Some of the ridges and heaps, as at Shishmaref, Point Hope, one of the Punuk Islands, etc., are large and may be up to 15 feet and over in depth, but mostly the remains are of moderate to small size. The latter sometimes could easily be confounded with natural formations. The older remains may superficially be indistinguishable even to an experienced observer; and if there is anything still more ancient, it lies somewhere in the old sands and beaches where, except through some fortunate accident, it can not be discovered. Except for their surface, the remains are generally frozen hard, and no excavation is possible except through gradual exposure and the melting of layer after layer by the warmth of the sun or a melting of the ground with water or by some other artificial means. Some at least of these ruins are rich archeologically. They greatly exceed in this respect a large majority of village ruins and mounds in the interior of the continent. This appears from their gradual excavation by the natives at Barrow, Point Hope, St. Lawrence Island, and elsewhere. The natives have now for many years been selling thousands of articles thus obtained to traders, teachers, and crews of visiting vessels. A regular and growing trade detrimental to archeology is now being carried on in "fossil ivory," which generally consists of pieces showing human workmanship and occasionally includes specimens of rare beauty and importance. The archeological contents of such old sites as that near Savonga on the St. Lawrence Island, or those at Wales, Point Hope, Barrow, etc., are varied, and in instances exceedingly interesting. They comprise a large variety of objects of stone, ivory, bone, and wood, while in the more superficial layers are also found occasionally glass beads or objects of metal. Some ruins, such as those at Point Hope and Kotzebue, are very rich in stone objects; others, as those at the St. Lawrence Island, are rich in articles of ivory and bone. Pottery is generally scarce. Articles of stone comprise mainly points, knives, adzes, and lamps; those of wood, goggles and masks; of bone, various parts of sleds, a large assortment of snow and meat picks, and scrapers; of ivory, barbed points, harpoons, and lance heads, and a large variety of tools, fetishes, and ceremonial objects; of clay, a few dishes and pots for culinary purposes. Traces of objects made of whalebone or even birch bark may also appear. The stones used were mainly slate and flint, but there may also be met with quartz, quartzite, and especially the Kobuk "jade." The workmanship is as a rule good to excellent. The arrow points show a number of interesting, not yet fully known, types, the long blade with parallel sides predominating. The stone lamps and rare dishes also need further study. The knives all approach the Asiatic semilunar variety.