CHAPTER VI.

_On the Hill of Hissarlik, April 5th, 1872._

New assistants for 1872--Cost of the excavations--Digging of the great platform on the North--Venomous snakes--A supporting buttress on the North side of the hill--Objects discovered: little idols of fine marble--Whorls engraved with the _suastika_ [Illustration: block-style cross] and 卐--Significance of these emblems in the old Aryan religion--Their occurrence among other Aryan nations--Mentioned in old Indian literature--Illustrative quotation from Émile Burnouf 98