or perished by any other means, no one knew where they had concealed their property. The most precious articles, it is true, were deposited in the barrows with the dead, but the greater part of such elevations in which articles of value occurred, were broken open and plundered in the middle ages.
The ancient writer above named farther mentions that the large quantity of gold existing in Seeland was obtained by piracy. This statement is to a certain degree correct; but it can scarcely be denied that many trinkets and ornaments were acquired by trade. The North was at an early period visited by merchants from southern countries, chiefly for the purpose of procuring amber and fur. In later times these commercial relations were extended farther, and from the North itself merchants sailed to distant countries, whence they brought home rare and costly wares. History, it is to be observed, does not afford us many particulars relating to this kind of life. The merchant did not stand in such high repute as the Viking, hence it was natural that the heroic deeds of the one should be described rather than the peaceful employments of the other. It is highly gratifying to observe how our antiquities afford in this respect important explanations, which serve both to confirm and to extend the materials of history.
In ancient times no money was coined in Denmark. Trade consisted, it is true, in a great degree, of exchange, but there were many instances in which it was necessary to have a kind of circulating medium. Instead of coins, pieces of silver and gold were used, which were cut off either from rings or bars, and passed according to their weight. Most commonly they made use of ring-silver, or of pieces of many different broken rings. It was not till about the year 1000, that King Svend Tveskiæg, the father of the Dano-Anglish King Cnut began to coin money in Denmark. Coined money however was frequently brought thither from southern regions, where civilization had made greater pro-
