1890-91.] SIBERIAN INSCRIPTIONS. 261 



SIBERIAN INSCRIPTIONS. 



By John Campbell, LL.D. Professor in the Presbyterl\n 

 College, Montreal. 



(Read igth December i8gi.) 



A wonderfully interesting class of inscriptions, hardly known beyond 

 scientific circles within the bounds of the Russian Empire, is that of the 

 so-called runic monuments of Siberia, and notably of that part of it 

 which is watered by the Yenisei and its tributaries. Several years ago, 

 Mr. VI. Youferofif of the Imperial Geographical Society at St. Peters- 

 burg made, from all available sources published and unpublished, a 

 collection of trustworthy copies of these documents, which I have in my 

 possession, translations of which will be found in my forthcoming book 

 " The Hittite Track in the East." But, in the winter of 1889, I had the 

 satisfaction of receiving, from the Archaeological Society of Finland, a 

 folio volume consisting of 52 pages of letterpress and 8 photographs of 

 inscriptions^. Of the first part, 17 pages are taken up with an historical 

 account of the discovery of the monuments, illustrated with 14 well- 

 executed engravings ; the rest is a representation by the formulated 

 syllabary of 32 complete documents awaiting the zeal of the epigrapher. 

 Such a treasury of ancient Siberian lore never before lay open to the 

 gaze of the historical explorer. The Preface may be trusted to tell the 

 tale of the book, which, I may say for the comfort of students, is written 

 in French. 



" The importance, for the archaeology and history of Central Asia, of 

 the inscriptions discovered upon raised stones and upon the rocks of the 

 upper Yenisei, has given to the Archaeological Society of Finland, the 

 thought of taking the initiative in collecting these inscriptions and in 

 publishing them for scientific ends. Although the work of collection is 

 not yet completed, the society has been unwilling to deprive orientalists 

 of the inscriptions already brought together by the expedition formed 

 for this purpose. This will also explain the incomplete state in which 

 this publication appears. At the time of the work's preparation, tiie 

 need of possessing photographs taken directly from the inscriptions was 

 deeply felt, for the squeezes made with prepared moist paper could only 

 be made use of in the absence of anything better for the photographic 

 reproduction of the inscriptions. For the same reason, in the text 



