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Aurum, Gold

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96
AUEUM.
in this pale gold. In fact, it continued to be used in the cur­rency of the Greek cities of Asia Minor (Cyzicus, &c.) down to the times of Alexander: perhaps it was found to wear better in the circulation from the existence of the native alloy, and the saving of the expense in refining it was of importance to the mint. But it was from ignorance of the necessary process that the cur­rency of the Gauls and Britons was struck in the gold just as it comes from the washings, which in these regions is of very low alloy, containing a good deal of copper as well as silver.
Herodotus (iii. 16) states it as a well-known fact that there was an abundance of gold found in the North of Europe, but had been quite unable to ascertain anything as to the mode in which it was procured, treating as quite unworthy of credit the tale of the Arimaspi, the one-eyed race, stealing it from the custody of the Gryphons. By North of Europe the north-east is in­tended, for his Arimaspi are placed to the east of the Araxes beyond the Issedones. Neighbouring upon the latter are his Massagetse (i. 201), who have gold and copper in abundance, but neither silver nor iron. Hence it is pretty evident that these Scythian (or Cossack) tribes prosecuted with considerable ac­tivity the trade of washing for gold-dust the sands of the Uralian streams, still so productive in the same way. The Tartar tumuli covering the regions to the north of the Black Sea testify to the truth of these assertions by the vast quantity of gold ornaments, belonging to widely separated dates, which have long rewarded the treasure-seekers amongst the Cossacks. In some the corpses have been discovered wrapped up in a complete winding-sheet of gold, in others numerous rude figures of purely Tartarian origin; others again contain works showing some influence of Grecian taste.
He quotes on Carthaginian authority (iv. 195) a tale of an island, Cyraunis, off the Libyan coast, where there was a lake out of which girls drew up the gold-dust out of the mud by means of bunches of feathers smeared with pitch and tied to long poles. This story he seems to doubt. He likewise de­scribes, on the same authority, how their traders bartered mer­chandise against gold in a certain locality on the African coast, beyond the Pillars of Hercules, probably near Senegal; or indeed
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