_Picts' Houses and Argils_ (Vol. viii., p. 264.).--Malte-Brun, in his
_Universal Geography_, English translation, vol. vi. p. 387., has a passage
in his description of Russia which applies to this matter. The steppes of
Nogay lie immediately to the north of the peninsula of the Crimea, both
being included in the Russian government of Taurida, and both countries
were formerly inhabited by the Cimbri or Cimmerians. Malte-Brun says:
"The colonists are in many places ill provided with timber for
building; they live under the ground, and the hillocks, which are so
common in the country, and which served in ancient times for graves or
monuments of the dead, are now converted into houses, the vaults are
changed into roofs, and beneath them are subterranean excavations.
Kurgan is the Tartar name for these tumuli; they are scattered
throughout New Russia; they were raised at different times by the
different people who ruled over that region. The Kurgans are not all of
the same kind; some are not unlike the rude works of the early
Hungarians, others are formed of large and thin stones, like the
Scandinavian tombs. It is to be regretted that the different articles
contained in them have been only of late years examined with care."
This does not establish the identity of the Argil and Kurgan, but I think
it shows more particular information is likely to be met with on the
subject. M. Malte-Brun, vol. vi. p. 152., in his description of Turkey,
mentions a curious town on the hills of the Strandschea, a little to the
west of Constantinople. It is called Indchiguis, and is inhabited by
Troglodytes; its numerous dwellings are cut in solid rocks, stories are
formed in the same manner, and many apartments that communicate with each
other.