l lu r e
' a ™ ~ T ~ Q s * S ra't la c u r r u r a r e p o f to s .
01 am q u e fm t v iv is , q u * c u r a n i t e n t c s iE n e id . lib .’ V I . 6 « '.'.
V0L- «• T the