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REPORTS FROM THE SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION TO THE NORTH-WESTERN
PROVINCES OF CHINA UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF DR. SVEN HEDIN

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— THE SINO'SWEDISH EXPEDITION —
PUBLICATION 7

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VII. Archaeology

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Archaeological researches

Sinkiang

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FOLKE BERGMAN

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BOKFORLAGS AKTIEBOLAGET THULE . STOCKHOLM

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ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCHES

SINKIANG

REPORTS FROM THE SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION TO THE NORTH-WESTERN
PROVINCES OF CHINA UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF DR. SVEN HEDIN

— THE SINO-SWEDISH EXPEDITION —
PUBLICATION 7

VII. Archaeology

ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCHES

IN SINKIANG

ESPECIALLY THE LOP-NOR REGION

FOLKE BERGMAN

DESCRIPTIVE LISTS OF TEXTILES BY VlVI SYLWAN
APPENDICES BY STEN KONOW, AND HjALMARLjUNGH

WITH 20 HALF TONE PLATES, 2 COLOURED PLATES,

36 COLLOTYPE PLATES, AND 52 ILLUSTRATIONS

AND MAPS IN THE TEXT

ST OCKHOLM 1939

BOKFORLAGS aktiebolaget thule

—

Printed in Sweden

Tryckeri Aktiebolaget Thule
stockholm 1 939

C O N T E N T S

INTRODUCTORY NOTE BY SVEN HEDIN 7

PREFACE i n

PART I. PREHISTORIC FINDS FROM SINKIANG

i. EARLIER DISCOVERIES I3

2. SITES WITH PAINTED POTTERY I4

A. Miao-erh-ku I4

B. Sengim-aghiz i c

C. Toqsun x ^

D. The Charchan vase x g

E. Discussion on painted pottery 22

3. SITES WITHOUT PAINTED POTTERY ...*.! ^ .. !1 '."!.!!! **] 26

A. Ch'ai-o-p'u 2^

5" Sin S er .....ill". \..\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 26

C. The Lop desert - x

D. Chiqin-sai --

E. Conclusion -6

PART II. THE LOP-NOR REGION IN HISTORICAL TIME

1. HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 3 g

A. The Roads . T

B. Lou-Ian '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'/.'.'.'.[ 44

2. REMARKS ON THE HYDROGRAPHY !.!!!!!!!!!■!!!!!!!!!!!! 46

3. ANCIENT REMAINS ALONG "THE SMALL RIVER" 5 i

A. Introduction „

B. Earlier discoveries of graves iL

C Grave 10 , „ . . .'.'.'.'.[[.[[[]] '.'.'.'.'.'.'. '.'.'. '.'..'..'. \ \ \ A

D. Graves around Yaqinliq-kol c8

E. From Grave 10 along "The Small River" to Cemetery 5 ........* c Q

F. Cemetery 5 ("Ordek's necropolis") ''*/.* g

I. Description of the site $ T

II. Wooden sculptures fa

in. The finds ....!!!!". r. .!!!!! I! ! 68

IV. Discussion gg

G. Watch-tower at The Small River \\\\\ qq

H. Burial place 7 X02

I. Burial place 6 * **'| IO £

J. Burial place 4 116

K. Discussion on the minor cemeteries H7

4. GRAVES IN THE DELTA OF QUM-DARYA „8

A. Mass-grave 1 (No. 34) Il8

B. Grave 35. (Single grave a) ' —,

C Grave 36. (Single grave b) .-g

D. "Ruin II" with grave 37 '..'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 140

E. Mass-grave 2 (No. 38) 140

F. Grave ( ?) near Hedin's camp 80 (No. 39) 142

G. Conclusion 143

5. THE RUINS OF THE LOP DESERT 147

A. Introduction 147

B. Horner's and Chen's collections from the Lou-Ian station 148

C. Ruins discovered in 1931 and 1934 155

D. Discussion 159

6. STRAY FINDS FROM THE LOP DESERT 161

7. YING-P'AN 180

PART III. THE NORTHERN BORDER REGION OF LOP-NOR

1. A QURUQ-TAGH ROCK CARVING 183

2. SHINDI 193

A. Watch-station 193

B. "Tash-dt" 193

C. Grave near Shindi 194

3. SOGET-BULAQ 195

A. Ruined fortress 195

B. Burial place 197

4. GRAVE AT SHOR-TSAGHAN 197

5. RUINS IN THE QARA-SHAHR REGION 199

A. Ming-di 199

B. Baghdad-shah ri 199

C. Ruin near Baghdad-shahri 200

6. RUIN AT QUMUSH 202

7. MONOLITHS NEAR CH'AI-O-P'U 202

PART IV. THE SOUTHERN BORDER REGION OF LOP-NOR

1. CHARCHAN 204

A. Graves 207

B. 'Tati' finds 208

2. VASH-SHAHRI 219

3. MIRAN 223

4. CONCLUSION 228

APPENDICES: Note on the inscription on the silk-strip No. 34: 65, by Prof.

Sten Konow 231

Microscopical and chemical tests, by Hjalmar Ljungh 235

WORKS CONSULTED 24 o

INDEX OF PLATES 1—38 246

GENERAL INDEX 2$I

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

About 40 years ago a happy combination of circumstances enabled me, though
not an archaeologist by profession, to discover ruins of several towns, villages,
fortifications and temples in Eastern Turkistan, ruins which had for many
centuries, in certain cases even a couple of thousand years, remained hidden and for-
gotten in the desert sand. From many of these places I brought home to Sweden
collections of archaeological specimens.

When in Peking at the turn of the year 1926—27 I was negotiating for permis-
sion to undertake a big expedition to Sinkiang, or Chinese Turkistan, Professor
J. G. Andersson suggested that also a Swedish archaeologist be added to the staff of
the expedition. For this initiative I am profoundly indebted to him, for it meant not
only a considerable extension of our program, but also an added significance to the
expedition.

To this post, as the Swedish archaeologist of the expedition, was appointed Folke
Bergman, who in this part of our Report Series gives an account of the archaeolo-
gical work carried out in the province of Sinkiang. This monograph will be follow-
ed by several others dealing with the results of extensive research in Inner Mongo-
lia.

It is for me both a duty and a pleasure to express here my warm and cordial
thanks for Folke Bergman's contribution to our scientific work in connection with
the expedition.

I am also glad of this opportunity of expressing my warm feeling of gratitude to
our Chinese friends for their hospitality to us over a long period of years, during
which we were able to establish a Sino-Swedish co-operation that has proved of
great value and importance to both parties.

By a sequence of chances beyond our control we found ourselves, in the spring
of 1934, in the Lop-nor country. The Central Government in Nanking had done me
the honour of entrusting me with the task of localizing and investigating two mo-
tor-roads between China proper and Sinkiang. The civil war then in progress in the
province led General Sheng Shih-ts'ai, the military Governor-General of Sinkiang,
to request us, for our own safety's sake, to move down towards Lop-nor for a couple

of months. This request, which was rather in the nature of an order, fitted in very
opportunely with our own desire as far as possible to complete our earlier researches
in this highly interesting region. In the course of our geographical researches in
the Lop-nor country during this season we found, inter alia, a number of ancient
graves, which we excavated. In September, the collections from these graves had
been taken without mishap to Urumchi, where they would certainly have been lost
to science if the Soviet Russian Consul-General, G. A. Apresov, with the great
influence he wielded in the province, had not obtained for us permission to take
these finds with us on our journey eastwards. The authorities in Peking settled their
final destiny by deciding that we might take them to Sweden on loan, for scientific
purposes. I wish here to express my hearty thanks to those whose aid in the matter
contributed so powerfully to this fortunate issue. It is the description of these col-
lections that constitutes the central part of the present volume.

Stockholm in February 1939.

Sven He din.

PREFACE

It is the aim of this volume to describe the archaeological collections that have been
made in the province of Sinkiang by the Swedish participants in the Sino-
Swedish Expedition of Dr. Sven Hedin. This expedition touched Sinkiang during
the years 1928 — 31. My own visit to the province was limited to 1928, but in 1934
I re-visited it as a member of Sven Hedin's highway expedition. Besides the
Swedish members Hedin, Horner, Norin, Ambolt and myself, our Chinese
colleague, Mr. Parker C. Chen, was an active contributor to the collections. The
respective responsibility for the various sections will emerge from the text.

The collections are to be found in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in
Stockholm. The finds from Lop-nor that were made during the motor-car expedi-
tion of 1934 are loans and will, according to contract, be returned to the Chinese
authorities. These latter finds bear the numbers 1 — 44 in the descriptive lists.

It was at first planned that the prehistoric material of the expedition should be
published separately in series with Palaeontologia Sinica. This is, moreover, what
will be done with the main part of it. There are several reasons why the prehistoric
finds from Sinkiang are included in this volume, the chief being their small num-
ber. As the content of this book was already very heterogeneous it was thought suit-
able to include also the prehistoric material to form a kind of background to the
historical finds. The arrangement has thus become consistently topographical in-
stead of chronological.

I have made practically no mention of the circumstances and the general course
of the various journeys during which these collections have been brought together.
I have restricted myself to a description of finds and ancient remains. The reason
for this is that Dr. Hedin plans a comprehensive chronicle of all the members'
journeys for our Report Series.

The present volume is for the most part descriptive. It makes no pretensions to
completeness in what I may call the 'synthetic' parts.

I am fully aware of the many defects in this publication, above all the dispropor-
tion between the amount of the finds and the bulk of the book. This will certainly
meet with criticism, but in adopting Sir Aurel Stein's method with complete de-
scriptive lists accompanying the text I was convinced of the great facilities his

method offers to a student who wants to go into details. For purposes of reference
and from the point of view of a general survey Stein's publications are unsur-
passed, though a certain amount of repetition is of course unavoidable. That the
planning of this publication is far below Stein's standard I am the first to confess.
And that in other respects my treatment of the subject has been somewhat dry and
lacking in imagination is of course solely my responsibility.

In coming, now, to thank all those who have contributed to the completion of the
book I must first and foremost address myself to Sven Hedin, without whose ini-
tiative it would never have been possible. I owe a great and deep dept of gratitude
to this Nestor of Asiatic exploration in my capacity of participant in his last big
expeditions in Asia. With his youthful enthusiasm, boundless optimism and pro-
found experience he was an unfailing source of inspiration, and a sure and steady
support. Impossibilities simply did not exist for him. Difficulties that seemed in-
superable to us others, he overcame. Here, at home in Sweden, he has never tired of
encouraging me and guiding me in my work, and has always met my faults and de-
fects with incredible patience and forebearance.

As this book is devoted to the archaeology of Sinkiang, it is also my pleasant
duty to express my homage to him as one of the first Europeans to make archaeo-
logical discoveries in this vast country, which by reason of its remoteness had been
in every respect an unknown territory for Occidentals. We Swedes shall not forget
that his contribution also in the region of Central Asian archaeology has been that
of the pioneer, and that his researches here have priority over those of many
foreigners who have since reaped laurels in his footsteps.

On my return from Asia, Professor J. G. Andersson showed the greatest kind-
ness in placing at my disposal in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (Ostasia-
tiska Samlingarna) not only working room, but also all the advantages that this in-
stitution has to offer. Before a State subvention was granted for the scientific
examination of our collections he provided funds to enable me to make a start. It has
been a great privilege for me in connection with the text of the section on painted
ceramics to have the criticism of one with such profound knowledge of these matters
as he. I am glad of this opportunity of expressing my warm gratitude to him.

Most of the work on the grave-finds from Lop-nor here described took place dur-
ing Prof. Andersson's last journey to China, when Professor Bernhard Karl-
gren held the position of Curator of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. To
him I owe many thanks for his unfailing kindness and his readiness to help me in
linguistic and historical questions. I am also obliged to him for criticism of a part of
the text.

My former colleagues on the expeditions have all contributed in one way or an-
other to this publication, either by collections or by good advice. Especially must I
express my gratitude to Nils Horner for his collections of archaeological objects

from Lop-nor, and for the readiness with which he has always helped me in quest-
ions touching hydrography and topography. It is largely thanks to him that I have
been able to reproduce any maps of Lop-nor here. The same applies also to my
Chinese companion and friend Mr. Parker Chen, who, besides, helped me with the
translation of a certain part of a Chinese archaeological work. Erik Norin, too,
has given me valuable advice concerning the maps, and has kindly carried out some
petrographic analyses. To Gerhard Bexell and David Hummel I also owe valu-
able information, and the former, moreover, devoted time to determining some
animal bones for me. Gosta Montell, who serves as editor of this series, has
spared no pains to lessen the practical difficulties connected with the printing of
the book, and has also been kind enough to criticize the text of several chapters.

One of my companions on the expeditions deserves special thanks for the constant
helpfulness and good comradeship he showed in the field during the rather difficult
campaign in swelteringly hot summer days in the Lop desert in 1934. I refer to
Georg Soderbom. Without his aid perhaps the greater part of the newly discover-
ed grave district would have remained unknown. He also executed a number of
sketches for me, some of which I have reproduced.

During a large part of my reconnaissances in 1928 I had the good fortune to tra-
vel in company with Henning Haslund. His cheerfulness was always stimulating
during tiresome days in the desert. I feel a warm obligation to him for the excellent
way in which he facilitated my work.

Another field companion should not be forgotten in this connection. From Prof.
Andersson I had 'inherited' one of his archaeological 'collectors', Chin by name,
who followed me during my travels in Sinkiang in 1928. He always worked to my
satisfaction and showed me a loyal affection. In 1930 he safely brought the expe-
dition's Sinkiang collections from Urumchi through the Gobi to Peking.

I wish also to offer my cordial thanks to Miss Vivi Sylwan, who with great
enthusiasm undertook the description and preparation of all textile finds from Sven
Hedin's expedition, for her co-operation during the time the material was being
cleaned and prepared here in Stockholm, and for all her good advice and suggest-
ions. I am especially indebted to her for the wide knowledge she has lavished upon
all the textile descriptions in the lists of antiques. Their careful accuracy makes
them an invaluable addition to this publication. I hope it will not be long before
Miss Sylwan has finished her monograph on the woollen textiles from the Lop-nor
graves, which volume will be followed by another dealing with the silk fabrics.

The co-operation of Mr. Hj. Ljungh in the work of assigning various material
has proved very fruitful. The result of this first co-operation has taken the form of
an appendix added to this volume. His careful examinations have considerably en-
hanced the value of the chapters concerning the Lop-nor graves, and I am much in-
depted to him for his energetic work in throwing light on these important questions.

For the second appendix I have to thank Professor Sten Konow in Oslo. This

eminent authority on Indian philology very kindly placed his great knowledge at my
disposal to settle the questions relating to a strip of silk with Kharoshthi script.

My thanks are also due to Professor Helmer Smith of Upsala, Mr. W. A.
Unkrig of Frankfurt-am-Main and Dr. Kaare Gronbech of Copenhagen for
their kindness in assisting me with the reading of some Tibetan and Mongolian
characters.

Dr. Gunnar Jarring of Lund has controlled the transcription of the Turki
names so as to bring them into line with international usage, and for the tran-
scription of Mongol names I have had the privilege of utilizing Mr. Unkrig's deep
knowledge.

Professor Gaston Backman of Lund has been extraordinarily obliging in exam-
ining the anthropological material from the graves. Unfortunately, his publication
has been delayed by unforeseen circumstances, so I have been unable to make use of
his results; but his report will probably be ready in the. near future.

Dr. R. Bergenhayn of the Invertebrate Department of the Museum of Natural
History has with great thoroughness carried out microscopic determinations of
shells and beads and similar articles of adornment made of shells.

To Dr. T. Du Rietz, who subjected the prehistoric flint material to ocular exam-
ination, I am indebted for valuable hints.

Miss I. Ekberg has been of great assistance to both Miss Sylwan and myself in
the preparation of the textiles and other tasks in connection with the arranging of
the collections. She is also the author of Indian ink drawings and the coloured
plates in this book, and has in addition helped me with proof-reading. I have also
had kind assistance with this from my wife and my sister.

The maps have been drawn at A.-B. Kartlitografen, Stockholm. Some of the pho-
tographs for the collotype plates have been taken by N. Lagergren; the majority
by myself. For three of the photographs in the text I have Mr. Chen to thank. The
collotype plates were executed at Malmo Ljustrycksanstalt, other cliches by Berg-
strom's Klicheanstalt, Stockholm.

Finally, I wish to express my appreciation of the work of Mr. Leonard B. Eyre
and Mr. Donald Burton, who have had the probably not always easy task of cor-
recting each a part of my English text and as far as possible getting its rough turn-
ings to sound English.

Stockholm, February 1939.

Folke Bergman.

ABBREVIATIONS.

MFEA Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities

(Ostasiatiska Samlingarna).
Br. breadth.

For abbreviations referring to publications cf. the bibliography.

L. length.
Th. thickness.
W. width.

PART I.

PREHISTORIC FINDS FROM SINKIANG

/. EARLIER DISCOVERIES.

Very little is known about the prehistoric periods of Sinkiang. Sven Hedin
gave us the first hint of the existence of what may be called a stone age in the
Lop desert. In his collection of antiquities from 1900-01 there are two worked
stones. One is a core or nucleus of agate-looking stone from one side of which flakes
have been split of f, the other is a flake of yellowish flint (Bergman 1935 c, PI.
IX: 2 — 3). Their small size is typical of the stone age objects of Eastern Turkistan
and Mongolia which have been found by other explorers during the last three de-
cades. Judging from the form nothing can be said as to the proper age of Hedin's
two objects, and they do not originate from any definite stratum but have been pick-
ed up from the wind-eroded surface of the ground.

Stein's collection of about 450 stone artifacts from the Lop-nor region is more
representative but even here we are left in uncertainty if we want to obtain any

more precise chronological determination. They have been described and discussed
by R. A. Smith.

Stein also discovered stone implements in a couple of places among the sands of
Taklamakan south-east of Ckok-tagh in the neighbourhood of Maral-bashi (Stein
1928, p. 85). He found two cores, an arrow-head, a point, eight flakes and some
nondescript worked stones. Smith does not discuss them in his paper on Stein's
other prehistoric finds. That they should be palaeolithic as suggested by Stein is
not explained, and seems unlikely.

Pelliot purchased two jade axes at Qum-tura near Kucha; they are now in the
Musee de Saint Germain (Pelliot, p. 9). Through the kindness of the authorities
of the Museum I have obtained photographs of these axes (which proved to be three
in number). They will be discussed in connection with the Lop-nor axes.

The new material discovered during the course of Sven Hedin's Sino-Swedish
Expedition, with the exception of the finds made by Dr. P. L. Yuan and Mr.
Huang Wen-pi, will be described here. Yuan found some painted pottery north
of the Bogdo-ola range, and at Hami (mentioned by Bishop); some painted pottery
discovered by Huang at Yar-khoto is referred to in connection with my Toqsun
finds.

After the departure of the main part of our expedition from Sinkiang, Pere Teil-

hard de Chardin in 1931 travelled along the highroads connecting Hami, Turfan,
Urumchi, Qara-shahr and Aqsu as a member of the Citroen-Haardt Expedition.
This famous student of geology, palaeontology and archaeology came across three
different localities with what he describes as neolithic stone artifacts. The first place
is situated at San-tao-lin-tze (usually called Taranchi) 81 km. WNW of Hami, the
second near Ch'i-chio-ching-tze at the bifurcation of the road from Hami, one
branch going to Turfan and the other to Ku-ch'eng-tze. 1 Both of these localities lie
in the T'ien-shan mountains. His third place was at Aqsu, on the southern edge of
western T'ien-shan bordering the Tarim Basin, from where he reports a series of
prehistoric dwelling places with numerous broken stones, fragments of hand-made
pottery and also small patches of ashes. The inventory from here differs from
those of the other places and has no connection with known cultures. The age of the
Aqsu sites is of course hard to determine. The two places in T'ien-shan seem to
belong to the same neolithic cultural complex as the one so widely distributed
throughout Mongolia and Manchuria.

One of the Chinese students, Mr. Y. H. Liu, who accompanied our expedition in
1928, found flint implements at Ch'i-chio-ching-tze of a type very much resembling
those from Inner Mongolia. It is possible, though not absolutely certain, that Teil-
hard came across the same locality as Liu.

Even with the addition of these new facts our knowledge of the cultural con-
ditions in Sinkiang in prehistoric time remains imperfect.

In describing now my own discoveries of prehistoric remains in the province of
Sinkiang I must point out from the beginning that the arrangement is not strictly
chronological. With a few exceptions I have followed a topographical grouping,
which partly coincides with the order in which the sites were found.

2. SITES WITH PAINTED POTTERY.

A. MIAO-ERH-KU.

The first site with archaeological remains which I came across in Sinkiang was
in the tiny oasis of Miao-erh-ku, the first real settlement one reaches when coming
from the east along the northern caravan route through The Black Gobi. This small
Turkish village, which probably also bears a Turki name though we never heard of
it, is situated about 85 km. ESE of Hami on the southern side of the easternmost

1 As to the curious type of tool from here which Pere Teh-hard depicts in his Fig. 13, I have found a similar
one in Inner Mongolia, at Baycn-bogdo about 130 km. N of Pao-t'ou. It has not the small beak which Perc
Teilhard believes to be the real 'point' of these objects. I cannot see why these tools should have such a fine
and special finish with one bifacial cutting edge and one 'scraper edge' formed by the flaked-off 'core-side',
if they were intended to serve only as burins. My belief is that they were a combination of knife and scraper.

T'len-shan, here called Qarliq-tagh, and is surrounded by desert expanses on all
sides. The village was flourishing at the time of our first visit in January 1928,
when the finds were made, but at our second visit, in February 1934, it had been
destroyed in the civil wars in Sinkiang.

Where the small brook passing through the village comes to the row of low rocks
near to the south of Miao-erh-ku there is on its western side an insignificant ruin
of a mud hut of dubious age, PL I b. (This is not the brook passing the temple from
which the village has taken its name, but situated to the west of it). Around this
ruin some pottery fragments were picked up from the surface of the ground on an
area about 100 m. in diam., and they occurred also in the upper 10 cm. of the
loessic soil.

Some of the sherds are painted, but unfortunately they are all quite small. The
ware is red and reddish yellow in different shades; the thickness varies between 3
and 13 mm. The painted ornamentation consists of black lines or red stripes, PI.
2: 1 — 4. PI. 2:3 is from a handle and shows a spruce-twig pattern, also occurring
on another handle.

The plain sherds are as a rule more coarse than the painted ones, but the colour
of the ware is about the same in both cases.

Of the coarser wares one sherd from a rim (No. K. 13328:44) has small incised
lines above the handle, and several sherds have a more or less thick raised border
with finger impressions, PL 32: 6. In PI. 32: 5 such a raised border has been given
the form of an arch, probably to form a handle. PL 32: 7 is from a very small cup
with a single row of incised commas around the neck.

Plain handles of different sizes are common. Most of them are loop-handles

which have been applied vertically, but there is also an example of a horizontal lug-
handle.

The bottom fragments all show flat bottoms, the walls forming a very obtuse
angle with the bottom. Otherwise we know very little of the shape of the vessels;
their size ranges from small cups to medium-sized jars.

Most of the potsherds are probably of prehistoric age, but among the unpainted
ware there seem to be specimens of later date (Han or later?).

The only stone object found here is a part of a rude hammer with a large per-
foration near the centre for the handle, PL 4:21. Its blunt edge shows traces of
wear. It is very uncertain if it is of prehistoric origin. The only analogy known to
me is a fragmentary hammer found by Birger Bohlin at Hui-hui-ch'eng-tze in
NW Kansu together with a T'ang coin <MFEA No. K. 13557:5).

B. SENGIM-AGHIZ.

Sengim-aghiz, the mouth of the Sengim valley, is situated 33 km. east of Turfan
and 9 km. north of Qara-khoja on the border between the foothills of T'ien-shan

Fig. i. Painted

potsherd from

Scngim-aghiz

Size 2/3.

and the Turfan depression. Near to the south of the small mosque in
the very mouth of the valley we found a few painted potsherds on the
ground. Time did not allow of any true investigation.

The ware is red and hard-burnt; the clay has been mixed with few

but rather coarse grains of sand. The colour is homogeneous through

the ware. At least some of the fragments have a slip of darker red on

both sides; the decoration consists of black lines. PI. 2:5 is from the

rim of a wide bowl; the same arrangement with two parallel vertical

lines recurs on two more sherds. 1 A couple of sherds are from

the rims of wide bowls, probably quite low. PL 2 : 6 shows a more complicated pattern

of bent lines. Fig. 1 is from a thin-walled vessel, but the other sherds are 7 — 8 mm.

thick.

Professor J. G. Andersson has kindly drawn my attention to the general resem-
blance between these few sherds and his finds of painted pottery in Kansu from an
intermediary stage between his second and third period. This material is still un-
published.

Among Professor T. J. Arne's material from the Turkoman steppe we find cer-
tain general similarities as regards the ware, the colours and the ornamentation. I
refer to our PL 2:6 and a sherd from Chakhir-tepe (Bylin-Althin, Fig. 16). I have
no intention, however, of drawing any far-reaching conclusions as to cultural rela-
tions out of this single conformity between one small potsherd from the Turfan re-
gion and another small potsherd from the Turkoman steppe near the Caspian Sea.
Not only is the material insufficient, it is also of such nature that it cannot be made
the basis of any sound conclusions.

C. TOQSUN.

When approaching the Toqsun oasis along the main road from Turfan a place
yielding some painted potsherds was discovered in April 1928. The road cuts right
across the site; as some human teeth were found it may be a destroyed grave. It is
situated about 100 m. to the north of the Toqsun river and less than 1 km. to the east
of the bridge across the river in question. The ground is made up of loess-like clay,
which further to the east is eroded to form small yardang 2 ridges.

The potsherds are homogeneous both as regards ware and decoration, and the
vessels have probably been of only one type.

The ware is rather thin, light brick-red in colour and of pretty good quality.

The decoration of the outside of the sherds consists of vertical black lines reaching
from rim to bottom, Fig. 2 and PL 2:8 — 9. On the inside of the rim there is a row

1 Cf. the pattern on a vessel from Zhob, Baluchistan (Stein 1929, PI. X, MM.Ni 1).

2 Yardang is the Turki word for the small curiously table-shaped clay terraces which wind erosion has mo-
delled out of the old land surface, e. g. in the Lop desert.

Fig. 2. Two painted potsherds from Toqsun. K. 133331:20 above. — : 17 below.

Stippled = red, black = black. Half size.

of black triangles, Fig. 2. The black colour is applied on top of a red slip. On the
long loop-shaped handles the decoration is made up of oblique bands of two or three
lines. These bands are arranged either parallel to each other or in zig-zag, PI. 2:7.
The handles have reached from the rim to a point below the widest part of the
body. The profile of the neck forms a slightly concave curve gently passing over in
the globular body. There are no sherds from the very bottom, but it seems as if the
bottom had been rounded. If a flat part has existed it must have been very small.

The Toqsun vessels have been small and they must have represented the same gen-
eral type as the one depicted on Fig. 3, but the neck is lower and less marked. The
handles are identical. The original to Fig. 3 was excavated from a tomb 2 li NW of
the Yar-khoto site (40 km. ENE of Toqsun) by Mr. Huang Wen-pi of our exped-
ition. This pot is of great importance, as the arrangement of the decoration on the
body recalls the one on the Charchan vase PL 1, thus linking this beautiful specimen
with the Toqsun pottery. But both the Yar-khoto pot and the Toqsun sherds must
be much younger than the Charchan vase, this being proved by the marked differ-
ence in the artistic quality of the decoration. The Toqsun, and also the Yar-khoto
pottery, give the impression of being a late and degenerate phenomenon. They do not
fit in with any of the known types of polychrome wares.

Huang assigns his painted pot to the last two centuries B.C., and further states
that it cannot be anterior to B.C. 500.

He has also found some painted potsherds inside the Yar-khoto ruins (figured on
his pp. 2 — 3). He regards them as probably neolithic "but still used in the time of

... i

Fig. 3. Painted clay pot

(black and red) from

Yar-khoto. H. 144 mm.

After Huang 1933.

Christ". A stone axe from a grave to the north of the ruins he
is inclined to regard as a survival from neolithic time. The red
clay vessels on his Figs. 2-20 he supposes to have originated
in old times but assumes that they were still in use in the time
of Christ.

I have not examined Mr. Huang's finds. My impressions
are thus formed only from his illustrations. It seems to me as if
Huang has placed these finds in rather late periods. The date
around 500 B.C. for his painted pot appears to be nearer the
truth.

Huang's cylindrical clay vessels as shown on his Figs. 12-17
are very similar to some of Andersson's pots from the Chen-fan region in Kansu
(of the Sha-ching stage) where they occur together with bronze ornaments of the
Ordos style. Andersson dates them around 500 B.C. or somewhat later.

These cylindrical clay vessels have indeed a non-ceramic shape, and Huang's com-
parison between them and a lacquered wooden vessel from Lop-nor is quite correct.
However, this similarity in shape does not necessarily mean a correspondence in
time. The Lop-nor wooden vessel is certainly a Chinese import and can hardly ante-
date the last century B.C. The cylindrical clay vessels may have drawn their form
from much older wooden vessels of non-Chinese origin.

If the cemetery from where Huang excavated both the painted pot and the cy-
lindrical vessels is homogeneous there can be no long interval between these differ-
ent kinds of pottery. We may place both around the middle of the last millenium
B.C. Now my Toqsun sherds are stylistically more degenerate than Huang's painted
pot, but there can hardly exist any pronounced chronological difference.

The finds from the western part of the Turfan Basin thus seem to answer to
Andersson's Sha-ching group, though there is no conformity among the painted
wares from these two regions.

D. THE CHARCHAN VASE.

When in Charchan in August 1928 I acquired from a Chinese merchant the
beautiful earthenware vase shown in PI. 1. According to his statement it had been
found in the Kohna-shahr bordering the present oasis of Charchan, i. e. a site
which I will discuss in the last part of this volume. It was impossible to get any ab-
solute confirmation as to the exact place of discovery. Every kind of minor articles
of any age which the local people of Charchan offered me for sale was said to ori-
ginate from Kohna-shahr (the Old Town), and in most cases this was true. These
objects were however, of an age not previous to the Han dynasty, mostly from the
Sung and Yuan dynasties. The vase must certainly be considerably older than the

Han period. It seems very unlikely to me that it has been brought to Charchan from
any distant place. If it was not actually excavated from inside the Kohna-shahr it
must nevertheless have been in the Charchan region.

As seen from the description in the list on p. 21 f. and PI. 1 the body is spherical
and the neck slightly widening upwards. The painted decoration covers the whole
surface except the lowest part, and consists of black and yellowish white on a red
slip. The neck has a lattice pattern and the body a sort of "flames" and fringes. The
painting is well done and gives a pleasant effect. The colour print does not give full
credit to the mellow and warm tones of the original. The ware is yellowish red,
rather thin, and of good quality recalling that from Toqsun.

Both the shape and the elegant polychrome design is rather unique, and thus it is
at present difficult to determine its proper age with any higher degree of certainty.
It does not fit in with either of Prof. Andersson's groups of painted wares from
NW China or with the polychrome pottery of India, the Near East or SE Europe.

On the inside of the rim there are traces of black triangles like those on the
Toqsun sherds. There are other general similarities, too, such as the vertical group-
ing of the decorative elements, though the Toqsun vessels have had a more degene-
rated shape and also a much simpler decoration. It therefore seems likely that the
Charchan vase is older than the Toqsun pottery, and judging from its general style,
the colours and the ware, it seems to be a good specimen of chalcolithic ceramic.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES

Miao-erh-ku.

K. 13328: 1. Potsherd from rim of vessel. Near

rim a painted ornament of black,
open triangles. A handle has probably emerged
from the actual rim. Red ware. Th. 5 mm. PI. 2: 1.

K. 13328:2. Potsherd from rim of thin-walled

vessel. Light-red ware with a dark
line painted along the rim.

K. 13328 : 3. Potsherd from the widening mouth

of a vessel. The inside of the
mouth has a moulding and is painted with black,
vertical lines. Red ware.

K. 13328: 4. Sherd from the collar of an earth-

enware vessel. Painted black verti-
cal lines reach only 1 cm. below the rim. Dark-red
slip on light-red ware.

K. 13328:5. Small potsherd from the neck of

a small vessel. Near rim some
short vertical lines in black. Light-red ware.

K. 13328:6. Potsherd from rim of wide bowl.

Along inside of rim a red band 2

cm. wide. The whole exterior was probably paint-
ed red. Thick, light-red ware.

K. 13328:7-8. Fragm. of two loop-shaped

handles of earthenware vessels.
Red slip with black "spruce-twig pattern". Light-
red ware. Br. 15 and 21 mm. — :8 PL 2:3.

K. 13328:9. Fragm. of handle that has emerg-
ed from the rim of a vessel.
Traces of black painting. Red ware.

K. 13328:10. Fragm. of thick handle, painted

dark red on the outside. Br. 27
mm.

K. 13328: 11. Potsherd, apparently from a high-
collared vessel. On the inside four
black lines, probably vertical. Red ware.

K. 13328: 12. Small potsherd with black lines

forming a net. Red slip.

K. 13328: 13. Small potsherd with dark-red slip

and narrow black lines, probably
forming a "spruce-twig pattern". Light-red ware.
PI. 2:4.

III

K. 13328: 14-27. Fourteen small potsherds fromlf

several vessels, all with a few
black lines painted on red (more or less dark-red)
slip and of very much the same red ware. Th.
3—5 mm. — : 16 PI. 2:2.

K. 13328:28. Potsherd from fairly large vessel.

A violet line forms an angle, with
a small dot in the corner; outside the angle the
surface is painted with some light-brownish colour.
Light-red ware.

K. 13328: 29-40. Twelve potsherds with traces of

painting in black or dark red. The
ware is of different shades of red.

K. 13328:41-43. Three potsherds with traces of

dark-red painting on light-red or
yellowish-red ware.

K. 13328:44. Potsherd from rim of fairly large

bowl. Has had a loop-shaped verti-
cal handle. Red ware.

K. 13328: 45-47. Three potsherds with an applied

moulding, more or less marked,
with deep finger impressions. — '.46 is of coarser
ware than the painted sherds. — 145 PI. 32:6.

K. 13328:48. Potsherd from shoulder of small

vessel. A curved moulding with
oblique impressions. Hard-burnt red ware.

Potsherd from fairly large vessel
with semicircular moulding form-
with deep oblique impressions made
Same ware as — : 46. PI. 32:5.

Potsherd from rim of very small
vessel. On the short neck a row

of small vertical incised lines. Yellowish ware, 4

mm. thick. PI. 32: 7.

K. 13328:51. Potsherd from rim of vessel with

marked incisions across the rim.
The surface has a greenish coating; moreover, the
ware differs from the rest.

K. 13328:52. Thin potsherd with striation from

the finishing of the surface.

K. 13328: 53-55. Three potsherds, probably from

same vessel. Incised garlands and
ribbons made with three-toothed instrument. These
and — 152 might be of somewhat later date than
the rest.

K. 13328:56. Potsherd of large, thick-walled

vessel with some carelessly incised
lines. Hard, light-red ware.

K. 13328:57. Potsherd from rim of bulky jar.

The rim is turned over and joined
to the shoulder. Thick, light-red ware. Diam. of
mouth has been about 19 cm.

K. 13328: 49-

ing a handle,
with a stick.

K. 13328:50.

K. 13328: 58-63. Six small potsherds from rims of

vessels.

K. 13328 : 64. Potsherd from globular body of

small vessel with a semicircular
handle 15 mm. long. Light-red ware.

K. 13328:65-88. Twenty- four more or less frag-
mentary, loop-shaped handles of
earthenware vessels. Most of them with flat, some
with oval section. Red ware of different shades.
Br. about 3 — 2 cm.

K. 13328:89. Small potsherd with a vertical lug.

From both sides a hole has been
drilled, but the two do not meet. Traces of black
painting. Red ware.

K. 13328:90. Fragm. of handle, probably of

same kind as — 149.

K. 13328:91. Fragm. of vertical lug, larger than

— 189 and without holes. Reddish-
brown ware.

K. 13328:92-97. Six potsherds from flat-bottomed

vessels of red ware.

K. 13328: 98. Small fragm. of vessel with steam-
holes in bottom. Light-red ware.

K. 13328:99-120. Twenty-two potsherds, some of

fine, some of coarse red ware,
— : 118 brownish grey.

K. 13328:121. Spindle whorl made of brownish

potsherd. Diam. 47 mm. Th. 7 mm.
K. 13328: 122-124. Three round potsherds.

K. 13328:125. Fragm. of earthenware object,

hardly a pot. Yellowish-red ware.

K. 13328: 126. More than half of a hoc or ham-
mer of dense grey stone with
a big hole from one broad side to the other. The
contour has been oval. At the complete end traces
of wear. L. has been about 15 cm. Br. about 10
cm. Th. 4 cm. PI. 4: 21.

Sengim-aghiz.

K. 13329:1. Small potsherd from the rim of

a vessel. Top and outside of the
rim painted black. From this border run two verti-
cal black lines set close together. Red ware, hard-
burnt and intermixed with some coarse grains of
sand. PI. 2:5.

K. 13329:2-3. Two small sherds, apparently from

same vessel as — : 1. Both have
two black lines set close together.

K. 13329:4-7. Four small potsherds from rims of

bowls. Traces of black line along
the rim of two of them.

K. 13329:8. Postherd with several black lines

painted on a red slip. The broader
lines form obtuse angles, the thinner lines cross
each other. PI. 2:6.

K. 13329:9-16. Eight small potsherds with traces

of black lines. Probably same
vessel as — : 8.

K. 13329: 17. Potsherd with black lines arrang-
ed as — :8, though a little narr-
ower.

K. 13329: 18-19. Two small potsherds with black

lines, probably same vessel as
— :i7.

K. 13329 : 20. Two joined potsherds with narrow

black lines. The ware half as thick
as the rest. Fig. 1.

K. 13329:21. Small potsherd with traces of

parallel black lines.

K. 13329: 22. Small fragm. of loop-shaded

handle of clay vessel. Traces of
black painting.

Toqsu n.

K. I333 1 '• i- Long handle from earthenware

vessel. On a red slip there arc
three groups of slanting black lines, each group
consisting of three nearly parellcl lines. The rims
were also painted black. Light-red ware. L. 11 cm.
PI. 2 : 7.

K. 13331 : 2. Upper part of handle of same type

and decoration as — : 1 but less
clear. Probably only two lines in each group. The
handle emerges from the actual rim of the vessel.

K. I333i:3- Upper part of handle like — :2,

with traces of a group of three
slanting lines in black.

K. [3331:4. Fragm. of long handle, narrower

than the previous ones, with three
groups of black lines, four in each, arranged in a
zig-zag. Br. 18 mm.

K. I333 1 : 5* Fragm. of handle similar to — :4

but the groups of black lines con-
sist of three lines each. Br. 17 mm.

K. 13331:6. Fragm. of handle with a black-

painted zig-zag band consisting of
two borderlines with shorter oblique lines between.
Br. 18 — 20 mm.

K. 13331 : 7-*$- Nine smaller fragm. of handles of

similar type and decoration as the
previous ones. Br. 10 — 22 mm.

K. 13331:16. Seven small fragm. of handles

with painting almost effaced.

K- 133Z1 '■ 17- Potsherd from rim of small vessel

with slightly marked neck. From
the rim a handle once emerged. The slip on inside
reaches to 2 — 3 cm. below rim. The exterior de-
corated with vertical black lines; the inside rim
has a row of black triangles. The handle was
painted with black slanting lines. Light-red ware
intermixed with a few grains of sand. Th. about
4 mm. Fig. 2.

K. 13331 : 18. Small potsherd from rim of vessel

from which a handle once emerg-
ed. Of the painting only the triangles on the inside
rim are visible.

K. 13331 : 19. Fragm. of the nearly globular

body of a small earthenware vessel
with the base of a handle. Red slip and vertical
black lines. Light-red ware (terra-cotta). The
bottom must have been nearly round.

K. I333 1 : 20-38. Nineteen potsherds from rims of

small vessels of same type and de-
coration as — : 17. — :20 Fig. 2. (Diam. at the
mouth originally 10 — 11 cm.).

K. 13331:39. Thirteen small potsherds from

rims of vessels similar to the pre-
ceding, painting not very well preserved.

K- 1333 1 '• 40-84. Forty-five potsherds from same

kind of vessels as the preceding.
— = 40 PI. 2:9, — =42 PI. 2:8.

K. 1333 1 : 85-86. Various small potsherds, some of

them with traces of the same kind
of painting as the preceding, and all of similar
ware.

K. 13331:87.
K. 13331 = 88-

Small sherd of greenish-grey flint
with a few retouches.

A few small fragm. of bone and
human teeth.

Charchan.

Purchased. According to statement, found in the
Kohna-shahr.

K. 13334- Painted pottery vase with spherical

body and high cornet-shaped neck.
A little above the widest part there is a small
handle on each side. Light yellow-brown ware,
rather thin, contains a small amount of fine-grain-
ed sand. The neck is painted light yellow with a
lattice pattern in black. The yellow slip reaches
2 — 3 cm. below the rim on the inside; close to the
rim are traces of black triangles. The body has a

red ground-colour and is patterned in black and
light yellow. Immediately below the neck is a hori-
zontal border consisting of two lines with a wavy
triple line between. Below this are seven groups
of a sort of flame pattern. The "flames" are
painted light yellow and curved like inverted S's.
On the right side of the top of every "flame" six

black lines follow its contour, converging towards
the lower point of the flames. On the left side
of each flame and from their lower point there
is a group of 7 — 9 black lines following the border
of the flame and converging towards the top.
H. 22 cm. Diam. 16 cm. Diam. of rim 8.7 cm. H.
of collar 8 cm, PL 1.

E. DISCUSSION ON PAINTED POTTERY.

The painted wares of Miao-erh-ku, Sengim-aghiz and Toqsun seem to have little
in common with one another. The two first mentioned places seem to be more related
to each other than to Toqsun. None of them, however, shows pronounced affinities
with painted wares in China proper or in the Near East, possibly with the exception
of Sengim-aghiz. Now the Sinkiang material is indeed so limited that this circum-
stance is in itself sufficient to exclude the drawing of any parallels with polychrome
pottery from other regions, and no proper conclusions can be founded on it. Never-
theless, the presence of even these few items is significant as showing that the
painted chalcolithic pottery does exist in this vast province, a fact that was unknown
before the Sino-Swedish Expedition started its surveys. It might be worth while to
touch upon the question of the importance of Sinkiang to the spread of the painted
pottery.

When Professor J. G. Andersson discovered the occurrence of aeneolithic cult-
ures with painted pottery in N. China less than twenty years ago the scientific
world was startled. Until then the prehistory of China was practically unknown,
and painted pottery had come to light only in SE Europe and the Near East. As
there existed certain striking similarities between some patterns among the earlier
Chinese wares and those already known it lay close at hand to draw parallels be-
tween East and West. The Chinese painted pottery was declared to be an offspring
of the Near Eastern painted pottery of late neolithic time, and the art of vase paint-
ing was stated to have reached China with a cultural stream across Central Asia in
late neolithic (aeneolithic) time.

Professor Andersson, trie discoverer, has advanced only carefully formulated
theories on these questions and repeatedly emphasized their conjectural nature,
and that sufficient facts to prove the phenomena are in many cases unavailable.
Some of those who have subsequently dealt with the same problems have been more
confident, though they no doubt have less experience of the original Chinese ma-
terial than has the discoverer.

Andersson certainly believes in the migration from West to East of the art of
vase painting and, furthermore, has pointed out that it probably marks the intro-
duction of a new, superior culture, which he has explained as a step forwards in the
perfection of agriculture.

Menghin has afterwards (1931, p. 561) characterized the carriers of the Huang-
ho cultures as "Schweinezuchtern" and not as agriculturists. But everything goes to
prove that the Yang-shao people carried on agriculture side by side with pig breed-
ing, and we know that they even cultivated rice.

Through Andersson's discoveries North China has been included in the vast Euro-
Asiatic chalcolithic cultural complex characterized by painted pottery and the first
appearance of copper.

Nowhere did the art of vase painting reach such a perfection in chalcolithic time
as in the Chinese province of Kansu. The ability to work metals seems to have reach-
ed China at a somewhat later stage.

As time has passed a lot of new material has been added from many places,
above all Iran, Baluchistan, India, and apparently also from Russian Turkistan.
In the East several new sites have been explored inside the already known domain
of the N. China polychrome pottery, and also outside this region a few specimens
of painted wares have come to light, inter alia in Jehol and Inner Mongolia. The
addition in comparative material has, however, hardly simplified the question of the
connection between East and West in aeneolithic time, rather the opposite.

So many speculations and far-reaching theories have been advanced connecting
the spread from West to East of the painted pottery with the migrations of certain
peoples from SE Europe to NW China, that it is time to come down to earth again
and confess that we cannot know anything about such things. As a matter of fact
we know very little about the very material on which such hypotheses ought to be
founded, as only a part of the Chinese pottery has been made available through
publications.

Now the vase painting is a rather complicated phenomenon. It presupposes a high-
ly developed ceramic art with skilled workmen well acquainted with the fabrication
of hard-burnt wares; furthermore knowledge of the production of certain colours,
and familiarity with the brush. All these circumstances taken together constitute
such a complex phenomenon that it is very unlikely that the art of vase painting has
evolved in different centra in chalcolithic time.

If we accept the theory of the art of vase painting as an importation, both the
distribution and the nature of the earlier painted wares in China make it clear that
the way of entrance has been from the north-west, i. e. across Central Asia. 1 Un-
der such conditions the spread of the knowledge of vase painting must have passed
through certain parts of the present province of Sinkiang. The geographical
position of this province predestinates it to be an intermediary link between
West and East, even though the Pamirs seem to block the southern part
from any sort of intercourse with the countries west thereof. Especially north

1 The view set forth by Janse that the art of vase painting arrived in N. China from India via Indo-China or
Yunnan is less probable. Nothing in the geographical distribution of the painted wares points to the south or
south-west (Janse 193s).

of the T'ien-shan range the relatively easily traversed Dzungarian region lies open,
and here large-scale nomadic migrations have passed in later ages. In fact this is
the only way possible for a migrating tribe of any size moving from east to west or
vice versa.

Now everything goes to prove that the carriers of the painted pottery cultures
were agriculturists, and it is very hard to imagine a migration of a sedentary people
across the whole width of Central Asia from e. g. Anau in the west to Kansu in the
east, a distance of at least 4 200 km. For a nomad tribe such a distance is not exag-
geratedly long. But nomads carry no pottery. The discovery of intermediary centres
east of Anau and west or north-west of Kansu would certainly make the migration
theory more plausible. Now our finds denote the presence of painted wares in Sin-
kiang during a prolonged period.

We may be quite confident that one day, when archaeologists are allowed to
work systematically in Russian Turkistan and Chinese Turkistan, so many sites with
painted pottery will be discovered that the spaces between them will become insigni-
ficant. It is our lack of knowledge which makes the migration theory appear more
difficult of comprehension than necessary.

A first step towards filling the present gap in our knowledge of Russian Turki-
stan is the report of such sites in Ferghana.

The Russians have apparently discovered painted pottery on the Qizil-yar steppe
near Khakil-abad (the Shahr-i-Khaiber site). This pottery is said to be reminis-
cent of Anau I. It is published by Latynin (reviewed in "American Anthropolog-
ist" 38, 1936, p. 285, and 1938 p. 674, with the original plates). It seems as if the pat-
terns on the potsherds were both incised and painted.

We hardly need to consider the possibilities of a transcontinental trade as the car-
rier of the vase painting art, and it is impossible to assume the importation into N.
China of only a few vase painters. The Yang-shao painted ware is rather homogen-
eous over the whole area of its distribution, and a pretty rapid spread of this
cultural element must be presumed.

The very important question of the chronology of the Chinese facies of this
large cultural complex has been founded on comparisons with Near Eastern and
SE European localities, and one has arrived at somewhat diverging results accord-
ing to the locality which has been regarded as furnishing the closest similarities.
As a matter of fact the similarities are in many cases not too convincing. If a reli-
able absolute chronology for the Chinese facies is to be obtained it must be based
on the Chinese material itself, and though this may be difficult at present it will
certainly one day be possible. The general trend among students of these questions
has been to lower the age given to the Chinese painted wares, and there seems to be
much in favour of this. But we are still awaiting Professor Andersson's definite
treatment of the chronological question.

Prehistoric site TheRouteofthe TheRouteofthe

The Route of the Centre South /approx,/ North /approx./

Fig. 4. Map of eastern Sinkiang with prehistoric sites and the courses of the Silk Roads.

In the light of these surveys of our expedition the Turfan Basin stands out as a
centre for the painted pottery in Sinkiang. This fertile region, the main part of which
lies below sea-level, was also the foremost cultural centre in historical time. The
other sites are also grouped around T'ien-shan. In spite of the scarcity of known
sites it seems reasonable to suppose that their distribution marks the general line
of direction along which the art of vase painting was spread in successive waves.
In the Yu-men corridor and SE of Suchow some still unpublished sites with painted
pottery were discovered by Bohlin and Bexell of our expedition. These places are
links between the Sinkiang sites and Andersson's Kansu localities.

Future researches will certainly reveal many new sites with painted pottery in

Sinkiang, but we can hardly expect them to contain such large quantities of high

class polychrome wares as those in Kansu, Shensi and Honan.

The scarcity of finds may partly be due to the circumstance that Sinkiang was
merely a transit province.

Physically this province alternates between patches of fertile oases and stretches
of desert, which are largely too sterile even for a nomad pastoralism. Hence Sin-

ftC

kiang in historical times has never been the seat either of really strong states of
sedentary culture or of great nomad hordes. Its main importance has instead been
its position as a transit region through which migrations have swept, where trade
has flourished and where the spread of some of the great religions has manifested
itself.

On the other hand only a trifling part of this large province has been reconnoitred.
Only a couple of the important oases, where settled life has probably existed
since the introduction of agriculture, has been surveyed. Teilhard's discoveries at
Aqsu would seem to indicate the existence of apparently neolithic remains outside
the area of present cultivation. We therefore await with utmost interest the results
obtained by the next archaeological expedition with prehistory on its programme
which goes to this far-away part of the world, so difficult to approach. In this
connection the description of the localities found by me may be of some guidance.

In a future publication on the archaeological material from western Kansu and
Inner Mongolia I hope to deal again, and more extensively, with the question of
painted chalcolithic pottery.

3. SITES WITHOUT PAINTED POTTERY.

Besides the three places which yielded some painted pottery fragments there are
other prehistoric sites characterized by the worked flints. In those cases where these
flint artifacts occur together with potsherds the potsherds are unpainted.

Firstly I will mention a place at Ch'ai-o-p'u in T'ien-shan, secondly a dwelling
site at Singer in Quruq-tagh, thirdly the Lop-nor finds, and lastly a place in Astin-
tagh in the Charchan region.

A. CH'AI-O-P'U.

Along the main road from Turfan to Urumchi there is a small village to the
west of Davan-ch'eng called Ch'ai-o-p'u. It is situated in the middle of the inter-
montane plain bordered on the north by the mighty snow-peaks of Bogdo-ola. One
or two kilometres to the east of the village, and close to the north of the road, a few
worked flints were picked up from the ground. There are five small cores, three
diminutive flakes and a small scraper. One of the cores has an edge shaped as a
scraper.

These flints, insignificant as they may appear, could as well have been found in
the Gobi desert, where this kind of small, neatly worked flints is very common.

B. SINGER.

Singer is at present the easternmost permanent settlement in Quruq-tagh. It is
occupied by a couple of Turkish families. On April 13th 1928 I discovered pre-

historic stone artifacts in the small dune accumulation on the western side of the
springs that supply the village and are situated near to the south-west of it. On the
western slope of this sandy elevation in the ground, where reeds and tamarisks grow,
partly forming mounds, we located three different spots near each other that mark-
ed the sites of ancient dwellings. There the sand was coloured by soot and ashes
on spots i—5 m. in diameter. On a couple of these places where fires had been burn-
ing the ground was a little higher than the surrounding. In the sand pebbles and
small boulders were found. These were very brittle from the effects of heating.
They were not arranged in any special order but had apparently served as hearths.
One of them contained some much decayed bone fragments, a couple of potsherds
and a quartzite knife, the. finds being made to a depth of 10 cm. Most of the loose
material that once covered this site had blown away, and the artifacts were there-
fore found lying on the ground together with various unworked stones. They had,
so to say, sunk to the bottom. Only where the surface was protected by the some-
what more resistant hearths had part of it been preserved. This is thus an example
of dune dwellers.

The potsherds found are of brownish or reddish ware, not very coarse, and of a
general neolithic appearance. Only a couple of them have an incised line or applied
nipples as decoration.

I found twenty-three cores or nuclei of flint or flintlike stones partly fragmentary,
and over 300 small elegantly shaped flint flakes, most of them with sharp edges,
others having retouched edges.

The drills PL 4: 1—2 are made of this kind of small flakes, their tips being re-
touched from alternate sides, the idealcross section of the tip forming a parallelo-
gram or rhomb. The small finely trimmed piercer or awl of white flint shown in PL
4: 3 is of a unique shape.

The most interesting group among the implements is comprised by the arrow-
heads, which occur in an unusually large number and show an admirable workman-
ship, PL 3: 1 — 17. The slender willow-leaf shape is also very elegant, and some of
them have an extremely sharp tip. PL 3: 12—17 are less sharply pointed, and as
some of them are of a coarser make they are probably unfinished. There are also
fragments of arrow-heads both of greater and lesser perfection.

This type of arrow-head is known from the Lop desert (PL 4: 13 and Stein 1921,
PI. XXX, C. 122. 0054, and Stein 1928, PL XXII, L. I. 012 etc.). I have never
encountered this type in Inner Mongolia.

The small flint objects PL 3: 10—20 I call knives because one edge is straight
and the other convex, though they may easily have served as arrow-heads as well.
This type is known from Inner Mongolia and the Kansu corridor. PI. 3:21 — 22
show two somewhat larger knives.

It is hard to distinguish between fragments of this kind of knives and fragments
of the larger arrow-heads.

Fig. 5. The flint

object No. K.

13332:112 from

Singer. 2/3.

There are fragments of knives which when complete were larger
than those depicted on PI. 3, but none of them seems to have been
of the elliptical or rectangular shape known from Prof. Andersson's
China collections.

The scrapers, eleven in number, are made of broad and short flakes,
the shape varying from oval to nearly circular. They are all very
small, the largest measuring 4x3 cm. The same diminutive scrapers
were found at Chiqin-sai (cf. p. 35 f.) and they are extremely common
in Inner Mongolia. As the majority are of about the size of a thumb
nail they must have been hafted with bone or wood.
A kind of roughly worked bifacial instrument showa in Fig. 5 was found in
three specimens. A similar one comes from the Lop desert, PI. 4: 17. I have found
many of this type but mostly of finer workmanship in Mongolia. Their actual use
is somewhat uncertain, though it seems possible that they served as small cleavers.
Pere Teilhard calls them points with retouched heel (Teilhard Fig. 10).

Various coarse flakes, reject and refuse chips and flint blocks occurring all over
the surface layer of the site indicate that the implements were worked on the spot.
Erik Norin, on seeing this material, was eager to help me to ascertain from
which localities the Singer people draw their supply of raw material for the manu-
facture of their implements. He therefore made a few specimens the subject of a
petrographic analysis, and he has kindly placed the following statement at my dis-
posal :

"1) Yellow-brown dense phtanite, occurring along the southern side of Qizil-
singer-tagh, is a slightly metamorphic type of carbonaceous chert which forms the
base of the Upper Cambrian limestone series. In my stratigraphy called Ci^.

2) Light greyish phtanite. Same occurrence as No. 1. Is a slightly metamorphized
type of the light coloured chert which forms the lower part of the last mentioned
horizon. In my stratigraphy called Cu.

3) Dark greyish green flint ('halleflinta'). An effusive lava or tuff of kerato-
phyric composition. Also occurring in the neighbourhood of Singer.

These kinds of stones have also a wide distribution to the south of Buruntu-
bulaq and between Buruntu-bulaq and Altmish-bulaq."

This examination thus proves that the raw material used by the stone age people
of Singer was taken from a source close at hand.

Other stones used are quartz, quartzite, flint of grey, green and white colour,
agate, felsite, chert and porphyry, all occurring near Singer.

A flat slab of garnet-micaschist rubbed down smooth on one side may possibly
have been used as a grinding stone, and two strongly weathered fragments of sand-
stone are from a mealing-stone. The occurrence of mealing-stones does not necess-
arily mean that the people carried on agriculture here. The stones may have been

used for mealing some edible seeds. In the main the people here had probably to rely
on hunting for their living.

There are a few differences between the Singer material and that which I know
from Mongolia, but there are more analogies, and the composition of artifacts is
the same in the Singer site and in the Mongolian sites. It therefore seems appropri-
ate to characterize them as belonging to the same cultural complex, i. e. the Gobi
culture or the Mongolian-Manchurian late neolithic.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES

C h' a i - o
K. 13330: 1-2.

K. 13330 : 3-

K. 13330:4-5.
K. 13330:6.

K. 13330: 7-
K. 13330 : 8.

K. 13330: 9-
K. 13330: 10.

Singer.

p'u.

Two cores of grey flint. — : 1 is
oval in section and neatly point-
ed. L. 38 and 29 mm.

Core of leparite(?) one side un-
touched, the convex edge forming
a scraper. L. 30 mm.

Two small, almost cylindrical
cores of agate and leparite(?). L.
20 mm.
Small flint flake.

Small oval flint flake.

Flake of chalcedony with retouch-
ed edges.

Small scraper of green flint.

Sherd of greenish-grey flint.

K. 13332:1. Small potsherd of brownish ware

with a straight, incised line.

K. 13332:2-3. Two small potsherds of fairly

large vessels of rather thin brown-
ish ware.

K. 13332: 4. Forty-nine potsherds of brownish

or reddish ware.

K. I333 2 : 5-*5- Eleven cores of flint, agate and

felsite.

K. 13332: 16. Eight fragm. of flint cores of

various sizes.

K. 13332: 17-18. Two roughed-out cores of agate

and felsite.

K. 13332 : 19. 275 fine small flakes of flint, agate

etc.

K. 13332:20. 47 small flakes with retouched

edges.

K. 13332:21. Small narrow flint flake, but

rather thick, and with one edge
retouched.

K. 13332:22. Flint piercer made of small flake.

Rather blunt point. L. 33 mm. PI.
4: 1.

K. I333 2: 23-24. Two flint piercers with broken

points. Same type as — :22.

K. 13332:25-26. Two flint piercers, willowleaf-

shaped like arrow-points. L. 20
and 30 mm.

K. 13332:27-34. Eight awls or piercers of flint

and agate. Of slightly different
type. — 129 PL 4:3, — :34 PI. 4:2.

K- 13332 : 35- Small flint flake with one edge

retouched and the median ridge
chipped on one side.

K. 13332:36. Fourteen small flint flakes with

the more or less high median ridge
chipped on one or both sides.

K. 13332:37. Curved flint flake with the high

median ridge chipped on one side.

K. 13332: 38-41. Four very slender, willowleaf-

shaped arrow-points of phtanite
and flint. Perfectly finished. — 141 is made from
a small flake. L. 49 — 34 mm. Br. 13 — 7 mm. PI.

3=1—4-

K. 13332:42-47. Six leaf-shaped arrow-points of

flint and quartzite. Shorter than
the previous ones. L. 39—25 mm. Br. 13— 11 mm.
PI- 3 : 5—10.

K. 13332 = 48-
K. 13332:49.

Very thin leaf-shaped arrow-point
of grey flint. 19X9 mm. PI. 3: 1 1.

Leaf-shaped arrow-point of flint,
coarsely made. 38X20 mm. PI.
3: 12.

•

■ *

K. 13332:50. Leaf-shaped arrow-point of agate,

rather thick. 38X15 mm. PI. 3: 13.

K. 13332: 51-52. Two leaf-shaped arrow-points, or

maybe piercers, of quartzite and
flint. L. 26 mm.

&■ »3332: 53- Small oval arrow-head(?) of

dark-grey flint. Rather blunt. 14X
8 mm. PI. 3 : 18.

K. 13332: 54. The broken-off tip of a well-made

arrow-point of quartz.

K- x 333 2: 55-57. Three leaf-shaped arrow-points of

chert and quartzite. L. 43 — 33 mm.

PI. 3:14—16,

K. 13332:58. Very blunt arrow-head, or possib-
ly knife, of grey flint. 34X18 mm.
PI- 3=17-

K. r 333 2 : 59~6°' Two coarse, unfinished arrow-
points of quartzite.

K. 13332:61-63. Three pointed sherds of chert and

quartzite.

K. 13332:64-67. Four fragm. of flint arrow-points

or small knives.

K. 13332: 68-69. Two small knives of quartzite, one

edge straight, the other slightly
convex. 39X13 and 33X8 mm. PI. 3: 19 — 20.

K- 13332:70- One half of a small knife of

yellow phtanitc. Made from a
flake. Br. 11 mm. PI. 4:5.

K. 13332:71. Knife of greyish-green chert. One

edge more convex than the other.
Coarsely made. 85X24 mm. PI. 3:21.

K. 13332 : 72-73. Two coarse knives of quartzite,

probably unfinished. — -.72 made
of a naturally thin piece of stone. PI. 3:22.

K. 13332 : 74-85. Twelve fragm. of knives of

quartzite and flint.

K. 13332 : 86-95. Ten fragm. of coarse knives of

quartzite, chert and flint.

K- x 333 2: 96-106. Eleven scrapers of flint, -quartzite

and felsite. Nearly oval or round.
From 40X29 to 15X16 mm. — : 103 PI. 4:4.

K. 13332: 107-108. Two flint scrapers with un-
finished retouching.

K. 13332:109. Thick quartzite flake with some

retouches along one edge. 55X28
mm.

K. 13332:110-111. Two small fragm. of flint

scrapers.

K. 13332:112-1 14. Three bifacial implements of

flint and quartzite, one end

straight, the other convex. 42X32, 36X31 and 34X
27 mm. — : 112 Fig. 5.

K. 13332:115. Part of a core(?) of dark-grey

porphyry, the thin edges chipped
on each side.

&• 13332:116. Nine small objects of quartzite

and flint, worked on both sides.
Partly knives or cutters, partly fragm. of in-
determinable implements.

K. 13332:117. Seventeen discs of coarse sherds

of quartzite and flint, more or less
worked.

Eight pointed sherds of quartzite,
partly unfinished arrow-heads.

Eight coarse flakes of flint and
quartzite, the edges more or less
retouched.

Various coarse flakes of different
coloured flints and quartzite.

Various refuse of flint, agate and
quartzite.

K. I333 2: 122-123. Two small fragm. of a grinding

stone of sandstone.

Fragm. of grinding stone(?) of
garnet-micaschist. One side ground
fiat.

A few bone fragm. and charcoal
from a hearth.

K. 13332: 118.
K. 13332: "9-

K. 13332:120.
K. 13332:121.

K. 13332 : 124.

K. 13332: 125.
K. 13332: 126.

Potsherd from rim of vessel with
slightly curved neck and two
marked nipples below the neck. Reddish-brown,
rather hard-burnt ware, cf. — : 1 — 4.

K. 13332: 127-128. Two small potsherds from the

upright rims of two vessels,
same ware as the preceding.

K. 13332: 129-132. Four potsherds of same ware as

the preceding.

Core of grey flint, nearly cylind-
rical. L. 40 mm.
Part of core of quartzite.

Arrow-point of quartzite, leaf-
shaped, rather thick. L. 45 mm.
Unfinished?

Part of thin natural disc of
quartzite; the convex edge has
probably been used for cutting.

K. 13332: 137. Fragm. of bifacial object of

quartzite. Cf. — :ii2.

Partly worked block of felsite.

Thick sherd of quartzite with
worked edges.

K. 13332: 133.

K. 13332: 1 34-
K. 13332 : 135.

K. 13332: 136.

K. 13332: 138.
K. 13332: 139.

C THE LOP DESERT.

From the Lop-nor region prehistoric finds were collected by Horner and Chen
in the winter season 1930— 31 during their important surveys of the Lop desert,
which resulted, inter alia, in the only existing map of Lop-nor in its present
northern position. In 1934 Mr. Chen made a few additional finds along the lower
part of Qum-darya, and in the same season I found some places with worked
stones etc. mainly in the desert south of Yardang-bulaq. 1 They are all mentioned
in the descriptive list together with the stray finds from the historical period; in
this chapter only the main types will be discussed and such combinations of finds as
probably mark dwelling sites.

Hypothetical dwelling sites.

The most important objects for dating prehistoric cultures are as a rule the cera-
mic wares. Unfortunately very few potsherds have been collected together with
worked flints in the Lop desert. In Horner's collection there is one instance,
K. 133^3. and in my own collection there are three instances, Nos. 22, 25 and 28.

These potsherds are rather homogeneous as to their general appearance and more
worn by the moving sand than the sherds from the time of Lou-Ian. This
circumstance shows either that they are of a quality inferior to that of the Lou-Ian
pottery or that they have been exposed for a longer time. Both possibilities suggest
an earlier age than the Lou-Ian occupation. The ware is light brownish with red and
grey stains. Rather coarse-grained sand has been used for mixing with the clay.
Most of the sherds are plain. No. 28: 1 has a raised border below the rim, and 28: 2
has had a raised decor of applied bands with striations. It is not impossible that
the decorated sherd PI. 29: 2 is of prehistoric origin, though its surface is well-
preserved. A few more potsherds found separately and without accompanying stone
implements may also belong to this group.

We will now examine the worked flints from those localities which may be regard-
ed as probable dwelling sites. I take only those places where there is no admixture
of metal or definitely Lou-Ian time pottery. The first four are situated near to the
south of Qum-darya below Yardang-bulaq. The places are mentioned in sequence
from west to east; cf. the maps Fig. 36 — 37.

No. 22 is just a couple of diminutive flint flakes beside a single potsherd, and No.
25 has one potsherd, an irregular flint core, a couple of flakes, the coarse knife or
bifacial implement PI. 5: 10 and two large flint blocks with chipped-off surfaces. I

1 On Hedin's earlier maps the name Yardang-bulaq has been applied to a well otherwise called Dolan-achiq
io km. NNW of the true Yardang-bulaq, which is situated only about 3 km- NW of Yaqa-yardang-bulaq. At
Dolan-achiq there are no yardangs.

.a V

■

mention these two localities because I found them myself and I therefore know that
everything on the spot was collected.

No. 28 consists of a few more objects. I came across them south of camp B 61 on
wind-eroded yardang-ground about 500 m. from the southern bank of the river. They
were lying scattered in 2 m. deep hollows as well as on adjacent yardangs covering an
area of about 60 m. in diameter. There are no typical cores and only three small
flakes. PI. 4: 13 is a willow-leaf arrow-head of agate of the same shape and make
as those from Singer in Quruq-tagh. PL 4: 14, a fragmentary arrow-head of green
flint, has the base shaped into a short tang, a feature that does not occur among the
flint points of Inner Mongolia; Stein gives a picture of one complete specimen from
his Fort L. E. Besides an uncertain small scraper there are small knife-like imple-
ments worked on both sides, PI. 4: 6, 4: and 5: 9, and a small bifacial instrument
PI. 4: 17. A couple of larger flint pieces arc "raw material" for making chips, and
there is a certain number of refuse chips.

Mr. Chen found the place No. 30 on the south bank of the river. The four cores
and the four small flakes of agate and flint are very similar both in shape and
material to those found closer to the lake.

In Horner's and Chen's collection from 193 1, containing about 280 objects, there
are artifacts from five probable dwelling sites.

Horner found a rich site about 14 km. WSW of the Lou-Ian station in a sandy
depression in wind-eroded clay. The place bears the number K. 13375 m tne descrip-
tive list and 375 on the map Fig. 37. The following objects were collected: a frag-
mentary flint core or nucleus, sixty-five flint flakes, many of them with retouched
edges as PI. 5 : 3 — 4. Two narrow piercers or awls are made from small flakes. Be-
sides there are some unworked chips. Now this is only the pick from the site and the
material is of course rather limited to be labelled as representing a true dwelling site.
This is still more the case with the following places.

K. 13395 (395 on the map) consists of a few flint flakes found near the southern
border of the delta NNE of the Lou-Ian station.

K- 13359 (359 on the map) is also only the pick from a site with hundreds of
worked flints in a large wind-hollow, 4—5 m. deep, situated near the western bor-
der of the big salt crust. He collected three flint cores (PI. 4: 18) and twenty-nine
flakes, some of which have one or both edges retouched.

The objects K. 13363 were found in a region with several stray finds of a neolithic
nature to the NE of the preceding place (cf. Nos. 362—365 on the map, and Horner
also noticed antiquities in this region which were not collected). Only a small pot-
sherd and four flint flakes were taken from this site where flakes are said to be
numerous.

K - I343*» finally, a place situated on the eastern side of the easternmost of the
three freshwater bays in the northern part of Lop-nor. Here the neatly shaped bi-

H. I

a. Tomb structure between Yaqinlii|-k6l and Qura-darya.

b. Miao-erh-ku. The potsherd!? K. 13328 were found on the low terrace in front of the hills,

«■ -

. ■ i

PI. 11.

B. Landscape south of Yaqinliq-kSl and cast
uf The Small River.

- ««t*

^^"^ **r

h. Dead foresl near in
the south of Ouin-clarya.

c. Grave 10. The coffin parity
broken up.

t ■

facial instrument PI. 5 : 1 was found together with the drill PL 4 : 7 and an untrimmed
flake. The first object may have served as a knife or cleaver.

Scattered finds.

Cores or nuclei of flint are not uncommon in the Lop desert. Even in Dr. Hedin's
old collection there is one, and here some specimens have been reproduced on PI.
4: 16, 20, 22 and PL 5: 14. As a rule these cores are less regularly shaped than
those from Inner Mongolia, partly owing to the fact that they have been flaked off
in more than one direction. Most of them are micronuclei.

The flakes struck off from the cores are very common. They are slender, as a rule
very small, and elegantly made. The larger specimens, which are up to 8 cm. long,
may have been used as knives without any extra handle, whereas the ordinary sized
flakes have probably been fitted into grooved handles of bone or wood and used
both as knives and sickles.

No cores answering to the long flakes have been found. This is only natural, as
cores get used up through the flaking-off process. On flakes protected from wind
erosion the untrimmed edges still retain their sharpness.

PL 5:6 has both edges retouched, and the spoon-shaped end may possibly have
been suitable as a small scraper, which is also the case with PL 5 : 7, where the med-
ian ridge is chipped from both sides, forming a zig-zag. PL 5:5 shows a thicker
flake with a similarly treated ridge.

Drills and awls were made from the flakes. PL 4: 7 is a typical drill, the retouches
along the tip being placed on alternate sides. K. 13386:6 is another drill, and PL
4:8 shows an agate drill made of an irregular flake with two blunt points.

In our collections from Lop-nor there are only some atypical scrapers. This is a
difference between Singer and Lop-nor. Stein gives a picture of a good scraper
(1928PL XXII, Cxciii. 0158).

The occurrence of true arrow-heads is also very rare. Besides those mentioned
from No. 28 there is only PI. 4: 12 from the northern border of the delta.

The two somewhat similar flint objects PL 5:2 and 5:8 are either coarse knives
or unfinished points.

The last group of Lop-nor implements are the polished axes of green chert or
other jade-like stones. The largest specimen is the beautiful axe PL 5: 16 which was
found by a Turkish servant on the eastern side of The Small River south of Yaqin-
liq-kol (point 2 on the map Fig. 36). It measures 185 mm. in length. PL 5:11 is of
exactly the same type with convex cutting edge, but only 50 mm. long, but the rest
of the small axes have very straight cutting edge, PI. 5: 12 — 13, 15 and 18 — 21. PL
5: 21, of light brown chert, is the only axe which is thoroughly polished all over.
The others have only the cutting-edge properly finished but no real butt and only

3 33

■

slightly marked narrow-sides. This is also true of the three jade axes which Pelliot
obtained at Qum-tura near Kucha. The largest of these is 14.6 x 7.4 cm. and corres-
ponds to our PL 5 : l6j the other two are 5.8x4 and 5.7x3.2 cm. respectively and
correspond to the ordinarily sized Lop-nor axes. The exact finding places of Pel-
liot's axes are not recorded. If they were found somewhere near to Kucha, where
they were purchased, they indicate that the stone age culture which is known from
the Lop desert was distributed over a large area of the Tarim Basin. In their general
shape the small ones call to mind the axes found by Andersson in the Sha-kou-t'un
cave together with Yang-shao painted pottery. This circumstance does not necess-
arily imply any cultural or chronological connection. Though the straight edges in
both cases denote late facies. It might be worth mentioning that this short but
broad axe-type is missing in Inner Mongolia — at least in those parts where I have
travelled — and also in Honan and Kansu (Bergman 1935 a).

Though the general type of the flint blades and cores from Lop-nor is the same
as that occurring in the other Sinkiang localities and in Inner Mongolia, they may
easily be distinguished when placed side by side. The Lop-nor objects are as a rule
much sand-worn, showing that they have been lying exposed to wind erosion for a
considerable length of time, whereas corresponding articles from the other sites
mentioned show few or no traces of being sand-worn. Moreover, the raw materials in
the Inner Mongolian objects are much more varied.

No petrographic analyses have been made of the Lop-nor material. Dr. T. dc
Rietz has, however, kindly undertaken an ocular examination of some of the worked
stones from here. Most of the stone material passes under the name of flint. Agate,
jasper, chalcedony and chert also occur. In the market most of the stones here called
green chert would pass as jade, and I at first labelled them as jade.

There do not exist any stones in the lacustrine and fluvial sediments of the Lop-
nor basin. Raw material for the manufacturing of tools and weapons had to be
brought from the surrounding mountain regions, i. e. Quruq-tagh in the north or
Astin-tagh in the south. Norin has found a geological formation containing siliceous
beds at the base of the Cambrian (lydite, radiolarite), which stretches along the
whole length of Quruq-tagh from Korla to Altmish-bulaq. Some Lop-nor objects
are made of this kind of "flint". It seems likely that siliciferous stones suitable for
making artifacts are to be found in the Astin-tagh as well. (Cf. the site Chiqin-sai).
The Quruq-tagh formation was in any case the nearest place where flint could be
"mined".

*T*

As seen from the above the finds of worked flints from the Lop-nor region are
rather few, both in number and types, and as there is practically no ceramics no defin-
ite chronological deductions can be undertaken. All stratigraphical evidence is lack-
ing, and in many cases we do not know from what kind of deposit the objects origin-
ate. No traces of palaeolithic implements have been met with; such can only be ex-

pected outside the clay desert. The true implements existing point to a pretty late
prehistoric facies.

As to the distribution of these remains it seems as if they occurred in a somewhat
larger quantity in the region south of the present delta than elsewhere. Nevertheless,
with our present knowledge we can only state that the flint artifacts cover about the
same area as do the finds from the time of Lou-Ian. It thus seems likely that there
can be no long interval between the time of the stone age occupation and that of
Lou-Ian. Nothing contradicts an assumption that flint implements were still used by
the autochthon population when they first got into contact with the Chinese about
2.000 years ago though they probably had passed the stage of true stone age already
at that time.

There are instances when stone implements of neolithic types have been found in
ruins from the time of Lou-Ian (e. g. the axe PI. 5: 11 in the fortress L. K.). But
the implements may have been deposited there before the construction of the forti-
fications, and no definite chronological criteria can be reached in this way. The four
stone arrow-heads from Cemetery 5 which are depicted on PI. 12: 3— 6, on the other
hand, are apparently contemporaneous with the burial place. Their obviously inferior
workmanship as compared with other arrow-heads from the Lop-nor region makes it
appropriate to characterize them as survivals of a true stone age.

Until we have discovered a site with full inventory and the finds resting in situ
we had better postpone further discussion of the Lop-nor stone age. The hope of
finding such a site is extremely small. Only lucky circumstances would account for
the preservation of such ancient strata in this desert where wind erosion is more
powerful than in almost any other place.

D. CHIQIN-SAI.

When in July 1928 Haslund and I approached Charchan from the upper sources
of Charchan-darya we followed the ordinary road which skirts the western extre-
mity of Astin-tagh at Chuqur-davan. In the valley of Chiqin-sai and not very far
from the northern foot of the mountain a few worked flints and a couple of pot-
sherds were found on a small open space in the valley. The place is situated about 65
km. south-east of Charchan. Cf. the map Fig. 4.

Three of the potsherds recall the plain pottery from the Singer site in Quruq-tagh,
whereas another two show traces of incised lines made with a dentated tool.

There are forty-seven diminutive flint flakes, some of which have retouched edges,
two small cores from which such flakes have been struck off, and eight very small
scrapers.

The objects are of the same types as those common in Inner Mongolia, which are
ascribed to the neolithic age.

This small site is of interest as being the first one discovered on the southern rim
of the large Tarim Basin.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM CHIQIN-SAI

K. 13333: 1-2. Two small potsherds with traces

of incised pattern, a wavy double
line between two straight lines, and probably a
garland incised with a dentated instrument. Light-
red ware.

K. 13333:3-5. Three small potsherds of red and

reddish-brown ware recalling the
Singer ware.

K. 13333:6-7. Two fragm. of small flint cores.

K. 13333:8. Thirty-nine small flint flakes.

K- 13333:9. Eight small fine flint flakes with

retouched edges.

K. 13333: 10-16. Seven small scrapers of grey flint.

K- 13333:17. Various flint refuse and coarser

flakes.

E. CONCLUSION.

Menghin characterizes the Lop-nor stone age finds made by Stein as probably
belonging to the Gobi culture and an "epi- und opsimiolitische Fazies der Reittier-
ziichterkreise"; he does not believe that this culture knew cattle breeding (Menghin
J 93 r » P- 3 r 5)- AH this seems somewhat daring, as not even the slightest trace of any
"Reittier" bone has been found together with these implements. And the implements
themselves are few and of rather common types.

The differences between the Lop-nor artifacts and those from other Sinkiang sites
are not large enough to denote anything but local variations inside the same cul-
ture. And the same is true regarding the whole Sinkiang material when compared
with that from Mongolia. They all belong to the same Gobi culture. This collective
name seems very appropriate as long as we can assign no more precise chronologi-
cal limits or any classification in well defined groups.

Very much the same natural conditions prevail in Sinkiang and in Mongolia, and
the same desert covers large parts of both countries. This Gobi culture was most
likely carried by nomads who moved with their herds in this extensive area of step-
pes and deserts. But it is still too early to make a pronouncement as to the kind of
domesticated animals they relied on.

The painted wares in China first appear in aeneolithic time. Any extensive remains
from true neolithic time have not been discovered in China as yet. In Mongolia and
Manchuria sites with neatly worked flints and unpainted hand-made pottery are
quite common. Unfortunately most of the Mongolian finds occur on the eroded Gobi
surface, and we have very few stratigraphical fix-points. The chronology and the
relation to the painted pottery cultures are therefore uncertain. Nevertheless, there
are some general indications which make one inclined to regard the Mongolian flint

sites as genuinely neolithic and somewhat anterior to the painted pottery. As the
Sinkiang finds which are characterized by micro-implements of flint must be
placed in the same extensive Gobi culture as the Mongolian finds, their first appear-
ance must be anterior to the oldest painted ceramics in Sinkiang.

The scarcity of finds does not necessarily mean that the province of Sinkiang was
poorly inhabited in prehistoric time. The fact that our collections of stone age
articles from Sinkiang are far less numerous than those from Mongolia is at least
partly explained by the different modes of travelling that we used during the
expedition. In Mongolia we used camel caravans, making — as a rule — pretty
short marches, and thus getting much time for investigating the ground. In Sin-
kiang we were travelling in carts for long stretches of the highways, partly under
military supervision, and covering the long stages in ordinary local tempo, which
allows of very little field research work. Moreover, large parts of the ground
traversed under more favourable conditions were hidden by sand dunes or thick ve-
getation, which is more seldom the case in the parts of Inner Mongolia visited by
us. If we make due allowance for what has just been said we shall not attach too
much importance to the distribution of finds as shown on the map Fig. 4.

Let us now turn to the historical time and concentrate our attention to the Lop-
nor region.

PART II.

THE LOP-NOR REGION IN HISTORICAL TIME

/. HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION.

he first mention of Central Asia, and probably also the Tarim Basin, is a
very brief notice in the fifth chapter of Shih-chi, referring to the year 623
B. C. (de Groot 1921, p. 21). It seems that twelve western kingdoms were
conquered at that time by Mu 01 Ts'in. This political domination may have resulted
in some cultural relations in one direction or other, but it is hardly likely that any
transcontinental trade developed. At the time when the Chinese records begin to
shed some light on the north-western part of the present Kansu province we find the
II Yueh-chih living in the Kansu corridor. This people may have traded with Chinese

goods, bringing them into the Tarim Basin. The Yueh-chih, or Tokharians or Indo-
II Scythians as they arc called later on in more westerly region?, seem to have been a

people of certain qualities, and why not able traders.

So far we have no definite proofs of such possible relations. When the Hsiung-
nu under Mao Tun had the whole Tarim Basin and the Yueh-chih country under
their sway, every kind of intercourse was cut off, and at that time, between 174 and
160 B. C. the main part of the Yueh-chih tribe was chased out of their pastures in
Kansu. There is thus no traceable Chinese influence in the Tarim Basin previous to
the end of the second century B. C, when the big Chinese expansion began into
Central Asia.

When in B. C. 140 Emperor Wu of Han 1 ascended the throne, China's northern
frontier region was being harassed by frequent raids of the Hsiung-nu or Huns.
Perceiving the grave frontier situation, the Emperor dispatched Chang Ch'ien on
an embassy to the Yueh-chih tribe, at this time living to the west of the Pamirs,
hoping to stir up their old hatred towards the Hsiung-nu and to induce them to
start hostilities with the common enemy. Chang Ch'ien failed in this undertaking,
but his -journey to the western countries resulted in the discovery of Central Asia,
of which the Chinese had until then had very vague or no knowledge. We will
mention this in the following.

Failing in his bid for assistance from the Yueh-chih, Emperor Wu had to rely on
his own resources. Luckily for the Emperor, a man of unique abilities placed his

» The Han dynasty: 206 B.C.— 221 A.D.

sword at his disposal. This was the young general Ho Ch'u-ping, whose illustrious
name has never faded in the historical books of the Chinese. In a three year cam-
paign, between 121 and 119 B.C., he wrested north-western Kansu from the
Huns.

In order to make the exposed Kansu corridor secure against the inroads of the
nomads, very extensive fortifications were constructed. The Great Wall was ex-
tended to a point north-west of Tun-huang. Several military garrisons were found-
ed, and along the Edsen-gol 1 valley, which afforded the easiest approach for attack
from the north, the Chinese caused the building of walls, signal towers and fort-
resses, and these were also garrisoned. This was the district of Chu-yen where I was
fortunate enough to discover, in 1930—31, a large number of Han records on wood.

What had been a road of invasion for the Huns since the expulsion of the Yiieh-
chih now became a road of expansion for the Chinese.

Though China still had to suffer from Hsiung-nu inroads during several cent-
uries, it was this strong and active anti-Hun policy of Emperor Wu which started
the downfall of the Hsiung-nu power in Asia.

Chang Ch'ien's mission to Central Asia has received its due credit from all
students dealing with the early inter-relation between China and the West. When
this famous ambassador returned from his eventful journey to the Chinese capital
in B. C. 126 or 125 he was full of surprising news about rich foreign countries in
the west, whose existence had until then been unknown to the Chinese. A whole
new world now lay open to the powerful Emperor Wu. After this the fighting
down of the Huns was not only a question of pacifying the frontiers. It acquired a
deeper significance. Until then the frontiers had for the Chinese represented the
end of the civilized world. But Chang Ch'ien's report spoke of many rich count-
ries behind the fringe of barbaric tribes surrounding China, and the hope of open-
ing relations with these far off countries accelerated the campaign against the
Huns.

Especially the tales of the 'blood-sweating' horses of Ferghana seem to have
aroused the particular curiosity of Emperor Wu, and he did not hesitate to dis-
patch two very expensive military expeditions across the vast distances of Central
Asia with the sole object (at least so it is said) of bringing back those famous
steeds. By means of equipping his cavalry with superior horses the Emperor hoped
to beat the Hsiung-nu nomads at their own tactics. After the success of the second
expedition to Ferghana the prestige of the Chinese was firmly established along the
routes through Central Asia, and it was followed by a remarkable development of
trade. The quest of the strange, coupled with mercantile interests, drew Chinese

1 Following Mr. Unkrig's suggestion, I use this new spelling for the river name usually written Etsin-gol or
Edsin-gol. The true literary form is Edscn-gool. The local pronunciation of the first part varies between Edsine,
Echine and Ejine.

> I

traders and adventurers out on the great routes westwards, and these now became
"Silk Roads", as the main item exported by the Chinese was silk.

It is really only through the historians of the Roman Empire that we have any
theoretical knowledge of China's silk trade. When the Romans had conquered Syria
in B. C. 64 they learnt about a far away eastern people producing silk. This people
they called Seres from the product by which it was known, but they were ignorant
as to the situation of their country. The name Seres seems, however, to have been
applied collectively to all those peoples of the East which were engaged in the silk
trade as intermediaries, such as the Tokharians, the Wu-sun and the Sakians.
Later on it came to denote the real silk producers, i. c. the Chinese.

It was more the Roman demand for silk than the Chinese demand for Western
products that kept the trade going, and we may be sure of one thing: the Chinese
got huge profits out of the silk trade, to say nothing of the peoples further west
who served as intermediaries.

To the rich and luxury-loving Romans Chinese silk became a necessity. But they

were not satisfied with the Chinese textiles in the form in which these arrived in

Syria. The bizarre scrolls and fantastic beasts which made up the Chinese designs

R of the polychrome stuffs did not appeal to the Roman's strict sense of classical art.

The textiles were therefore rewoven, but as the Chinese silk thread is thinner and
longer than any existing fibre it was the most appreciated of all textile materials.

Fortunate discoveries in the Crimea and at Palmyra have brought to light speci-
mens of real authentic Chinese silk of the Han period, which most likely reached
these places along the Silk Roads across the whole width of Asia (Toll, Pfister).
Besides silk, the Chinese exported certain art objects of bronze (cf. note on p. 165).

"In the Vicus Tuscus in Rome there was during the early centuries of our era a
market for Chinese silk. The traffic of this silk was the most far-reaching large-
scale commerce of antiquity. Since the silk might be produced in the littoral of the
Yellow Sea and since Roman fashionable society existed for its demand in Spain.
Gaul and Britain, the trade drew the threads of its exquisite material as a bond of
economic unity across the whole of the Old World from the Pacific to the Atlantic."
(Hudson, p. 68).

Glass was one of the few articles exported by the Romans to China. In most
instances they had to pay for the Chinese silk in gold. In China glass ranked among
the precious materials beside jade and crystal. Until some ten years ago the earliest
Chinese-made glass was supposed to be of the middle of the fifth century A. D. Now
we are aware that the manufacture at least of glass beads was known in China al-
ready several centuries before our era. (Kummel 1928, Seligman 1938.)

The powerful imperialism of Emperor Wu was the necessary foundation for the
establishment of the overland silk commerce. But once established, it seems to have
been able to survive severe stress from political disintegration — probably, as sug-

gested by Hudson, because the profit to be derived from it had become obvious to
even the more barbaric peoples along the routes.

A. THE ROADS.

In considering the course of the main roads along which the silk trade flourished
I restrict myself to those parts which fall inside the eastern Tarim Basin and its
nearest surroundings. They have been tentatively marked on the map Fig. 4. Lateral
roads also existed but they have been left out of the discussion here as they are of
more local interest.

Ch'ang-an, the Han capital of China, may be regarded as the true starting point
of the Silk Road, and its western terminus was probably Antioch in Syria. This
means a distance of nearly 7000 km.

At Tun-huang the road divided into two branches, and later on a third was added
(Chavannes 1905, pp. 528 ff). Baron von Richthofen, the famous German geo-
grapher, has coined the name Silk Road for these ancient caravan routes, and this
name has since been widely used by Westerners, though hardly by the Chinese
themselves.

From Tun-huang the southern route ran inside or along the Astin-tagh as far as
Miran, and thence followed the southern rim of the vast Taklamakan desert to
Khotan, Yarkend and across the Pamirs.

The northern or new road was opened in the period 1 — 5 A. D. and ran north-
westwards from Tun-huang (or the old Yu-men-kuan outside Tun-huang) to Tur-
fan, whence it may have followed the present trunk road via Urumchi to the Hi
valley. It is said to have rejoined the Road of the Centre at Kucha. The course of
this road between Yu-men-kuan and Turfan is absolutely unknown, and I have
marked it on the map Fig. 4 only after much hesitation.

The present trunk road from Turfan to Qara-shahr and Korla cannot have been
of any use for the through traffic with silk until after A. D. 127, the year when
Yen-ch'i (Qara-shahr) submitted to Chinese power. But by this Tun-huang — Turfan
road silk reached the Wu-sun in the Ili valley and around the Issiq-kol, and may
have been forwarded westwards by the Wu-sun.

After the capture of Hami in A. D. 7$ the present cart roads Anhsi — Hami and
Tun-huang — Hami — Turfan were opened by the Chinese for a short period, but
this part was very insecure as long as the Huns exercised any power south of the
T'ien-shan mountains.

The Road of the Centre, which is probably of the same age as the southern one
became by far the most important line of communication for the overland trade be-
tween China and the West from the end of the second century B. C. until the change
in the course of the lower Tarim made it untraf ficable sometime during the second

quarter of the fourth century A. D. In this connection we will consider only this
middle branch.

In 19 14, Sir Aurel Stein succeeded in tracing the course of the ancient road be-
tween Lou-Ian and the old Yu-men-kuan (situated NW of Tun-huang), i. e. the
desert part of the Road of the Centre. It makes a detour to the north to avoid the
largest expance of the salt-crust which marks the old extent of Lop-nor, but it has
nevertheless to cross it for a stretch of about 30 km.

The route traced by Stein was not the only possible one. A short-cut across the
salt-crust along a line running SE — NW and followed by Mr. Chen in 193 1 (cf. the
map Horner 1935, Fig. 2) probably affords easier going than Stein's route, be-
cause it touches several "islands" in the salt-crust. That it was used also in Lou-
lan's time is made probable through the finds discussed on p. 168. Although even
this short-cut has six waterless stages.

The Road of the Centre was the shortest of the three branches of the Silk Road.
The advantage of its being shorter than the rest was lessened by the extreme dif-
ficulty of crossing such a wide waterless desert. Above all, the big petrified sea-bed
with its hard salt-crust must have presented a terrible obstacle to all travellers and
their beasts of burden. Nothing could be more dead than this desolate salt expanse.
It is an absolute desert, from which every form of life is banished.

Not much experience of desert travelling is needed to understand that the only
means of conveyance in ancient days must have been camels, and that the journey
along the 190 km. long desert route found by Stein was possible only in winter. In
the hot season this route is and was absolutely impassable.

Some observations made by Hedin during his motor trip through the southern
hills of Pei-shan in the winter 1934—35 seem to point to the existence of now de-
serted roads in this mountain region. The northern branch of the Silk Road, which
was opened in the period 1—5 A. D. passed through the Pei-shan region, and so do
several roads running N— S between Tun-huang and Hami, and it may have been
cairns of these roads that Hedin came across. It is very likely however, that the
caravans of ancient days, when travelling from Tun-huang to Lou-Ian, followed
some northerly route going inside the low Pei-shan ridges, where there may
have existed some springs and even wells. Such a route was probably traffic-
able for a longer period of the year than Stein's road. But even here traffic must
have been practically nil during the hot summers — as is the case on all Central
Asian desert distances of any length where rest-houses with provisions for the ani-
mals do not exist.

I am not sure that these desert routes were chosen just because of their short-
ness. Time was certainly of still less value 2000 years ago than it is now in this part
of the world; and every sensible trader avoids deserts, if possible. When the big
overland traffic started, the Hsiung-nu were blocking the more easily negotiated

roads along eastern T'ien-shan. The Chinese had consequently to choose a more
southerly route, and thus the Road of the Centre came into existence.

To facilitate the desert crossing arrangements with advanced depots NE of the
Lou-Ian station were made, and travellers, at least those of any importance, were
met with supplies before reaching the first settlement at Lop-nor. The native Lou-
Ian people had to perform this task and they had also to serve as guides. They
apparently misused their position and waylaid Chinese caravans together with the
Huns and were thus a great obstacle to trade and traffic. Such events are described
in Chinese records, and they forced the Chinese to deal drastically with the indi-
genous Lou-Ian population.

As far as is known, the ruined watch-tower called L. J. formed the last station
on the Lou-Ian side of the salt-crust. At present there is still fresh water as far east
as this point, and it is more than likely that the station L. J. was erected at the very
last place where drinking water was obtainable in the days of the opening of the Silk
Road. It served as a landmark for the travellers, it was the first (or last) place with
supplies, and here was probably some arrangement for crossing the river.

At the fortifications L. F. and L. E. which are next met with on the straight
road to Lou-Ian station there must also have been river-branches, and the structures
were certainly erected there for strategical reasons: to create an obstacle for ene-
mies approaching along the main road, but also to facilitate the river-crossing for
peaceful travellers and to furnish them with accommodation and supplies.

The position of T'u-ken near the northernmost source of fresh water is of im-
portance in this connection as it protects the flank of the Silk Road from attacks
from the north.

In time of peace the "through traffic" may have passed via L. J. to the north of
the delta without touching the Lou-Ian station and the fortifications in a line to the
north-east of it. In this case T'u-ken would be one of the main stations between Yu-
men-kuan and Ying-p'an.

From Lou-Ian the road must have followed the bed of the lower Tarim (the
present Qum-darya) passing Ying-p'an and then along the line of watch-towers to
Korla. From there on, the ancient and modern highways cover each other practi-
cally the whole way to Kashgar.

When travelling by car between Korla and Bugur in 1934 I noticed ruined watch-
towers in only three places along the road, and heard of a fourth, but there may of
course exist more.

The first one stands on the western outskirt of the Korla oasis immediately to the
south of the road. The second one lies a little to the east of the first one and to
the north of the road. It is marked on Stein's map as a ruined post. The third

tower is situated on the NE border of the Charchi oasis. It stands on a 2 m. high
platform and is itself about 4 m. high, the base being about 5 m. square. The con-
struction did not reveal any details which could be used for determining its age.
Judging from the far advanced decay of the structure it must be of considerable
antiquity. We may guess that it was built in the period between B. C. 60 and the be-
ginning of the first century A. D. when the Chinese Protector General of The
Western Regions was residing in Wu-Iei, which is identified with Chadir 45 km.
west of Charchi, at a time when the traffic along the Silk Road was flourishing.

According to information from local people there is another ruined tower in
Eshme, the small oasis between Charchi and Chadir.

B. LOU-LAN.

Lou-Ian is the Chinese rendering of an indigenous name of a small kingdom
comprising the region around lowermost Tarim. The first time it is mentioned is in
a letter from Mao Tun, Khan of the Hsiung-nu, to the Emperor of China in B. C.
176. In some cases the name is written Lao-Ian. In the documents in Indian
Kharoshthi which have been excavated from ruins in the Tarim Basin, the name
bears the form Kroraina or Kroraimna. A later form is Raurata. Prof. Karlgren
has kindly informed me that the old pronunciation of the name Lou-Ian was glu-
lan, which corresponds very closely to the Kharoshthi forms.

After having erected military bases at Chiu-ch'fian (Suchow) and Tun-huang
the Chinese continued their expansion westwards. As the Lou-Ian people maltreated
the members of passing Chinese caravans a military expedition was dispatched to
Lou-Ian, and in 109 B. C. the king was forced to pay tribute to China.

Its geographical position gives to the Lou-Ian kingdom a strategical importance
far surpassing its importance in other respects. Stretching from the Quruq-tagh
mountains in the north to the high range of Astin-tagh in the south, it serves as a
key to the whole Tarim Basin, and from Lou-Ian the rich Turfan Basin is also
easily reached.

It is unnecessary to follow the ups and downs in the Chinese domination of the
Lou-Ian kingdom in this connection. These happenings have been recorded both by
Stein and Herrmann.

Among the Chinese the name Lou-Ian was changed to Shan-shan in the last
century B. C, but revived for the naming of the military station founded by So
Mai 1 about 260 A. D. (i. e. Hedin's city of Lou-Ian, Stein's L. A. or Lou-Ian sta-
tion). It was also used as a name for the settlements around L. A. In the Kha-
roshthi documents we never meet the name Shan-shan, only Kroraina or Kroraimna,
and it thus seems that the real name never changed, which is quite natural.

1 So Mai, not So Man, is the correct form, according to Prof. Giles (BSOS 6, p. 829).

Chavannes and Herrmann are of the opinion that the capital of the Lou-Ian
kingdom was removed from the northern region of the Lop desert to Charkhliq in
B. C. 77. The premiss for this supposition is a paragraph in the Wei-lio. Stein on
the other hand believes that the capital was situated in the southern part of the basin
the whole time. According to Giles Miran was the old capital and Charkhliq the new
one. Cf. p. 224 f.

I feel inclined to agree with the argument set forth by Chavannes and Herr-
mann. The old capital may possibly have been more of a camp than a permanent
residence, but on the other hand it seems most likely that the Lou-Ian station was
the main centre even before the arrival of the Chinese garrison.

Herrmann has tentatively marked the site of the old Lou-Ian capital on a map
(Herrmann 1931, p. 57) 20 km. NNW of the Lou-Ian station. This is certainly
rather daring even with the wording "Hauptstadt? (unerforscht)".

This part of the desert has now been traversed by so many that all ruins of any
importance are certainly known. Many other parts of the Lop desert, however,
have never been visited and still less searched for ancient remains, and the discove-
ry of such an imposing site as "Order's necropolis" hints at the possibility of find-
ing still more remains.

In the literature the name Lou-Ian has been mostly used to denote the largest of
the ruins found by Hedin in 1900 — 1901. In this treatise I have followed Stein
in consistently referring to this ruin as the Lou-Ian station in order to distinguish
it from the Lou-Ian kingdom.

Stein has already pointed out how the establishment of a Chinese military colony
in the Lou-Ian kingdom is foreshadowed in a proposal to the Imperial Council by
General Pan Yung, the son of the famous Pan Ch'ao, about A. D. 119. I quote
the whole passage in the masterly translation of Chavannes, as the text is very
typical and contains several details of interest (Chavannes 1906, p. 248 f.).

"Autrefois, dans la commanderie de Touen-houang il y avait une garnison de
trois cents hommes; il faut maintenant la rctablir et instituer a nouveau un hiao-
wei en second, protecteur des contrees d'Occident, qui residera a Touen-houang,
comme cela etait autrefois pendant la pcriode yong-yuan (89 — 104 p. C.) ; d'autre
part, il faut envoyer un tchang-che des pays d'Occident, a la tete de cinq cents
hommes, organiser une colonie militaire a Leou-lan; du cote de l'Ouest, (cet offi-
cier) dominera les chemins qui menent a Yen-k'i (Karachar) et a K'ieou-tseu
(Koutcha) ; du cote du Sud, il fortifiera le courage de Chan-chan et de Yu-t'ien
(Khoten) ; du cote du Nord, il tiendra en respect les Hiong-noa; du cote de l'Est, il
sera voisin de Touen-houang. Voila ce qui est vraiment avantageux.

Un chang-chou demanda a (Pan) Yong: 'Si maintenant on etablit un hiao-wei en
second, quel en sera Tavantage? Si en outre on nomme un tchang-che pour faire
une colonie militaire a Leou-lan, quel en sera le profit?' (Pan) Yong repondit:
'Autrefois, a la fin de la periode yong-p'ing (58 — 75 P- C.), on entra pour la premi-

ere fois en communication avec les contrees d'Occident 1 ; on commence par envoyer
un tchong-lang-tsiang qui resida a Touen-houang ; ensuite on institua un hiao-wei
en second qui demeura a Kiu-che (Tourfan) et qui put done ctre un administrates
pour les barbares tandisqu'il empechait les Chinois de commettre aucun empietement
a leur prejudice; e'est pourquoi les barbares etrangers s'attacherent a lui et les
Hiong-nou redouterent son prestige. Maintenant, le roi de Chan-chan, Yeou-houan,
est un descendant des Chinois par les femmes; si les Hiong-nou menent a bien leurs
projets, Yeou-houan mourra surement ; or, quoique ces peuples soient semblables a
des oiseaux et a. des betes sauvages, ils savent cependant eviter ce qui leur est
funeste; si nous faisons sortir (des soldats) pour constituer une colonie militaire a
Leou-lan, cela suffira a nous gagner leurs coeurs. A mon humble avis, e'est une
chose avantageuse'."

As we know, Pan Yung's proposal was only partly effected in his time. Not until
about 260 was a military colony established by So Mai at Lou-Ian, apparently
identical with the Lou-Ian station discovered by Sven Hedin.

n t

_I 1

2. REMARKS ON THE HYDROGRAPHY.

As the question of the hydrography of the lower Tarim is of paramount import-
ance for the discussion of the archaeological remains in the Lop desert and the
existence of the Silk Road I find it necessary to touch on this subject here.

Horner has paid much attention to the hydrography of the lowermost Tarim

and the new lake Lop-nor, and if I can make any statements that may constitute

an addition to the present knowledge this is only thanks to Horner's unreserved

readiness to communicate his observations to me, for which I am deeply indebted to
him.

The lowest part of the Tarim river has a fluctuating course. The large number of
place names such as Yangi-su, Yangi-kol, Yangi-darya etc. (The new water, lake,
river) is a confirmation of this. The instability is due to the level ground, the strong
wind erosion, and the large amount of silt carried by the water until unloaded in the
changing inundation areas serving as "clearing basins".

In itself this instability is not so remarkable. River branches in many other deltas
where similar natural conditions prevail show the same tendency to change their
beds. The instability of the Tarim possesses a particular interest as it has caused
the ruin of a flourishing local civilization, and above all because it brought on a dis-
placement in the course of the Silk Road. The river changes also become so ob-
vious as they cause a shifting in the position of the terminal lake. As the volume
of water is insufficient to fill the whole lake basin the lake has to shift its position

1 The text is apparently incorrect here, as has been observed by Herrmann (1931, p. 93).

when the river course changes. The lake together with the lower part of the Tarim
has therefore been compared with a pendulum.

We cannot follow all the minor changes in the river course, as there does not exist
any map covering the whole region of the lower Tarim. Such a map can only be
made from the air. It has been possible, however, to determine the major changes
of the main water courses, especially thanks to Dr. Hedin's untiring efforts.

The southernmost position, which the terminal lake of Tarim can occupy coincides
with Qara-qoshun, and the northernmost position must nearly coincide with the
present new lake Lop-nor. Between these southern and northern limits Lop-nor
alternates. There have possibly existed intermediary stages, but we have no definite
facts about them. Cf. the map Fig. 36.

It is hardly necessary to relate here how these river displacements were investig-
ated, as a special volume of the Report series will treat the Lop-nor and the lower
Tarim region. I will only summarize some main points bearing on the subject of
archaeology and draw some conclusions.

During the latter part of the second century B. C. the main part of the joined
waters of the Tarim and the Konche-darya had an easterly course, probably along
what is now Qum-darya. The water apparently continued to flow thus until about
330 A. D. The latest dated document from Lou-Ian bears the year 330 A. D., and it
seems to mark the end of the Lou-Ian occupation. It is very likely that the aband-
oning of Lou-Ian was caused by a decreasing water supply in the Tarim of that
region, i. e. the river had taken another course around that time. If this supposition
is correct, we have here the first known displacement of the river.

Our knowledge of how the river behaved from the fourth to the nineteenth centu-
ries is very limited. In historical records there is nowhere any mention of a revived
Lou-Ian. Certain observations made by Stein, Horner and myself indicate that the
Quruq-darya bed carried water for at least one shorter period in relatively modern
times (Stein 1921, pp. 359 sq and 386, 1928, p. 286; Horner 1935 p. 152). Possibly
that river course was also active some time between 600 and 1000, as indicated by
the occurrence of some graves. 1 Hedin noticed living poplars in two places and living
tamarisks in one place near the then dry bed of Quruq-darya to the east of Yar-
dang-bulaq (Hedin 1905, pp. 59, 61, 63). Subsoil drainage from Quruq-tagh may
partly account for these phenomena, but it is also likely that a temporary wet period
of Quruq-darya was the single cause of these signs of vegetable life.

In 1877 Prjevalsky discovered the Qara-qoshun lake in the southern part of the
Lop-nor depression, a lake formed by the Tarim and the Konche-darya; during high
water periods Charchan-darya was also a tributary to this lake. Until lately Qara-
qoshun has played the role of ancient Lop-nor on the maps.

Richthofen objected to the identification of Qara-qoshun with the ancient lake

The travels of the Ncpalese Hbal Rgyal-sum via the Lou-Ian station would seem to have occurred during
this period (Konow 1934, p. 138 f.).

Lop-nor on Chinese maps. On these the lake is placed in the northern part of the
basin. Hedin has further elucidated this question, and after having proved that
Lop-nor must be an alternating lake which "wanders" he even predicted the return
of the lake to a northern position. He could at that time scarcely have thought that
his prophecy would be fulfilled during his years as an active explorer and that he
himself was destined to follow so closely this last pulsation in the life of the river.
Nature herself provided the proof of the correctness of his theory.

Around 1921 the last displacement of the lower Tarim and its terminal lake began.
Dr. Hedin was the first geographer to learn about this occurrence, when passing
through Turf an in February 1928. At that time the displacement was completed, the
joined waters of the Tarim and the Konche-darya following the old Quruq-darya
bed (now bearing the name Qum-darya) 1 and forming a large lake on the big salt
crust in the lowest part of the Lop depression.

The shape of this new lake Lop-nor, according to Horner, is that of a hanging
bag measuring nearly 90 km. from north to south and having a width varying from
about 14 to 45 km. Its surface covers some 1500 to 1800 square km.

Hedin and Horner have proved that because of the sedimentation and wind
erosion the lower Tarim is bound to be a changing river, and Lop-nor an alternating
lake. There are no traces of any late crustal movements that could have caused such
changes in the hydrography of the region.

In the case of the last return of the whole volume of the Tarim to the dry bed of
Quruq-darya human activities may have played a certain part. They were certainly
not decisive but they may have accelerated the natural development, and in the eyes
of the natives they have come to be regarded as the cause. Stein writes as follows :
"In I9 T 4 I heard the Loplik at Abdal complaining of the construction of a new big
dam above Tikenlik as the cause which had kept the summer flood of the Tarim
from reaching their marshes" (Stein 192 1, p. 422 note 28). When I visited Tikenliq,
in September 1928, the local people talked about how the drying-up of Yarkend-
darya somewhat above the height of Tikenliq was due to constructions of new
canals a little higher up the river. The water in Chong-kol and its surrounding
swamps may then have risen so high that more water than usual flowed over into
Konche-darya, which because of this addition to its volume broke through at a weak
point in its bed at Temenpu, from where it soon came to follow the old bed of
Quruq-darya.

The volume of water in the present lower Tarim is subject to marked seasonal
changes. Because of the flat ground these changes affect the extension of Lop-nor
to a very high degree. Thanks to Horner's mapping we know the approximate out-
line of Lop-nor during the winter season 1930 — 31. During other times of the year

1 The name Qum-darya, or Sand River, is not new. It was recorded already by Kozlov as a second name
of Quruq-darya, which means The Dry River.

a. Cemetery 5 ("Ordck's necropolis') from EXK.

1). Cemelery 5, Total view from S 25 K.

PL IV.

a. Eastern part of Cemetery g.

b. "The columned Hall of the Dead". Cemetery 5,

the configuration or at least the size of the lake may be quite different. However,
the maximum extent of the terminal lake 1921 — 1930 is also fairly well known.

The lake Qara-qoshun, when still existing, was never so closely surveyed, and the
outline of its eastern extremity was never determined.

In view of such changes in the extent of the lake it is very hard to determine the
position of the water level at the time of Lou-Ian, and matters are also complicated
by human activities, especially irrigation in the delta region.

Horner found at the salt terminal lake traces of a shore-line 0.8 m. above the
water level at the beginning of 193 1, and this shore may have belonged to the lake
of Lou-lan's time or possibly to a post-Lou-Ian lake. Other observations of his indi-
cate that the water level in the Lou-Ian oasis cannot have exceeded the present
one in the same area by more than a metre or two, probably not that much.

The extraordinary physical conditions prevailing in the Lop desert create a good
many relatively rapid changes in the morphology of the ground. Besides the major
river changes occuring at intervals of centuries, there are other changes going on
almost constantly.

The wind with the sand as the carving medium is forcefully grinding the dry clay
or mud surfaces of the ground into deep hollows and trenches, leaving curiously
shaped yardangs as temporary witnesses of an older land surface. After Horner's
investigations it is clear that the bulk of the fine sediments, so easily eroded by the
force of the wind, is of a fluvial rather than a lacustrine nature.

As the strong winds almost constantly come from north-east and north-north-
east, the loose material carried away moves in the same direction. In the south-
western part of the desert, sand dunes are thus formed. The amount of such sand
accumulations is bound to increase. From the distribution of stray finds from Lou-
lan's time it is also obvious that the sand is so increasing.

The wind erosion in the northern part of the basin during a dry stage is of great-
er importance for the configuration and situation of the delta which will be formed
when water returns than for the configuration and situation of the terminal lake
then formed, because the salt crust where the last of the water evaporates offers
an efficient resistance against wind erosion. The present new delta is very different
from the delta of Lou-lan's time, and even when it has become old and "stabilized"
it will remain different.

The river branches of the present delta show a very marked tendency to turn to
the north-east. This circumstance is due to the fact that the wind-scoured troughs
run in this direction. These troughs between the yardang-formations are of course
much deeper now than 2000 years ago, if they existed at all at that time. It is there-
fore quite certain that the present delta does not cover exactly the same region as
the delta of Lou-lan's time. The occurrence of numerous ruins and cemeteries in
curious nooks and corners of the present delta also indicates that the delta was not
so split up in numerous branches at the time of Lou-Ian as it now is. By and by the

4 49

present delta will stabilize and become less intricate. No old forests exist in the
present delta though there are some along dry river courses to the south of it. The
Lou-Ian station is still as dry as it was before the return of the water into Qum-
darya, the nearest point where drinking water is obtainable being situated about 7
km. from the ruined station.

As to the situation of the lake Lop-nor of Lou-lan's time we know only that it
must have been somewhere in the large salt-encrusted area.

Stein rightly emphasizes the importance of the ruined fortress at Merdek when
trying to reconstruct the hydrography of Lou-lan's time (Stein 1921, p. 453). The
existence of a ruin here proves that a branch of the Tarim must have flowed close
to the line of the Ilek (i. e. the easternmost branch of the old lower Tarim) during the
earliest period of Chinese control of the Tarim Basin. This explanation is much more
reasonable and presents itself more readily than Herrmann's construction of a
"River of The South" passing Merdek in a west-easterly direction. The river course
assumed by Stein need not have been very large, only something like my Small
River. Under the present hydrographical conditions all the north-southerly beds of
the lower Tarim are dry, the whole amount of water following the Qum-darya.

The correctness of Stein's explanation of the source whence Merdek drew its
water supply was endorsed by my discovery of "The Small River" in 1934. As will
be described in detail in the following I found this narrow river course branching
off from Qum-darya far above the true present delta, taking a south-south-easter-
ly course, and probably never reaching a terminal lake. It approaches the now
dried-up beds of the lower Tarim to within 8 or 10 km. The archaeological remains
found along this branch prove that it existed at the time of Lou-Ian. To a certain
extent it must have flowed parallel to the branch which watered Merdek.

At the end of the chapter on ruins there is a further discussion on hydrographi-
cal questions.

In Lou-Ian there existed a flourishing mixed culture during a few centuries around
the beginning of our era.

This culture arose thanks to favourable geographical circumstances which
gave Lou-Ian a key position on the shortest line of communication between China
and the West, the so-called Road of the Centre, a part of the Silk Road along which
China exported above all her precious silk materials, and along which she received
many cultural influences from Western countries, and from India, among other
things, Buddhism. However, the life-giving water in the lower Tarim river, which
alone made settlements possible here, changed its course and came to follow another
bed. Lou-Ian had to be abandoned. The desert spread its deadly hand over every-
thing that the population had left behind when they moved away. Soon Lou-Ian was

forgotten. Nobody seems to have settled in the central Lou-Ian area since this time,
which is highly important for the archaeologist as we thus get a reliable terminus ad
quern. The aridity of the desert climate has, moreover, marvellously well preserved
the remains of the forgotten Lou-Ian, not only such easily perishable articles as
textiles and wooden objects but also the dead in their coffins, and we are thus now
able 1600 years after the fall of Lou-Ian to behold the features of the people who
lived there.

From a Chinese point of view Lou-Ian is a remote border district and very pro-
vincial. In a wider context, however, Lou-Ian has a significant chronological bearing.
For this reason the present volume lays particular stress on Lou-Ian.

3. ANCIENT REMAINS ALONG "THE SMALL RIVER".

A. INTRODUCTION.

In November 1933 Dr. Sven Hedin started from Kuei-hua-ch'eng, Sui-yiian, on
a motor car expedition through the Gobi desert to Sinkiang. He travelled on behalf
of the Central Government in Nanking, his task being to examine the possibilities
for motor traffic along those ancient lonely desert trails that had hitherto been
trodden by camel caravans. I had the extraordinarily good fortune to accompany
the eminent explorer on this motor journey through the deserts and wastes of Cen-
tral Asia as I had accompanied him in 1927 — 28 on camel-back.

His program also included a survey of the new course of the lower Tarim river in
Eastern Turkistan and its terminal lake Lop-nor. This part of the expedition started
in April 1934, from Konche or Yii-li-hsien, a small village about 45 km. SSE of
Korla, whence Dr. Hedin followed the river Konche-darya and its continuation
Qum-darya, travelling in native canoes. In the course of his journey by water Dr.
Hedin met one of his former Turkish servants called Ordek, then aged seventy-two,
who had devotedly served him for several years around the turn of the century.
In 1900, for instance, Ordek had played some part in Dr. Hedin's finding the Lou-
Ian ruins, a discovery which led to the archaeological surveys of the Lop desert.
These ruins are still of outstanding importance as the principal archaeological site
of the region.

Ordek now told Dr. Hedin how the Lou-Ian discovery had inspired him to start
a private tour of exploration, stimulated by the hope of finding fabulous treasures
of gold and silver in the desert, a dream common to most natives living in Central
Asian oases. Fifteen or twenty years ago (1914— 19)* he had started eastwards

1 Indications discovered recently make it highly probable that it was anterior to 1911.

>>>

■ '

■

from the marshy lake Avullu-kol (eastern part of lower Tarim) and in the sands
between there and Yardang-bulaq he had come across a hill covered with "a thou-
sand" coffins. Now the Turki expressions "one thousand" and "ten thousand" are
not to be taken literally — numbers are very seldom definite among the Turks —
they arc only meant to express a large amount. The wooden coffins, he said, were
piled on top of one another, and their interior was richly carved and painted. The
well-preserved corpses were dressed in silk, and there was also some kind of writings
on ornamented paper. He was absolutely sure of his statement as to the location of
this marvellous burial place: 10 km. south of the Qum-darya at the height of Yar-
dang-bulaq.

We certainly had considerable doubts about his description of the site and its con-
tents, or, more correctly, we made the usual allowances for the fancies of the Turkish
mind. Afterwards, indeed, it was easy to recognize how Order mixed his fantastic
tale with details that he had noticed and remembered from Lou-Ian. We were too
credulous, however, in believing his statement as to the situation of the place, we
only doubted his ability to trace it after so many years. Otherwise the fanciful
description sounded inviting, especially as no explorer had ever ventured into exactly
that region.

Order also talked about ruins of watch-towers which he had located, and both
Dr. Hedin and I got an impression that the facts hidden behind Order's tales,
when properly examined, might help to widen our knowledge of the Lou-Ian civi-
lization and, maybe, also clear up some questions about the course of the ancient
Silk Road, the latter problem being of special importance as Dr. Hedin had long
hoped to be able to survey the possibility of reviving the Silk Road for motor traf-
fic, and had in fact made it one of the tasks of this last expedition.

I was therefore told off to locate and survey the ancient remains known to
Order. He was to act as guide. Fortunately, Mr. Georg Soderbom was sent with
me on this special tour, and as always he proved to be of invaluable assistance not
only in making all the practical arrangements, as will be seen from the following
account.

On April 29th 1934 Soderbom and I started from the main camp of the expedi-
tion, which was situated near the easternmost extremity of the Charchaq hills on
the left shore of Qum-darya and about 19 km. W. of Yardang-bulaq, on our search
for Order's sites. We sailed down Qum-darya to a point about 4 km. below
Yardang-bulaq which became our camp B 61. The spot was selected by Order as
a suitable starting-point for his reconnaissance. His searches were much hampered
by severe sandstorms, and during those days on which I went with him or recon-
noitred alone to the south of Qum-darya I obtained a very vivid impression of the
dull monotony of the sand dunes and confusing maze of yardangs and dead tama-
risk mounds. The region is far from easily investigated. On these tours I picked up
small bronze and flint objects of various kinds as well as some potsherds, and

Ordek and his companions did the same. These objects are described as Nos. u—
29 in the lists on pp. 171 f.

The burial site which Ordek at the beginning of the tour described so vividly
could not be found. We moved higher up the river again and made lake Pataliq-kol
our new starting-point. This is a freshwater lake near to the south of Qum-darya
and connected with it by a narrow channel. Our camp here bears the number B 64.

It soon became evident that Ordek was unable to locate the burial site. As time
went on he contradicted himself more and more, and even had resource to super-
natural powers to explain the "disappearance" of the cemetery, so that I began to
regard it as existing only in his fancy. Soderbom, however, with his shrewd under-
standing of Central Asian mentality, refused to abandon the chase. He finally in-
duced Ordek to begin searching from the south, i. e. from the old course of the
lower Tarim, from which he had started out when first visiting the place, and he
also succeded in persuading Ordek to associate with some other Turks, which he
had been unwilling to do before. Without the clever aid of my old friend Georg
Soderbom the burial place migh have remained an unsolved riddle hidden in the
desert.

It would take too long to recount all that happened here. Suffice to say that we
spent nearly one month searching for the main burial site.

Before Ordek returned from his last reconnaissance, on which he finally located
the main site coming from the south and guided by some shepherds, we learned
from other shepherds, who had recently reached Qum-darya from the south, that
there existed a few graves near the river. They were said to be situated still higher
up, not far from the main camp of the expedition, the first one near a small lake
called Yarliq-kol. In the field this grave was designated as Grave A, and as such
it is treated in my preliminary paper (Bergman 1935 a, p. 58 f) but it has subse-
quently been found convenient to call it Grave 10.

B. EARLIER DISCOVERIES OF GRAVES.

Before discussing the individual graves it is appropriate to give a brief account
of the surveys of graves that have been undertaken by previous visitors to the
desolate Lop-nor wastes.

Ellsworth Huntington was the first to observe the presence of ancient graves
in the Lop desert. When, in January 1906, he travelled from the Lou-Ian station
westwards he found a grave in the zone of piedmont gravel close to the north of the
then dry bed of Quruq-darya. He made no excavations, however.

Thorough excavations were undertaken by Sir Aurel Stein in 1914, when many
cemeteries were discovered containing different kinds of graves. The one grave

found by Huntington is identical with Stein's L. T. The collections brought to-
gether from Stein's graves are rich and varied; in particular, the extraordinarily
fine textiles with their marvellous colours and patterns have aroused great interest
among students of textiles as well as among those interested in Chinese and Cen-
tral Asian art in general. Their fundamental importance has only been increased by
the discoveries of contemporaneous textiles in other places in Inner Asia, notably at
Noyan-ola. 1 Altogether Stein found eight cemeteries containing over fifty single
graves and ten mass-graves, with many individuals in the latter. There will be occa-
sion to make frequent reference to Stein's graves in the following chapters.

In I 93 I » Dr. Erik Norin of our expedition made a rapid search of Stein's ce-
metery L. H. and recovered two complete pottery jars. Unfortunately they were lost
during the transport through Siberia together with a large amount of my own maps
from Sinkiang. On a mesa in the neighbourhood of his camp 485 Norin saw a tomb
with a skeleton and rags of a coarse garment. It had probably been opened already.
There were no traces of any coffin. If this is not identical with one of Stein's
graves, which has been marked in the map Fig. 37 2.8 km. WSW of L. J., it must be
very close to it.

A few kilometres to the west of the same camp Norin's servants collected for
fuel a donkey's burden of thick branches from some dead fruit trees.

The Chinese archaeologist Huang Wen-pi, also a member of. Dr. Hedin's ex-
pedition, in 1930 found graves in three places near the northern part of the Qum-
darya delta, and some of them he apparently examined. Judging from his written
report to Dr. Hedin, there ought to be an autochthonous tomb about 6 km. WSW 2
of the ruin T'u-ken (in the same region he found bronze arrow-heads, pottery and
stone implements). About 10 li W of this place there are several graves, and about
60 li WSW from there another grave (mass-grave?), the last-mentioned being
situated 8 li NW( !) of the river. His locations are far too brief and uncertain to
allow of any identification with known sites, and his distances are much exagg-
erated. In one instance 70 li of his must correspond to about 12 km. instead of 30
— 40 km.

When Horner and Chen surveyed the new lake Lop-nor and the Qum-darya
delta, they located graves on two mesas, all more or less destroyed by age, but they
did not undertake any excavations.

Horner's first burial place is situated 5 km. N 30 E of his camp 79 in the delta,
i. e. about 29 km. NNE of L. A. and 9 km. WNW of L. E. A leg of a pottery
Ting tripod was found there (K. 13392). On the map Fig. 37 it bears the number
392.

1 This Iranscription is more correct in English than the Russian form Noin-ula.

2 This position is according to my own deductions.

• aeivoge — ... seom

-■ i

Fig. 6. The silk coat from Grave 10 (dotted line - the overlapped part of the coat).

His second place was on an imposing mesa called LM 3 near his camp 80, i. e.
about 2 km. to the west of Stein's castrum L. E. There were three square pits in
the ground, two of which might have been gravepits as they measured 2 x 2.8 and
—5 x 3 m. Beside an open coffin of poplar wood, measuring 2 x 0.5 m., there was a
fragmentary coffin, and some thick boards, probably from other coffins. Horner
observed some dark potsherds on the surface of the ground. This burial place is
marked 390 on the map Fig. 37.

On the higher part of the same mesa he found remnants of a cave, which will be
discussed in connection with the other ruins, cf. p. 155.

All the previously known graves have been found in the region of the present delta
and along the northern side of Qum-darya.

I shall now proceed to deal with the burial-grounds discovered by myself in 1934.

C. GRAVE 10.

Grave 10 is situated near the southern bank of Qum-darya some few kilometres
above our main camp, i. e. about 20 km. to the west of Yardang-bulaq and close
to a small lake called Yarliq-kol. The coffin had fallen out of a yardang. The photo
PI. He was taken on our arrival; the hollowed-out poplar trunk that formed the
coffin had then been a little broken up by Ordek, the corpse being thus partly ex-
posed. The hollow trunk was 2 m. long, and the open ends had been closed with oval
lids made to match the openings and fastened by small converging dowels. All knot
holes in the wood were filled with plugs. The inside of this primitive coffin was
lined with thick felt. I had the impression that the felt was a lining for the coffin
rather than a wrapping for the dead.

•

■

Fig. 7. High
boot worn by a
"Tokharian" on
a fresco paint-
ing from Bc-
zcklik. (v. Lc

Coq : Chotscho,
PI. 22.)

The body was that of an old man measuring only 1.48 m. It
was mummified; only a part of the skull had lost its skin. On the left
side of the back of the head a tuft of grey hair was twisted into a knot
behind the ear. The incisors were much worn, the lower molars were
missing, and in the upper jaw there were thirteen teeth in all. The
skull was rather small, and seemed to be dolichocephalic.

The mummy was dressed in a long coat of yellow-brown undyed
silk of the same twill weave all over, and lined with coarse cotton
fabric in tabby weave. The overlapping front part was laid to the left,
though it was made to be fastened with a ribbon on the right side
below the sleeve. The long sleeves reached down over the hands. On
the left side there is an open slit f ram the lower edge to the waist. For
details see the drawing Fig. 6.
The trousers were of sheepskin, the wool turned inside, reaching a little below the

knees, and having a string running through cut openings round the waist. He wore

no shirt.

The foot-gear consisted of high leather boots and felt socks. The boots, PI. 6:3,
are heelless, with pointed toe, and made to fit either foot. The boot-legs are high
in the front, where there is a strap which has been used to tie them to the knee and
thus keep them in place. At the middle of either side a vertical seam runs from top
to sole, a detail not found in modern boots but used in mediaeval times and occurring
on the Bezeklik frescos as worn by Tokharians and Persians (?) Fig. 7; they
are also fastened with a cord or strap in front (Le Coq 1913 PI. 33 and 38b show
the same construction). A painted panel from a house in Dandan-oilik shows a man
in Persian dress with boots of similar cut (Stein 1907, PL LXI). The long vertical
seam is found on a Russian boot from the 16th century (Fornvannen 1931, Fig. 23),
on a relatively modern Bokharian boot with high heel (Olufsen, p. 473), and on
Yakut boots (Jochelson, Fig. 40 a — b).

Near the left knee was attached a triangular piece of brown felt on one side of
which were fastened the bones of a sheep's foreleg, apparently a little charred. The
felt is shaped to imitate the flesh of the foreleg, PI. 6:2, and the whole object is
no doubt meant to represent provisions for the dead man. Two vertebrae of a fish
were also found.

Immediately below the right hip, and under the coat, the felt doll PI. 6:1 was
fastened with the strings still attached to its waist. The doll probably had its feat-
ures painted on the piece of light stuff that is sewn to the front of its head. It no
doubt represents a woman, and was presented to the dead man as a symbol of a
feminine companion. For similar phenomena cf. pp. no and 137.

We have very few clues by which to date this burial. One of the Miran graves
has exactly the same kind of coffin, Fig. 52, but this circumstance is of no real
significance. To date it within the same chronological limits as the other Lop-nor

graves would a priori seem justified, but it has nothing in common with the rest.
There is, moreover, one circumstance that points to a somewhat later time than
that of Lou-Ian. We know that the width of the silk woven in Han time and im-
mediate post-Han was very nearly 50 cm. and that this width was kept fairly con-
stant, there are several examples of this in the silk materials in this collection. Now
the width of the silk used in the coat in Grave 10 is 60.5 cm. We do not know exactly
when the width of silk was increased above the Han standard, only that it probably
happened sometime between the end of the Lou-Ian period and an early part of the
T'ang dynasty. On the other hand, it is certain that this burial is pre-Mohammedan,
i. e. previous to the 10th century. It has possibly some connection with the unexam-
ined graves around Yaqinliq-kol to be mentioned below.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM GRAVE 10

10: 1. Man's coat of undycd silk twill, lined

throughout with undycd cotton fabric
in tabby weave. Silk six-leafed warp twill. Full
width 60.5 cm. Fabric alternately on right side and
back, according to selvages. Cotton fabric rather
coarse. Full width 39.5 cm.

The coat is cut in kimono shape over the should-
ers, the material being all in one from the lower
edge of the front pieces to that of the back. The
back has a middle seam ; broad front pieces, biased
over the chest, are crossed as far as the side
seams, right under left. The right front piece has
a ribbon of cotton fabric attached, to be tied with
another ribbon fastened inside the left side seam.
The left front piece has been tied with two pairs
of ribbons, remaining in the front piece, with a
corresponding ribbon at the right side seam on the
exterior of the coat.

The lower part of the coat has an open slit as
far as the waist at the left side. A wide piece at
the slit is joined to the front, lying under the back
piece, which covers is. Both front and back are
biased outwards and downwards.

Within the slit are several pleats. The lower
part of the coat is sewn together on the right side.
Several inserted pleats and biasing here add to
the width. The sleeves, having reached over the
hands, are biased from the wide armpits towards
the hands. Each sleeve is joined right across to-
wards the middle. At the wrist is a small fold
turned in, 7.5 cm. on right, about 9 cm. on left,
forming a kind of cuff.

Around the neck, along the biasing of the front
pieces is a strip, 7 cm. wide, divided by a fold,
towards the neck 3.3 cm. wide, towards the coat
2.7 cm. wide.

The lining on the whole follows the cut of the
outer material. Fig. 6.

10:2. Pair of high leather boots, made to

fit either foot, the toes pointed. The
legs much higher in front, where pieces of leather
straps are still preserved. The side seams run from
top to sole. The vamp is joined to the leg with a
horizontal seam ending at the side seams. The sole-
consists of two layers of leather, joined to the up-
per with a sandal-seam (i. e. the upper being
turned outwards and sewn direct on to the sole).
Other scams arc turned in with an inserted strip
of leather along the scam. The top edge of the leg
is finished with a folded strip of leather. No heels.
One boot repaired at lower part of the foot. The
shape of the foot is now somewhat deformed as
the leather has dried. H. 52 — 53 cm. L. of sole
26—27 cm. W. of sole 6.5 — 7 cm. PI. 6:3.

10:3. Doll of brown felt, made of two

pieces sewn together and stuffed. Over
the front of the head a piece of coarse fabric is
sewn on. Round the waist is a cord of brown wool,
which has been tied on to strips of dark brown,
coarse fabric. Small attached piece of hide with
the hair left on indicates puberal hair. PI. 6: 1.

10:4. Nearly triangular piece of brown felt

with cast seam round the edge. On one
side, bones of a sheep's foreleg are fastened with
rough strings. The bones may be a little charred.
43X29 cm. PI. 6:2.

10:5.
10:6.

Four small bones, probably from — 14.
Two fish vertebrae.

D. GRAVES AROUND YAQINLIQ-KOL.

About 7 km. west of Grave 10 I was shown another burial place situated between
the lake Yaqinliq-kol and Qum-darya, a couple of kilometres to the south of the
latter. On top of a small yardang* were the remnants of a rectangular structure
2.3 x 1.6 m., made of horizontal logs piled up between four corner posts, PI. I a.
At each end of it was a less distinctly marked rectangle, and in one of them parts
of a child's skeleton were exposed. The middle part had had a roof of logs, which
had now fallen in. The orientation of the structure was N 24 W — S 24 E. At
the northern end stood two poles, each bearing an antelope head, probably denoting
that we had to deal with a Mohammedan burial place. Ordek confirmed this view,
though he was ignorant of its age or to whom it belonged. The wood in the logs
was certainly much weathered, which revealed a certain age, but as the structure did
not resemble any of the graves of the Lou-Ian time known to me, I was quite con-
vinced of its Mohammedan character, and I therefore left the place untouched in
order to avoid creating ill-feeling among the local people.

I have since learned that Ural-Altaic peoples, whether Mohammedans or not,
put up animals' skulls on graves, and that this custom is apparently of considerable
age and not necessarily associated with Islam. The use of horns of argali and ibex
as offerings on Mohammedan tombs in our own day may be a survival of this
custom. I therefore feel more and more inclined to believe that this burial place is
of greater antiquity than I ascribed to it when on the spot.

Near to the east of Yaqinliq-kol I was shown another place said to contain a
grave. The only thing to be seen on the dry tamarisk mound which was indicated
as the place was the skull of a horse wound round a couple of times with ropes.

A little higher up the river, and close to its right shore, 8 — 9 km. NW of the
grave shown in PI. I a, Mr. Chen found another grave. It was situated on the flat
ground. The greater part of a coffin was exposed, and it was surrounded by upright
poles. It did not resemble the graves seen by Mr. Chen in the delta of Qum-darya.

Grave 10 and this group of tombs seem to be younger than the Lou-Ian occupat-
ion, and they may all be pre-Mohammedan. For Grave 10 I suggest the approxi-
mate date 600 — 1. 000, and the three graves around Yaqinliq-kol may possibly fall
into the same period. If we accept this supposition we have to draw the conclusion
that Qum-darya carried water sometime during this period, and for a sufficient
length of time for people to come and settle here.

It is useful to draw a modern parallel. Qum-darya has by now carried water for
17 — *8 years. Nowhere along the desert part of it are there so many settlers as
among the numerous winding river branches and small lakes around Yaqinliq-kol
and Qum-kol where "The Small River" branches off. It is the good grazing (but only
partly the fishing) that has attracted the shepherds from the old course of Tarim
to move hither with their herds during the summer months. I heard of no "sum-

mer residences" below Yaqinliq-kol, but shepherds used to wander even east of the
meridian of Yardang-bulaq. It is still too far for them to move to the delta, where
grazing, certainly, is good. If the present hydrographical conditions get stabilized
and remain so for sufficient length of time, the delta region will be resettled.
Should the river change again in our time the Lou-Ian region will remain untouch-
ed, whereas the ground around Yaqinliq-kol and The Small River will preserve
traces of the present occupation to future archaeologists. This region around the
branching off of The Small River apparently offered about the same natural ad-
vantages to human settlers in ancient times as it does now; but ancient settlements
here, sometimes between 600 and 1.000, do not necessarily mean the existence of
settlements around Lou-Ian at the same time, and nothing in the archaeological
collections indicates this.

E. FROM GRAVE 10 ALONG "THE SMALL RIVER" TO CEMETERY 5.

Between Grave 10 and Yaqinliq-kol we passed over eroded clay ground with low
yardangs, dry tamarisk cones, and, in the moist depressions near the river, fine
reeds. The route lay to the north of three small lakes in depressions at least 6 m.
deep, PI. V b, their water being of extreme salinity. The largest was about 1500
m. long, and between 100 and 500 m. wide. Between the two first lakes the ground
had a thin covering of sand. In the same place there were dry poplars and low
remains of tamarisks; all the trees had died when quite young, and most of them
were still standing, PI. II b. In one place a group of eight old, seemingly dead,
poplars had fresh green leafs.

Between the last salt lake and Yaqinliq-kol there is a riverlike depression running
about N — S, with small pools and reeds in the bottom, probably a bag-shaped ex-
tension of Qum-darya. One of our men called it Ara-tarim. No continuation of it
was found further south. A belt of slightly salt-encrusted sand where I noticed pot-
sherds of a neolithic character, separates this depression from Yaqinliq-kol. This
freshwater lake, which communicates with Qum-darya, extends in a N — S direct-
ion and is of very irregular shape on account of the numerous reed beds. Its
length is about 4 km., the width hardly exceeds 2 km.

Near the eastern shore there is a satma or reed-hut, where Sait mollah and his
family has been spending the summer for the last four years. In winter they live at
the now dry part of the lower Tarim. Owing to the drying up of lower Tarim the
settlers there have had to abandon agriculture and turn exclusively to a pastoral
life. As we had occasion to observe, the neighbourhood of The Small River and
the southern shore of Qum-darya had good pastures, which were utilized by the
settlers along the lower Tarim. Even before the last river-displacement cattle- and

■

sheep-breeding was of importance along the lower Tarim side by side with fishing
and agriculture.

Turning to the south we passed the southern end of Yaqinliq-kol and entered an
area of small dunes, 2 — 4 m. high, and created by NE winds. Single dead tama-
risk cones, and a very few dead poplars broke the monotony of the flat desert.

3 km. S of the southernmost part of the lake I found a small bronze knife (PI.
30: 11), a couple of potsherds, and an iron fragment on a clay surface that was
free of sand.

After proceeding 6 km. we touched the eastern border of a reedy marsh, 2 — 3 km.
wide, and with an extension in NNW — SSE. It was called Qum-kol. At high water
the pools and lakelets were said to form a river course of some size. This was our
first encounter with what I call "The Small River".

Later on in the summer of 1934 Mr. Parker C. Chen mapped the southern
shore of Qum-darya, and he then discovered how The Small River branched
off from Qum-darya about 12 km. above Yaqinliq-kol, forming an intricate system
of lakes and marshes, one of its branches being in direct communication with
Yaqinliq-kol. (Cf. the map Fig. 36.)

Our route continued through the dune area to the east of The Small River PL
II a, the dunes being 6 — 10 m. high. Along this part of the route a Turkish servant
picked up the beautiful jade axe PI. 5: 16. the largest axe known from the Lop de-
sert. After 11 km. we reached a satma, which served as the summer abode of
another Turkish family. Here the river makes a couple of bends eastwards. We
crossed the river for the first time, the bed being hardly 10 m. wide, but it was
surrounded by small irregular lakes and reedy marshes which robbed the stream
of much water; and there may be other branches which we did not touch. Young-
tamarisks were growing abundantly, and grass and reeds afforded excellent pastur-
age.

Less than 3 km. due south of the last-mentioned satma there is another one
belonging to a young able Turk bearing the name Abdurahman. From his place
onwards the river seems to follow a single bed for several kilometres. The water
was running fast over small thresholds in a bed not exceeding 10 m. in width.

About 2 km. SSE of Abdurahman's place the dune area, for a short distance,
closes in on both sides of the river. After that we traversed big expanses of mixed
reeds and tamarisks; two abandoned sat mas were passed. The river was lost
sight of on our left. About 12 km. due SE of Abdurahman's place we reached
another Turkish settlement situated at a small lake called Pataliq-kol; it was fed
by the river and had many curiously winding bays, as seen in PI. X a, a photo
which also clearly shows the high-water marks on the muddy shores.

From there the river takes a southerly course for 10 — 11 km. with sand dunes on
both sides at a distance not exceeding 1 km. Burial place 4 — to be described pre-
sently — is situated on this part of the river "valley", and near to it we found the

"^vt^

better part of a large pot of red earthenware (Fig. 8), several other
red potsherds recalling Han ware and the fragmentary hair pin of
bronze No. 3:1.

Near to the north of burial place 6 the river turns eastwards for
3 km. but regains its southerly course at a place called Qosh-
yaghach, where remains of old reed beds were to be seen. Here we
made our base camp, as this was the nearest water to Order's
burial ground, cf. map. Fig. 18.

On the evening of June 2 we started from here for the cemetery,
taking a north-easterly course, across crescent-shaped sand dunes from 1 to 2.5 m.
high. Near the river there was a place with exposed clay, but otherwise the ground
is completely covered with sand; the dunes consist of a fine-grained, greyish-yellow
sand, on the flat surfaces this sort of sand is overlaid with a thin layer of coarse, red
sand forming larger ripples than the other kind (see foreground of PI. Ill b).

Fig. 8. Upper
part of earthen-
ware jug found
near camp B 69.
1/6—34. Largest
diam. 38 cm.

F. CEMETERY 5.
("Order's necropolis").

/. Description of the site.

The cemetery that had been so long sought for was found to be situated 4 km.
from the water of The Small River, on a smoothly rounded hill, rising as a well-
defined landmark above the otherwise flat desert, the monotony of which is broken
only by the elegantly shaped sand dunes, and a few scattered hillocks with living
tamarisks. As one approches the hill, the top of it seems to be covered by a whole
forest of upright toghraq 1 trunks, but standing too close together and being too
straight to be dead trees. They were presently found to be erect posts with the tops
splintered by the strong winds, PI. III.

On the surface of the hill, particularly on the slopes, there were a lot of strange,
curved, heavy planks, and everywhere one stumbled across withered human
bones, scattered skeletons, remains of dismembered mummies, and rags of thick
woollen materials, PI. IV b. Some of the mummies had long, dark hair and well
preserved faces. From others a ghastly-looking skull grinned out of a partly pre-
served blackened skin. The burial site made a most macabre and strange impression.

The hill consists of a large yardang or mesa, which is completely covered with
drift sand. The crest is simply a sand dune that has become stationary, and
the sand is still accumulating between the close-standing posts. The top of the hill
is now 7 m. above the surrounding ground, its area is about 70x35 m., and its

1 Toghraq is the Turki word for the wild poplar.

'.I A

longer axis lies N 6o° E — S 6o° W, i. e. in the direction of the prevailing hard
winds.

The western extremity of the hill is bordered by a slightly curved palisade of
thin, not very straight poles, seen in PI. Ill b to the left. A little to the east of th?
crest of the hill runs another palisade or stockade made of thick round posts with
the tops all at the same level. The central part is sand-covered. PL Ilia, IV a and
Villa show different aspects of this structure. Close to the base these logs are kept
together by horizontal bars fixed to them by means of strong bast ropes.

The small western palisade apparently served as a boundary of the burial place,
but the function which the big palisade running across the hill once fulfilled is less
evident. Was it meant ta separate different groups of graves?

Immediately to the east of the big palisade the free posts stand pretty close to-
gether, almost all of them very high, on an average 4.25 m., and of uniform thick-
ness, about 25 cm. in diam. All of them are polyhedric, with 7 — 13 surfaces, PI.
IV b. When the sand is removed around the base of the posts they are found to be
painted red. All the colour of the exposed part of the posts has of course disappeared.
Once, however, this "Columned Hall of the Dead" was glowing in bright red colour.
The wooden monuments were certainly painted not so much for aesthetic as for
magic reasons, red being the colour of blood, i. e. life. Red ochre was used.

The poles to the west of the big palisade are more irregular as to height, thickness
and shape, PI. VII c. A few of them have a diam. of up to 50 cm. The topmost part
of most of them is thinner than the lower part, there being a marked step between
the two parts, clearly visible in PI. VII c. A couple of them are pointed or tapering.

An interesting feature is the oar-like monuments, many of which still stand on
their original sites, some are completely buried in sand, whereas fifteen have fallen
down on the sides of the hill, cf. PI. IX b in the foreground, and Fig. 10. There are
examples with exaggeratedly large oar-blades, such as Fig. 10:3, and those just
referred to in the photographs, and others with more normally proportioned blades,
Fig. 10 : 2, 4. Below the blades there is usually an ornamental belt of engraved horizon-
tal lines, once painted red. The type of Fig. 10: 3, for instance, may be compared to
some extent with the oars used by the Lopliqs of to-day, whereas such a type as
Fig. 10: 2 is quite different. In any case the occurrence of these oars shows that the
people buried here used to row.

The easternmost part of the hill is nearly flat, and has only one upright post.

It is the only one standing with ornaments of horizontal grooves, about 1 cm. wide,

cut at regular intervals (cf. PL IV a on the left of the photo). Others of a similar

kind have probably been placed there, since four or five are lying lower down the
slope.

Ordek told me that when he visited the place on the previous occasion, about
twenty years ago, there was a kind of hut or house on this flat part of the hill. Its
walls and roof were made of planks. The latter had been covered with ox-hides and

: t

J~l

Fig. io. i) front and side view of wooden "sculpture". 2 — 4) oar-shaped monuments. Cemetery 5.

From drawings by Mr. G. Soderbom.

clay. The inner sides of the walls had been painted red. The floor had been covered
with the skulls of many oxen and pieces of hides. Digging in the centre of the struc-
ture, he had come across a coffin containing a female corpse.

Of this grave, which I have marked in the plan Fig. 9 after Ordek's indications
on the spot, and which was probably the most prominent grave at the place, only
some scattered planks of large dimensions are left. Some of them, and some frag-
mentary poles, show traces of having been painted with designs in red and black,
Fig. 11.

To judge from the surviving fragments, the decoration in black and red seems to
have been quite simple, consisting of straight lines. Fig. 1 1 E has a figure somewhat
recalling a candlestick with many arms. Does it represent a very stylized tree? The
occurrence on a Han dynasty tile of a similar representation is worth mentioning
(Janse 1936, PI. 111:2).

Fig, IX. Parts ol planks and posts from the eastern part of Cemetery 5. Hatching = red, black = black. From

drawings by Mr. G. Soderbom.

A lot of ox-skulls were also scattered around this part of the hill. A pair of
ram's horns were bound together with some coarse vegetable fibre.

All over the northern, eastern and southern slopes of the hill were scattered planks
and boards from disjointed coffins of various sizes together with fallen posts and
poles and oar-shaped monuments, PI. IX b. The curiously shaped, heavy boards, curv-
ed and with a groove at each end (seen on PI. VIII b) at first puzzled me very much.
It was not until the discovery and excavation of the intact coffin 5 A that I realized
the significance of these boards : that they were the sides of coffins. The largest
found were 47 cm. broad. There had been altogether 120 coffins in this burial
place, but, as will be seen from the plan in Fig. 9, only eight could be located in
situ. It is a remarkable fact that all the coffins are of the same construction (de-
scribed in connection with Grave 5 A from which description it will also be realized
how easily these coffins fall to pieces).

More than one hundred standing posts are marked on the plan. I counted seventy-
five fallen posts. Of the oar-like monuments fourteen were standing and fifteen lay
prostrate. The sand forming the crest of the hill may hide some more "oars" or other
lower monuments.

Though treasure hunters had ravaged wantonly on this site they could not be the
only cause of the destruction. The wood of the coffins was as dried-up, sun-bleached

I <

and sand-worn as that of the posts still standing, showing that they had been ex-
posed for a considerable time. Owing to the loose material that formed the hill it
cannot have been very long before the ever active wind erosion uncovered some of
the coffins, buried at a shallow depth, especially on the most exposed sides of the
hill, that is, with the prevailing strong winds from the north-east and east, the
eastern end and the northern and southern long sides. It was these very parts of
the hill that contained most of the disjointed coffins and fallen posts etc. On the
top, however, the sand has accumulated, and thus protected the remains there.

The cemetery was of course in use for several generations, and the covering of
sand may in some instances be used for determining the relative age between the
constructions. Thus, the big palisade must be older than the coffins which have
been buried in the sand covering the centre of the palisade. The coffins 5 G and H
on the very top of the hill must be somewhat later than the rest.

When working at the spot I was considering the possibility that there had been
some kind of roofing on the posts, or at least on some of them, especially those at
the eastern end, where they seemed to be arranged symmetrically as columns.
However, I was never quite convinced. Afterwards, when studying the photographs
such as, for instance, PI. VII c, and observing the uniform height of many of the
posts standing close together, I again felt inclined to believe that there had been
some roofing over a part of the hill. If it ever existed, such a roof must have been
made of some very light material such as reeds, and must have been completely
blown away long ago, as no traces whatsoever remained. The presence of a roof
over parts of the burial place would in a way explain the very shallow depth at
which some of the coffins were buried.

No clear connection could be observed between the arrangement of the high posts
and the situation of the coffins in situ. In several cases there was, however, a short
thin pole or peg standing just in front of one end or both ends of a coffin. The
same arrangement was observed by Hedin at the single graves in the Qum-darya
delta. In two instances a large "oar", similar to that shown in Fig. 10: 3, was placed
at one end of a coffin at Cemetery 5.

Originally the large posts may possibly have surrounded certain graves, having
been erected there either as funeral monuments or as roof supports, but as the ce-
metery grew more crowded successive encroachments were made into the area of
the first constructed graves. During an early stage in the use of the burial site the
big palisade or stockade might have separated two parts of the burial-ground. When
studying the plan Fig. 9 one has the impression that the whole construction is
facing east. Near the east of the central part of the big palisade, for instance, the
posts of uniform size are standing in a semicircle, and in front of this was situated
the destroyed hut with its grave.

During our digging in this semicircular space a pile of wooden pegs came to
light; they were made of branches 3 — 4 cm. thick, pointed at one end, and resembl-

ing tent pegs. Many of the same kind were lying on the surface of the eastern, flat
part of the hill. Their actual use was never discovered.

Only a few metres from where these pegs were found three heavy planks were
standing on end in the sand, (two of them visible in the foreground to the right in
PI. IV a). These might possibly be the remnants of a destroyed grave of a construc-
tion differing from the ordinary one prevalent on this site. Some planks of the same
short, stout kind, and burnt at one end, were lying on the surface nearby. Whether
they were intended to be used for firewood by the treasure hunters or had been
burnt in ancient times it is impossible to say.

//. Wooden Sculptures.

The wooden monuments are all more or less shaped by man, the oars and the
pole seen to the left in PL IV a being those most elaborately worked. We also found
three human figures of wood, and one "sculpture" Fig. 10: i which is difficult to
classify.

The two reproduced in PI. Vd are the best preserved ones; 1 both show traces of
red painting. The figure of the man was found in the sand on the lower part of the
southern slope of the hill. It has a carved face with strongly marked features of a
rather non- Mongolian character, PL V c. The arms are wanting; it was once ithy-
phallic. Height of figure 143 cm.

The female figures PL V a and d have flat, oval faces, their features having
probably been painted. The arms are very thin and badly proportioned. The calves
of the one with complete legs (PL V d) are quite thick, and the legs are a little
knock-kneed. The height of this figure was 134 cm.; Order found it less than 100
m. to the east of the hill.

The other female sculpture, PL V a, was found on the eastern slope of the hill
in a very weather-worn state of preservation; it had apparently been lying exposed
for a very long time. The lower part of the legs was worn away, but it still
measured 158 cm. in height, i. e. it must originally have been somewhat over natural
size.

All three of them are very crude but considering the limitations inherent in the
material, they are in a way naturalistic. It is probable that these figures have stood
in some relation to the coffins, though the circumstances here afford no evidence
thereof. Stein has found similar ones, though smaller, when excavating in burial-
grounds nearer Lou-Ian. At the foot of grave L.Q.2 he found a wooden female fi-
gure, 70 cm. high without legs, with a flat face and painted with red ochre (Stein
1928, PL XV, L.Q.ii.or). In grave L.S.6 he discovered a female stone figure, only

1 These two sculptures I brought to the base camp of the expedition at Qum-darya. where I last saw them.
Whether they were brought to China with the rest of the collection or not is unknown to me.

3 '

io cm. high (Stein 1928, PI. XXVI, L.S.6.01), and in grave L.S.5 and from the
burial-place L.T. he describes a female figure of wood from each place, of the same
kind as the first mentioned. The one from L.T. is identical with that reproduced in
the fig. facing p. 262 in Huntington's The Pulse of Asia. 1

The three figures found in Cemetery 5 are of course too large to have been en-
closed in the ordinary coffins. It is not impossible, however, that they may have
been housed in such a hut as the one described by Order (pp. 62, 64), but they can
equally well be regarded as representations of gods associated with the burial-place
in general and not related to any particular coffin.

///. The finds.

The objects from Cemetery 5 will be treated in the following order: firstly the
finds made in the coffins in situ, secondly the objects collected from displaced
coffins, it being however possible to recover a part of the inventory; thirdly, the
remaining objects found on the surface or in the sand, all of them originating no
doubt from coffins destroyed by nature or by man.

In the descriptive list at the end of this section a number containing a letter after
the main number 5 denotes a special coffin, thus 5.F: 7 means article 7 from grave
F of Cemetery 5. Whereas an ordinary number, for instance 5 : 33, denotes a sur-
face find from the same burial place.

Coffin 5. A.

The only quite untouched grave was 5 A. It was found immediately to the east
of the big palisade. The eastern end of the coffin was quite near the surface, the
other end was covered with one metre of drift-sand that had accumulated around
the big palisade. The coffin was lying in the direction S 76°W — N 76°E, at both
ends a thin pole stood as a mark. After the sand had been removed the coffin was
found to be completely covered with a couple of ox-hides with the hairs still
remaining. The lid consisted of ten short boards laid across the coffin, cut to
follow its outline, and kept in place only by the hides, which had apparently
been applied in a wet state because they fitted very closely around the lid-
members, when therefore the hides were removed the lid came off with them.
In PL VI a, unfortunately an inferior photo, the lid with the hides is seen lying to
the right of the coffin. The coffin was made of two very massive planks, each
carved out of half a trunk; at both ends a segment of the natural roundness of the
trunk had been left intact. The inside shows a distinct concavity, and the outside a

1 This refers to the first edition; in the second edition this plate has been omitted.

«Umii^itiMfuwauivhi|iuu w « tu^iuku, . v* v Lt (.«**-

ii
it

Fig. 12. Coffin 5 A. A) from above, ltd removed. B) side
view, lid in place. C) section of middle part. D) end view.

corresponding convexity, Fig. 12. The planks lean against each other, the ends
touching, thus forming a lenticular space between them; there are two narrow vert-
ical boards fitted into grooves at the ends of the planks. There is no bottom, and no
nails or dowels have been used to fix the different members.

At the burial the dead had been placed in proper position on the ground, the coffin
then being assembled over him.

The tight-fitting hides had protected the wood so perfectly that it looked quite
fresh, and no sand had entered the coffin.

The body, that of a mummified young man, was resting on its back with the
head at the eastern end of the coffin, which was just big enough to enclose the
dead. Except for the face and the feet, the entire corpse was wrapped in a coarse
mantle of yellowish-white wool (PL VI a) measuring 210x155 cm., and having a
thin fringe formed by the warp threads along the lower end. Near the head the
right edge of the mantle was tied up into a small bag containing grains of wheat.

The head was covered with a large rounded head-dress of thick white felt, PI.
10:2, with five feathered pegs inserted as a decoration on the left side and kept
together by a cross-piece wound with sinew-fibres. The head-dress reached below
the ears, and was fastened by means of a cord under the chin.

Round the hips he wore a narrow loin-cloth, only 5 cm. wide, of the same
woollen material as the mantle, and having long fringes at both ends, PI. 11:3.
It was tied in front on top of the penis, which was placed upwards. A red thread is
inserted at each end. The mantle, too, has two short red stripes in the weft. Can
there be any meaning in these single, red elements in the otherwise undyed fabrics?
They are too insignificant to be regarded as embellishments.

The feet were dressed in a kind of clumsy shoes or moccasins of ox-hide with
the hair remaining. They were tied around the ankles with thick strings, and in the
knots small feathers were inserted. This footgear had never been in actual use. The
same observation was made in two other cases. The same type is shown in PI. 26: 6
from Grave 36. The headgear also looks quite unworn.

f**

The only personal ornament buried with this mummy was a rounded, flattened
bead of opal, threaded on a thick white cord that was tied twice round the right
wrist, PI. 9: 12, the fringes of the ends hanging down on the outside, the bead being
placed on the inner side of the wrist.

Outside the mantle, and at the outer side of the right thigh, the small basket PL
14: 5 was found. It has a rounded bottom, is neatly woven of dicotolydonous stems,
stiff grass and some root-fibres with a design made up of the glossy outside of split
grass, forming horizontal and zig-zag bands. The mouth was closed with a layer of
white felt tied on with woollen strings. There is also a string handle. The basket con-
tained a small amount of a dried-up substance, which according to Mr. Hj. Ljungh
once was a porridge of millet.

Under the back, inside the mantle, a bunch of four arrows, about 70 cm. long,
were found tied together, each of them with two tufts of feathers, but without
arrow-head, PI. 7: 13. Probably they were not real arrows but only symbolical ones.

In the right hand of the mummy there was a tamarisk twig, 52 cm. long.

At the throat there were found pieces of the ears of calves, and the whole front
of the body was strewn with grains of wheat and twigs of Ephedra. These latter
had sunken down on the open front of the body as seen in PI. VI c.

Except for this opening in front the mummy was perfectly preserved. It was 170
cm. long. The teeth were not very much worn, showing that he must have died
quite young. The brown-black skin stuck closely to the broad cheek-bones; the long
eyelashes and thick eyebrows still remained, and the long dark-brown hair was
tied at the back with a red string.

A big fracture on the forehead, clearly visible as a black spot in PI. VI c, may
have had some connection with his apparently early death. The expression on his
face was that of a wild grimace as if he had suffered a violent death.

This burial is typical of all the rest at this place, and its close resemblance to
several of the graves found by Stein and to Hedin's Grave 36 is evident.

Coffin 5. B.

The planks of this coffin were practically straight, of nearly uniform thickness,
and the end-boards were consequently broader than in coffin 5. A, cf. Fig. 13. Other-
wise the construction follows the same principle and is an exact parallel to Stein
1928, Fig. 173.

Around this and the adjacent coffin 5. C, both lying in S 65°W— N 6$°E at a
depth of 1 m., the high posts stand close together. Three of tyem had to be taken
down during the excavations to prevent accidents, as they were standing in very
shallow pits in spite of their height of 4.25 m. PI. VII a.

The coffin was plundered so long ago that the shaft had been totally filled with
drift sand, and contained only fragments of its former outfit. Only two cross-pieces

were left of the lid, the ox-hide cover was gone, and sand now filled the coffin, with
its mixed-up human bones. Of the dress remained a piece of a yellow woollen mantle
and parts of a loin-cloth in tapestry weave, yellow with a brown pattern forming
steps, PI. 13:4. and wi *h fringes along the lower cdgt. The pattern is of special
interest owing to its conformity with the decorations of so many baskets, denoting
that it may have been woven locally; the tapestry technique is, however, of Western
origin.

There were also a few fragments of wooden pegs with small incised triangles
filled with red colour, one of them probably a comb tooth, some Ephedra twigs and
the lower jaw of a vulture. Mr. G. Bexell has been kind enough to determine the
jaw as belonging to the species Gypdetus barbatus.

Coffin 5. C.

Situated very close to the previous one but 30 cm. higher. Near the eastern end
of the coffin there was a small polyhedric and red-painted pole wound spirally with
a string of camel's wool.

Only the east end-board and the northern long side were intact of the coffin,
which was of exactly the same type as the one at its side. It measured 1.96 m. in
length, and was entirely filled with somewhat moist sand.

The only object left in the coffin was the lower part of one of these mysterious
wooden objects depicted in PI. 7:2 — 7; round it a brown woollen string was wound.

Coffin 5. D.

On the eastern side of the big palisade and very close to it we came across a
coffin lying in N S5°W — S 55° E - Tne south-eastern end-board and two lid mem-
bers at the same end were wanting, this end being near the surface, whereas the
other end was covered with 0.9 m. of sand and lying 1.5 m. lower than the coffin

Kg. 13. Coffin 5 B. A) from above, lid removed, B) side view, lid in place. C) end view.

5. A. It was built on the same principle as 5. B and 5. C. Length 2.3 m., width at the
middle 42 cm. Ox-hides had covered the lid, and the wood looked very fresh. Most
of the coffin was filled with sand, and it contained no objects. The corpse was
apparently dragged out through the open end, and such objects accompanying it as
were of no interest to the plunderers were left lying around. There we picked up ob-
jects such as a small basket (5. D: 2), the rear part of a reed arrow-shaft with three-
winged feathers (5. D: 3), two complete and two fragmentary arrow-shafts with
two tufts of feathers and decorated with small incised triangles (5. D:4 — 7), one
half of a wooden object that has been wound round with strings, PI. 8:9, the two
halves of an object in the shape of an animal's leg, PI. 8: 3, a long feather wound with
red wool probably a part of the adornment of a head-dress, and several bunches of
cut Ephedra twigs tightly wound with woollen yarn, PI. 1 1 : 6. The latter as well as the
two last-mentioned wooden objects must have some symbolical or ritual significance,
which will be discussed in the following.

Coffin 5. E.

Near the western side and the southern end of the big palisade a coffin of the
same kind as 5. A was buried in an E — W direction lying between an oar-shaped
monument and a big pole. Only the western end of the lid was intact. Length of
coffin 2.4 m., width at middle 40 cm., height 30 cm.

The corpse was not totally destroyed by the plunderers; for instance, were the

mummified legs and the footgear still in place, the latter was taken by us as a sample

(5 E: 2), being of the typical shape. They had been tied with long, thick cords of

brown wool. The mantle was of coarse brown wool. It has two short red stripes

just like the mantle in 5. A. At the right side of the corpse there was a red-painted

arrow, PI. 7: n, too crooked to have been suitable for shooting which would seem

to indicate its symbolical meaning. Grains of wheat, twigs of Ephedra, a second

arrow, and the wooden object PI. 8:4 were also recovered from inside the coffin.

The legs of the corpse were hairy (brown colour), and below each knee was tied
a string.

Coffin 5. F.

Immediately to the west of coffin 5. E was another coffin situated in N 6o° W—
S 6o° E, the head placed towards the last-mentioned direction. Length of coffin,
which was identical with 5. A, 2.6 m., largest width at top 45 cm., height of side
boards 35 cm. The eastern end had been opened by treasure-seekers, and half of
the lid was gone. It had been covered with hides. The head was missing on the
poorly mummified corpse, which was wrapped in a coarse grey mantle. Near the
upper end the edge was tied into three small bags, two of which contained Ephedra

twigs, and the third grains of wheat and millet. Near and below the right hip and
outside the mantle we found the small basket 5. F: 1 of the ordinary type. It once
contained a porridge of millet.

The shoes were of the same kind as those in 5. A and 5. E. A loin-cloth of greyish
white wool of the narrow type with fringed ends was much decayed. At the right
side of the corpse, and inside the mantle, there were four long arrow-shafts with
double tufts of feathers, PI. 7: 14, and a thin branch of tamarisk. Many Ephedra
twigs had been strewn on top of the buried corpse. One feature that I did not
find in any of the other coffins was an extra mantle placed as a matting under the
corpse; it was badly preserved, woven of coarse wool with irregular stripes of
brown and yellow.

From here came also the complete "horse-leg" PI. 8:5 retaining both lashings.
A diminutive bronze ring is fastened on the lower string.

The similarities with the funeral deposit in grave 5. A make it highly probable
that the body in this coffin was that of a man.

Localities 5. G — 5. L.

Besides the completely preserved and untouched grave 5 A, and the plundered
graves 5 B— F, where the coffins were left in situ, there were six further instances
in which groups of objects could be gathered which had no doubt been buried
together in the same coffin. They have been numbered 5. G — 5. L, each letter de-
noting a special coffin or mummy. Like 5. B — 5. F these inventories might be in-
complete, in several cases they certainly are, being all that was left after the
treasure-seekers had had their "pick" or at least thrown away some of the objects.

I do not intend to describe each of these graves separately as no coffin was left in
situ, I will only draw attention to some objects of special interest.

5- G: 3, depicted in PI. 7:9 but more clearly visible in the drawing Fig. 14: 3 is
a straight peg carved to represent a snake swallowing a spool-shaped peg. The back
of the body is completely covered with small incised lozenges filled with red, the
belly having transverse lines, each alternate one containing a row of small triang-
les. The decoration is intended to represent the scales and the pattern of the snake,
though the same elements of multiplied triangles have been used as ornament on
arrows, pegs and combs, where the designs are purely abstract. A parallel to this
snake-figure is PI. 7: 8 (detail Fig. 14: 4). Both have a small hole a little behind the
middle, and might thus have been suspended on a string. The exact use of these
two snake representations is hard to determine; we can only point to the magical
and medicinal qualities ascribed to the snake in general. Like the frog, it has be-
come a symbol of rain, which however is regarded by some authors as a secondary
development of a primary symbolism of promoting fertility; it is also frequently
used as a phallic symbol.

PL 9:11 comes from the coffin of a small child. It is a kind of armlet made up
of a string and a stone bead, as in 5- A : 4.

The brown felt head-dress for a child, PI. n: 5, also originates from the same
coffin.

In the rear part of an arrow-shaft, PI. 12: 2 the triangle pattern is more deeply
incised than is generally the case with these thin wooden pegs.

On PI. VI b is seen the upper part of a female mummy, the face of which was
marvellously well preserved, though the body was much decayed. It could hardly
have been exposed to the open air for many days as it retained some spots of a
fair complexion. On the dark-brown flowing hair, parted in the middle, she wore
a head-dress of yellow felt, pointed and adorned with three red cords and the split
skin of an ermine (PI. 11:4). Her brow was high and noble, she had a fine aquiline
nose and thin lips, slightly parted and showing a glimpse of the teeth in a quiet,
timeless smile. One looked at this expressive and beautiful face with very strange
feelings, which were only heightened by the fact that the rest of the body was so
badly decayed. She is also seen on PI. IV b, lying in the centre of the picture.

Round the neck she wore a simple necklace of fine strings, red and brown, adorn-
ed with a small tuft of feathers and a diminutive bead of a grey stone. A loin-cloth of
the same type as PI. 11: 7, though broader, was made of undyed wool ; it was
knotted in the front.

It is not impossible that the remains of this lady were torn out of her coffin
during Order's visit to the place immediately before our visit, though he did not
definitely admit it. On the top of the hill there was a disjoined coffin, the wood of
which must have been carefully covered until recently as it showed quite fresh
surfaces. The mummy might originally have lain in it, which would account for
her beautifully preserved features.

Garments.

Starting our discussion of the surface finds with objects belonging to the apparel
of the buried, we have firstly the head-dresses. Several of these have been repro-
duced together in PI. 10; most of them are incomplete. Their general shape is that
of a rounded or slightly pointed cap or hat. The material is thick felt, seven of them
of dark brown colour, one yellowish and one undyed (the two last-mentioned,
5. K: 1 and 5. A: 1, already described). The most highly decorated ones are en-
tirely covered with an elaborate string ornamentation in red or yellow, PL 10: 1, 3,
4, 6; in other specimens there are only two or three cords, as in PL 10: 7 and 11:4.
The edge has in some instances retained a scallop stitching. The split skin of an
ermine has been fastened round most of the head-dresses in such a way that the
head of the ermine hangs down in front. The skins on the head-dresses from here

are very fragmentary (cf. PI. 10: i and 4) but on the fine and well-preserved
head-dress from Grave 36 the skin and the way it is fastened is clearly seen, PI.
26: 3. Mr. Gerhard Bexell has kindly examined a couple of the skulls and found
them to be of the species Mustela erminea.

As these ermine skins have been fastened to women's head-dresses as well as to
men's it is unlikely that they represent an adornment for hunters only. Have they
possessed a magical significance? Though furnishing no exact parallel, it is never-
theless worth mentioning that the present-day Mongols have a couple of rounded
felt caps the tops of which are decorated with the tail of a squirrel.

The group of feathered pegs or plumes that is so characteristic of these Lop-
nor head-dresses was inserted on the left side. The specimen in PI. 10: 2 has only a
small set of such a kind, and on those depicted in PI. 10: 1, 3 and 9 most of it has
disappeared. PI. 10: 8 shows a complete set of plumes with finely preserved feathers.
The pegs are wound round with gaily coloured red wool, most of the feathers are
light brown, possibly those of the Lama duck; the longest one, however, is black
and its stem is wound round with red wool. A fragment of a weasel's skin is
adhering to these plumes.

There were several less complete plumes from head-dresses, both short and long,
PI. 10:5 and 9:9 — 10.

As we have seen from Grave 5 A, B, F and K, both men and women wore a
woven loin-cloth of wool. They are of two types, one very narrow with fringed
ends, PI. 11:3 (already described), the other of varying breadth but having fringes
along the lower edge as well. It is not impossible that the former were used by men
and the latter by women, though the specimens are too few to allow of any definite
statement. And it must be remembered that the old lady in Grave 36 wore a very
narrow loin-cloth (though with long fringes). Stein does not describe any of these
articles, merely mentioning that they were made of tassels.

PI. 11 : 7 is typical of the broader form, with a long thick fringe along the lower
edge and at the ends. It is executed in plain weave and of rather uneven make.

PI. 12: 1 is more elaborate, plaited of fine and even, twisted wool. Here the fringe
does not consist of the extended weft or warp threads as in the former cases, but is
inserted and is of two different colours. The ends are torn off. Mr. Ljungh's
microscopical analysis of the wool used in this loin-cloth has revealed the unexpected
fact that this sheep's wool is of such fine texture that we must presume it to be an
importation from the west, probably Bactria, where very fine sheep's wool was
procurable at the time in question (cf. Appendix II). Now we have no idea what
kind of sheep formed the herds of the autochthon population around Lop-nor. But it
seems that other woollen articles from here are of a much coarser material, though
none of these have so far been examined microscopically. In any case a connection
with the West is unmistakable.

The fragment PL u : I is from one end of another loin-cloth; the material is quite
the same as in the preceding one, and so is the technique. When complete these
fringes must have reached to the knees.

The chief article of the apparel was the big mantle, woven of heavy woollen
stuff. No. 5. A: I is the only complete specimen that was brought away. They were
large enough to protect the whole of a man's body.

In PL 13: 5 is shown a sample of a mantle of good quality, neatly woven of soft
material, much superior to the ordinary ones. It is light yellow with a bright red
ribbon stitched on to it afterwards.

Ordek told us that on the first tour of exploitation to this place some of his com-
panions found some of these mantles in such an excellent state of preservation that
they used them as horse-cloths. It might be recorded here, too, that the ox-hides
covering coffin 5. A were so little ravaged by time that they aroused the greed of
one of our Turkish diggers, who wanted to take them for making boots. I mention
this incident to emphasize the state of preservation of perishable articles, which
can only be due to the extraordinary aridity of the climate. It also corroborates the
supposition that the corpses owe their mummification more to natural conditions
than to artificial treatment.

The last article of dress is the shoes or low boots made of ox-hide after a very
primitive model. Except on the soles the hair was turned inside. On the toes or on

the front of the instep there are traces of small feathers and red woollen threads
serving as decoration. .

The outline of the footgear recalls the low Scythian boots, as far as their shape
can be judged from the vase-pictures from the Kul Oba kurghan, Fig. 31.

If the head-dress, mantle, loin-cloth and shoes do actually constitute the entire
dress, it is rather a primitive one. Considering the severe winter climate prevail-
ing in the Lop desert with temperatures down to — 32 C, and the terribly violent
north-east storms, this dress seems very inadequate. It is very likely of course that
the people used some kind of furs in the cold season, though nothing of that sort
has been buried with the dead in the tombs.

One cannot fail to notice a general resemblance between the dress of this Lou-
Ian people and that of the inhabitants of the Danish Isles in the early Bronze Age,
though there are of course no direct connections. These similarities are especially
observable in the fringed loin-cloths as far as regards their general features. The
technique is quite different. It is worth observing that the large skirt with which
the Borum-Eshp'j lady was provided has lately proved to be impossible to wear as
a skirt owing to its size.

The natives of Tangir in the border country between present-day India and East-
ern Turkistan still wear a sort of coarse mantle which must be of the same simple

sort as that used by the Lou-Ian population about 2000 years ago. (Cf. Stein 1928,
Fig. 39)-

Personal Ornaments.

In the gay colours of the dresses, the long woollen fringes which flowed in the
wind, and in the feathers on their head-gear this people gave most marked expres-
sion to their desire to adorn themselves. True personal ornaments, however, are
rather scarce.

The young man in coffin 5 A had an armlet of a woollen string with an opal bead
round the right wrist (PI. 9: 12), and a similar armlet was found among the rest
of the inventory from the destroyed coffin of a child, PI. 9: 11. A child's armlet of
bronze unfortunately went astray before the collection reached Sweden. It con-
sisted of a round wire with thickened, multilateral ends, showing the same features
as one of Dr. Hedin's objects from Lou-Ian (Bergman 1935 c, PI. XII 14).

The female mummy K, PI. VI b, with the expressive face, wore a simple necklace
of strings with feathers and a single small stone bead.

On the eastern flat part of the hill we found nearly five hundred small white
beads, circular with flat ends. The diam. varies from five to two mm., PL 15:15.
Several of them were still left on the original thick string they had been threaded on.

Two specimens have been examined microscopically at the Invertebrate Depart-
ment of the Museum of Natural History by Dr. R. Bergenhayn, who states that
they are made from shell of the genus Spondylus, probably Spondylus sinensis
Sowerby, which occurs along the shore of Eastern Asia. In any case Spondylus is
a marine shell, and the material of these beads was thus traded overland for a
very considerable distance, say at least 3000 km.

Beads of quite similar shape are known from Prof. J. G. Andersson's excava-
tions both from burial places and dwelling sites in Kansu of the middle Yang-shao
period and onwards, and also from the Luan-p'ing grave find, Jehol.

The three beads PI. 15:9 are disc-shaped but are also made of shell. Similar
ones of bone or shell of chalcolithic age are reported from Zhob in Baluchistan
(Stein 1929, PI. IX, P. E. 19).

One bead from the eastern part of Cemetery 5 is of serpentine, PL 15: 8, and nine
are of grey and white, nicely striated opal, PL 15: 16.

Pins.

A kind of small pegs with a cylindrical head with triangle-band decoration and a
thinner, pointed part (Fig. 14: 6-7) were quite common. One specimen (5. L: 3) was
sticking in the remains of a mantle when found, which points to their having been

used as pins for fastening he mantles. Stein is of the same opinion regarding the
more well-proportioned specimens found in the graves nearer Lou-Ian. Cf. also PL
2j : 7 — 8 from Grave 36. Their decoration consists of from five to fourteen trans-
verse bands each made up of two lines of triangles with the points turned against
each other. In some cases the diminutive triangles are most neatly carved, and when
the lines stand close together there is formed a zig-zag pattern, PL 9: 2, 5 and Fig.
14: 6 — 7. The incisions have been filled with red colour.

The peculiar doll No. 36:8 is put on a small peg of the same model as those
above, but plain and with short head.

The curiously shaped bone object PL 12: 16 probably served the same purpose
as the pins just treated. It is less likely that it is meant to represent some miniature
weapon, such as a ko, because the projection is very thick and clumsy.

Co nibs.

Two complete combs and several loose teeth were found on the surface of the
hill. Only in one case was one of these comb-teeth picked up inside a coffin (5. B : 6),
but we may safely assume that the combs were placed in the coffins, as for instance
was the case in Grave 36.

The fine specimen PL 9: 1 is a composite comb of seven long and four short teeth
pierced through a transverse piece of tendon. The teeth are nicely polished and of
round section, the upper part of the long pegs are flat. The front of them is decor-
ated with seven triangle- or zig-zag-bands on each, the incisions filled with red,
PL 9: la, the rear side has also seven triangle-bands on each peg but arranged in
zig-zag and less carefully carved, PL 9: lb.

Of this big comb-type there are several loose pegs; one is still sticking in a piece
of tendon.

The small comb PL 9:6 is more plain, and consists only of one sort of teeth, with
carelessly incised lines on the upper part.

Combs are placed in tombs not only to serve as a toilet article or an ornament for
the dead but also as an amulet or charm, the comb with its many sharp points being
regarded as possessing magical or prophylactic power. In the case of our big comb,
for instance, this quality is probably heightened by the presence of so many pointed
triangles filled with red colour forming the decoration. Hanna Rydh has referred
to this property of the comb (Rydh 1929 pp. 105 ff. and 113) and drawn attention
to combs with triangular ornaments from Malacca, worn by women to prevent cer-
tain illnesses.

Arrows.

As seen from the description of the coffins most of them contained one or more
long arrow-shafts of wood. A good many specimens were also collected on the sur-

III

3 b

4 b

T1>

MV-vaw-V-V.

Wffl

Fig. 14, Carvings on wooden arrows etc., and a basket, from Cemetery 5. 1) sJ : 2. 2) 5 : 80. 3) 5.G 13. 4) 5 : 48.
5)5:112. 6)5:131. 7) 5-L:2. 8) 5-D:2. 9)5-4°* 10) 5: 103 (unfolded). Half size.

;

■

face. In all, there are about sixty arrows. When complete they measure from 57 to
78 cm. in length, and are fitted out with two tufts of feathers, one at the base and
the other a little behind the middle, PI. 7: 11 — 14. Only the quills of the short
feathers are secured to the shafts, with a lashing of red or brown wool. This
arrangement of the feathers makes the arrow unsuitable for practical use, and as
there is no notch for the bow-string we may safely assume that they were never
meant for shooting, but made only as symbolic arrows offered to the dead for their
hunting tours beyond the grave. A few specimens, such as 5. E: 3 (PI. 7: 11) and
5 : 46 are also too crooked ever to have been in actual use.

Many of them are decorated with rows of small incised triangles filled with red
colour, and arranged in transverse bands, each band consisting of two lines of tri-
angles pointing towards each other. These bands, many of which give the impression
of a zig-zag line, are arranged in groups of four or five, Fig. 14: 1, 2, 9, 10. There is al-
ways the same number of bands in each group on the same specimen; four are more
common than five. On some specimens the space between these groups have two — in
a few cases three — longitudinal triangle-bands either straight or in spiral, Fig.
14: 1,2, 10; here the triangles are broader and less regular. These minutely carved in-
cisions recur over and over again on the symbolic arrows, and it is therefore not
unreasonable to regard the ornamentation as symbolic, too, and containing some
quality valuable to the dead. It is of course very tempting to try to explain these
triangles as having something in common with the fertility cult in the way proposed
by several authors, for instance Hanna Rydh (Rydh 1929), and that they were
carved on these mortuary objects for the benefit of the dead, their red colour being
intended to enhance their vitalizing magic power. I am not sure, though, that a tri-
angle pattern necessarily represents a quest for fertility; but like most ornaments
occurring in primitive art it had some sort of symbolic meaning. As the triangles in
our case are diminutive they manifest themselves only through their multitude, and
I believe that the continually recurring arrangement of rows and bands etc. cannot
be incidental but may be the chief object of the whole decoration, the exact meaning
of which we can hardly interpret.

Before leaving this multiple triangle pattern, these saw-like indentations, or what-
ever we may call them, it is worth while to draw some parallels.

All kinds of primitive civilizations use triangular designs for decoration. Those
lying nearest at hand in our case, both in time and space, and which are also best
known, are the bronze cultures with centres in the Ordos region on the Sino-Mong-
olian borderland, and around Minusinsk in Central Southern Siberia. Our know-
ledge of the chronology of these, in some respects, closely allied cultures is not so
well founded as might be desired, but it is quite evident that they originated earlier
than the construction of the Lop-nor graves, and probably lasted till after that
time. From among the published Ordos bronzes we may refer to the following,
bearing a serrated ornament resembling our triangle-bands: Andersson 1932, PI.

II V.

ft I fc

k Salt-water lake near t<i tin- south of Onm-darya*

a. Wooden sculpture' probably
representing a woman. Height
158 cm. Cemetery 5. From a
drawing l>y Mr. G. Sodcrbom.

c. Profile of ihc left

sculpture of Fig, d.

From a drawing by Mr.

CI. Sodcrlwnu.

d. Two wooden sailpturcs from Cemetery 5.

(Right).

PI, VI.

i
i

a. Grave ; A with the lid removed.

' 4k *

1». The female mummy 5 K.

;

•*Vi*f

c. The mummy in grave 5 A after having been stripped of his garment. Only one sideboard of the

coffin is intact.

.■••

V:2; Salmony, PL 38:8; Inner Mongolia and
the Region of the Great Wall, PI. V:8. All
these are bronze knives. Of special interest is a
bronze tube in the last mentioned publication,
PI. XI: 2, and here reproduced as Fig. 15, be-
cause of its combined decoration of cowries
and triangle-bands, i. e. two different elements
possibly denoting fertility.

In the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in

Stockholm there are several unpublished Onlos
knives with elaborate triangle-band designs,
tube of the O- two of them being reproduced, with kind per-

Sona (I ™d r mi ^ion. as Fig. 16.

the region of From the Minusinsk region reference may be

the Great Wall t _ ° *

pi. xi: 2). made to Martin s publications (1893 PI. 11:3
—6, PL 15:8—9, and 1897, PI. 24:4).

The relief designs on these bronzes, whether geometrical
patterns or elaborate animal representations, originally imi-
tated wood-carvings. Grave finds from Siberia and Altai
have proved this beyond doubt in the case of the animal fig-
ures. We may be quite sure that geometric carvings simi-
lar to those on the pegs and arrows from our cemetery were
the prototypes for the bronze pattern referred to above. In
wood, this pattern has remained in use up to modern times
(Martin 1897, PI. 13:5 — 7, some cutting-boards from the
Ostyaks), and on Swedish Lap carvings in bone.

One of the famous Noyan-ola textiles has a pattern of rows of pointed triangles
alternating with geometrical scrolls (Trever, PI. 19:3), no doubt a Chinese silk
fabric but with an unusual "barbaric" design.

Certain Chinese bronze mirrors of the Han period have one or more borders of
small triangles, the so-called saw-tooth pattern, usually near the outer rim (for
instance Siren 1930, Vol. 2, PI. 66 — 68) but it is uncertain whether this pattern has
anything in common with our triangle-rows.

The well-made arrow-shaft No. 5: 112 is a little different in the ornamentation,
as seen on the drawing Fig. 14: 5. It has five single rows of triangles with the points
turned in the same direction. There are four such groups.

Beside these symbolic arrows there are also some real ones. 5. D: 3 is a fragment
of a reed arrow with three feathers lashed to the butt. This type is well known from
the Han ruins along the Tun-huang limes (Stein 1921, PL LIII, T. XV. a. vi. 001)
and at Edsen-gol in the still unpublished material found by me in 1931.

5: 113 — ri 4 (PL 7 : I0 ) are two stout arrows with a marked notch for the bow-

Fig. 16. Two bronze kni-
ves of the Ordos style.
MFEA K. 12030 and K.
11225: 15. Half size.

string, and pointed at the other end, i. e. made to fit into a socketed arrow-head, as
for instance specimens like PI. 12: 9 and 12. They are 65.5 and 63.5 cm. long, and
thicker than those mentioned above. Both may have been feathered but the traces
are too obliterated to be definite. It is of importance in connection with the above
discussion that these real arrow-shafts are undecorated. Cf . also the arrow 6. B : 11
below.

Arrow-heads.

On a limited space on the eastern side of the hill four stone arrow-heads were
found. Two of them are of green silex, one of brown chert, and the fourth of
slate. The three first ones, PL 12:4 — 6, are willowleaf-shaped with rather blunt
points, and of no high workmanship. One is a little polished. According to their type
they might be labelled as neolithic but they are less well-finished than the other
arrow-heads found in the Lop desert (PL 4: 12 — 13 and Stein 1921, PL XXX and
1928, PL XXII) and ours are therefore, most likely, degenerated survivals from
a true stone age.

The specimen of slate, PL 12: 3, is polished all over, and does not represent any
known type of arrow-head from Inner Asia.

From the same part of the hill the bone point PL 12 : 9 was brought to light. It is
of regular shape with marked barbs and decorated with six incisions organically
following the cleft base.

PL 12: 12 is another point made of a tubular bone with seven incised lines round
the base. There is a parallel to this bone point from a Scythic tomb at middle
Dnepr (Minns, Fig. 82: 1). The type is of course very plain, and cannot claim too
much consideration.

It is noteworthy that no metal points were found, the fragments No. 5 : 24 — 25
being very uncertain. The scarcity of metal on this site is obvious. Only a few in-
significant bronze fragments and a child's armlet were found. The rareness of metal
is partly explained by the circumstance that Ordek's followers on their two treasure-
hunting tours were looking especially for "valuable" objects, i. e. such of metal,
and they might of course have brought away some to their employer, the Amban at
Charkhliq, whose antiquarian interest started the searches of this site after it had
been discovered by Ordek. Order did not remember anything particular that they
had found, which indicates that at least no large objects were discovered and
brought away. Cf. the end of this chapter pp. 89 f.

On the other hand no great wealth of metal objects is to be expected among this
people with their primitive civilization.

Baskets and otlier containers.

The small melon-shaped baskets PL 12: 13, PL 13: 1 — 3, and PL 14: E, 2, 4, 5 seem
to have formed an important part of the grave furniture. Three of them were found

Fig. 17. Detail
from the basket
No. 5 70- Size 2/3.

inside coffins, and the other twelve have certainly fallen out of
destroyed coffins. Hedin found two similar ones in graves, and
Stein, who was the first to publish these handsome objects, has
five specimens originating from three graves. His baskets seem
to be less decorated, or maybe more worn, than ours.

At first I regarded these baskets as made of the stiff 'camel
grass' so characteristic of the Central Asian steppes and deserts, and
which the Mongols call Tsaghan derisun. Its Latin name is Lasia-
grostis splendens. This has been proved only partly correct. Mr.
Ljungh's microscopical investigations have revealed the fact that
the warp consists of dicotyledonous stems and the weft of grass and root fibres
mixed. In the specimen No. 36:6 an Artemisia root has been used. This deter-
mination may be valid for all of the rest in this collection.

They are made in the following manner. Two groups of from five to twelve warp
stems have been placed perpendicularly and fastened to one another (PI. 13: ib and
14: 5b). In some cases the number of the warp stems at the beginning is not the
same in each group PI. 13: 1 has for instance 8 and 11 stems, 5: 146 has 11 and 12.
The spaces in the corners between the two groups of original warp stems have been
filled out with radially arranged stems, and to widen the diameter new stems have
been added subsequently, Fig. 17. Before the maximum width is attained there is
as a rule a border of three-strand braid, which is repeated near the mouth. The rest
of the wall comprises very close plain twined weaving. All of the baskets in this
collection are decorated (though some of the specimens have almost obliterated de-
signs because of wear) with horizontal stripes, triangles or oblique borders of
step-like or zig-zag designs. These elements recur on nearly all specimens though
they are arranged in slightly different ways.

The basket No. 5:70 is an interesting example of how the decoration of these
baskets has been applied on top of the main weft element. The whole surface is
much worn from long use. At the first glance it seems to be plain and undecorated.
On closer examination small fragments of "extra" strands are observed in the
grooves between the warp elements. They are the remains of the otherwise totally
worn out decoration. A patient study of these remnants has revealed a pattern of the
same oblique zig-zag bands as on most of the other baskets from here. Only in one
detail does it differ from the rest: on the top part between the mouth and the three-
strand braid running about 3.5 cm. below it. Here the ornaments are plaited over
two warp stems and form irregular crescents.

The decorations are made up of split stems of grass the smooth and shiny surface
turned outwards, thus affording a pleasing contrast effect.

It is quite evident that all have been made in a very limited region. Around Lou-
Ian the patterns are already different. A symbolic meaning of these ornaments is

highly probable, but it would be only guesswork to try to explain them. We meet the
same step-like (zig-zag) design on the loin-cloth PI. 13:4.

The technical skill necessary for the manufacture of these small baskets is con-
siderable, and it must be admitted at once that the Lou-Ian people have mastered
this side of the fabrication perfectly. The sense of form and proportion in the de-
coration is also worthy of admiration; it successfully competes with the graceful
incised ornamentations on all sorts of pegs from this site. From a purely technical
point of view these baskets stand on the same high level as those of the aboriginal
American basket-makers.

These baskets from Lop-nor are a typical product of a primitive people, and we
may safely ascribe them to the people buried on the hill. The only instance I know
of, where one of these baskets has been found outside an indigenous grave, is
Stein's L. C. 05 from an otherwise Chinese mass-grave near Lou-Ian.

Only on one specimen (5. 1: 1) is the edge finished with a coiled border, other-
wise there is no special edging.

AH of them have had string handles, except $.T):2, where no traces can be de-
tected. Four specimens have a more or less well preserved handle consisting of
several twined cords fastened on the outside of the wall in a row of vertically plac-
ed coils, PI. 13: ia. (5: 70, 140, 141, 146). The remaining ten baskets have, or have
had, a handle of a single string of twisted white or brown wool, which has been
threaded through the wall a little below the edge, PI. 14:4. The existence of these
handles makes it highly probable that the baskets were articles for daily use and
not only made to serve as sepulchral offerings.

Those excavated from the coffins and having their felt cover still in place over
the mouth contained remains of the food supplies deposited in them for the benefit
of the deceased. Basket 5. F: 1 contained a few grains of wheat and millet besides
a dried-up substance. The careful chemical examination undertaken by Mr. Hj.
Ljungh has proved it to be a porridge of millet. In the basket 5. A: 6 a small
amount of a similar substance was found, but no grains of cereals.

Besides the small baskets there is only one object of basketry, the flat fragment
PI. 14: 3, probably from a sifter basket or from such a round basketry plate with
thin weave that for instance the Chinese of our day use when steaming their bread.
No. 37 : 3 — 4 are two fragments of a similar kind found in the second mass-grave
in the delta of Qum-darya.

There is only one wooden vessel from this place, the cup PI. 12: 15, made of a
single piece and probably having had a handle fastened in the four holes. It may
thus have served as a scoop.

Of pottery only one insignificant sherd was found ; it was of reddish earthenware
and was lost before the collection reached Sweden.

n. vii.

a. Sodcrbom excavating Grave 5 B (righi).

k Posts of various shapes from ihc crest of
Cemetery 5, From a drawing by Mr, (i.

Sttderbom,

C- The crest of Cemetery 5, (below).

1*1. Mil.

a. View from Cemetery 3 towards the north across the endless desert of sand.

I). Disjointed coffins on the slope of the hill. Cemetery 5.

T 1

Wooden objects of uncertain use.

PL 7 : * — 7 depict some curious objects the meaning or function of which is obs-
cure. The simplest form is seen in PI. 7: 1, there being two similar specimens. It is
a wooden peg, flattened, and tapering towards one end. On one of them there is a
small oval hole with burnt edges, and on the other a charred hollow near the
middle.

PI. 7:6 is a more elaborate specimen. At the broader end one side is flattened
and provided with two parallel grooves, and behind these a rectangular depression.
A big bunch of horse hair is tied with brown woollen strings round the middle part
of the handle. The pointed end has a small step or ledge. The curved shape may be
accidental.

PL 7:4 is carved according to the same pattern, but on PI. 7:3 the two grooves
do not reach the end of the peg. This is also the case with PI. 7 : 2, and there the
depression is surrounded by small drilled holes; near the pointed end there is a
lashing of brown wool. The fragmentary specimen PI. 7:5 has no sunken part but
eight transverse incisions instead. When the other fragmentary specimen, PI. 7 : 7,
was found, a layer of feathers were attached with red wool to its back. The com-
plete ones are from 53 to 63.5 cm. long.

In coffin 5. C a fragmentary specimen of this kind of object was found which
would seem to indicate that they used to be buried with the dead.

The only objects of a shape somewhat similar to the more elaborate specimens
are some Siberian Shaman drumsticks; but our specimens are rather long, and
there seem to be too many of them. It is, however, more than likely that they had a
function in some cult performance.

Another type of object is unknown in existing collections. Some specimens have
already been mentioned above. It is made of wood in two similar halves, the flat
surfaces laid towards each other, and tb; members joined with two string lashings.
The upper part is more or less spool-shaped, whereas the lower end terminates in
a carving representing a horse's hoof or a cow's foot, PI. 8: 3 — 5, 7 — 8. Some of
them have a notch at the "front" edge and, as a rule, there is as group of slightly
incised transverse lines on the flat sides, clearly visible in PI. 8:8. On the specimens
PI. 8 : 7—8 the flat sides are charred in on' place near the upper end as if the objects
had been used to catch some red-hot metal. The length varies between 21.5 and 28.2
cm. Three pairs, PI. 8: 3—5, were found in coffins; in all five complete and one half
set were found. I can see no practical use for these "leg" representations.

PL 8: 1, 2, 6 and 9 represent another kind of compound articles consisting of two
similar halves which have been tied together with a woollen cord wound round the
sunken middle part. The insides of the halves are hollowed out. On PL 8:6 is

Lt '

shown a complete specimen though part of the wool has now decayed; between
the wool and the wood was a layer of feathers. In its hollow inside were lying a few
bones from the skull of a large lizard. We cannot state whether the others have
had any contents; the half depicted on PI. 8: i was painted red on the inside.

The general shape of these objects is that of a phallus and it is reasonable to
regard them as a kind of amulet or to place them among the paraphernalia of the
fertility cult.

Two complete specimens and three halves were recovered, ranging in size from 9

to 1 1.5 cm.

The two snake representations, which also belong under this heading have been
discussed on p. 73.

Three slender pegs Nos. 5: 50, 52 and 88 (PI. 9:3) of uniform thickness but
with a thinner part at one end vary in length from 19.8 to 26.5 cm. The specimen
5:51 has both ends thinner than the middle, and has been wound spirally with a
ribbon of some sort. The thinner part has probably been inserted into some hole or
socket, but the proper use, of these pegs is obscure.

Miscellaneous small articles.

A small oblong, slightly curved piece with transverse incisions is made of dental-
bone, PI. 15 : 7. One end is incomplete. The use of it is unknown.

A pair of similar bone objects, PI. 12: 10 — 11, are also of unknown use, and so
is the bone fragment PI. 12: 7. In the latter case we might think of a part from a
compound bow.

Cord-wrapped bunches of stiff grass, Ephedra twigs, sinew fibres and so on
(5:170 — 173) may possibly be labelled as some sort of amulets (Stein 1928, PI.
XXVI, L. S. 6. 03 is of the same kind). The splendid specimens on PI. 11:6 have
already been referred to, and we may also recall such originally wrapped objects as
the supposed phallus representations PI. 8:1, 2, 6 and 9. Especially from North
America parallels to these wrapped objects are known with a core of yarious mat-
erials from the plant and animal kingdoms. The composition of the contents sugg-
est a magical use of these bunches.

Stein has also noticed how this provision of small packets of Ephedra twigs
formed a part of the regular funeral practice among the autochthon population of
Lou-Ian.

In some instances there are striking resemblances between the articles made of
perishable materials, e. g. feathers, straw and strings, from the Lop-nor graves and
those from N. American Indian sites — at least, judging from the reproductions

It, in books. The analogies do not depend on any cultural connections but on similar

climatic conditions. Both at Lop-nor and in the desert parts of N. America the cli-
mate is so arid that objects which in other localities would have perished have been
astonishingly well preserved.

| The Ephedra plant has been in use in the Chinese pharmacy for a long time. It is

■ not impossible that its medical quality was known as early as 2,000 years ago. 1 have
I asked Dr. D. Hummel, the surgeon of the expedition, who has experience of Ephed-

■ ra both as a medical man and as a botanist, if the presence of Ephedra twigs in the

coffins could account for the preservation of the mummies. He was not convinced
that the Ephedra twigs would act as a preservative agent unless present in large
amounts. In Grave 5 A there was a certain quantity; the photo PI. VI c gives indeed
the impression that the belly of the mummy was stuffed with Ephedra twigs. Such
small amounts, however, as those placed in the bundles tied on the mantles can
hardly have been of any importance as preservatives.

But Ephedra is an ever-green, and this feature, apart from the medicinal qualities
of the plant, may have caused primitive peoples to regard it as possessing vitalizing
powers, and therefore useful to the dead in this respect.

Stein does not believe in the interpretation of this burial practice as a symbolic
provision to prevent decay of the corpses; he only refers to the potential medicinal
qualities of the plant. (Stein 1930 — 32).

An Ephedra is used nowadays by the Parsees of Bombay to produce their sac-
red beverage Homa. The Parsee priests say that the Homa never decays, and they
keep it for a considerable time before they use it.

Gerhard Bexell has kindly furnished me with the following important inform-
ation about the use of the Ephedra plant among the Tibetans in Nan-shan south of
Suchow.

Those of the Tibetans who cremate their dead take merely a few logs as a found-
ation for the funeral pyre, which consists mainly of Ephedra bushes. During the
combustion the Ephedra plants develop a strong aroma which somewhat weakens
the stench from the cremation.

The Ephedra plant is also used for the fabrication of incense in this region. The
untreated twigs are sometimes used as incense by the poor, or in cases where proper
incense is unobtainable.

These facts show the significance of the Ephedra twigs as a predecessor of in-
cense-sticks, and also confirm the view that the use of incense as an offering has
developed out of the pure necessity to milden the smell of the burning corpse or the
burning sacrificial meat through adding some fragrant agent. In the course of
time this detail has become dissociated from its origin, developed into the use of
incense sticks and become in itself a sacrifice.

The occurrence in some coffins of grains of wheat and millet show that the
people carried on agriculture to a certain extent. It is less likely that these handfuls

of grains have been deposited in the coffins as food supplies for the dead, than that
they have been placed there in their character of germinative seeds, i. e. to represent
a vitalizing agent for the dead, and thus belong to the complex of the fertility cult.

IV. Discussion.

* i

i *

Having finished the description of Cemetery 5 ("Order's necropolis") the
question arises: where did these people dwell before they were buried on the hill.
Because of the size of the cemetery one would expect a priori a village in the neigh-
bourhood, somewhere along The Small River, the only place where water is obtain-
able. No traces of any structures, however, were found. The sand dunes cover such
large areas in this part of the desert, in many places reaching the shores of the
river, that not only one but several ancient villages may be totally buried in the sand.
It is worth remembering that all the Lou-Ian ruins are found in a region without
sand-covering.

The dwellings of this autochthon people can hardly have been very solid. If they
really possessed any stationary dwellings we have, perhaps, to reckon with some-
thing of the same sort as the present day s a t m a or reed-hut of the Lopliq. When
these are abandoned they very soon fall to pieces, and are easily hidden by even a
thin layer of drift sand.

On the other hand fragments of pottery and other small debris were abundant on
many bare clay surfaces between the sand dunes both to the south and the north of
"Order's necropolis", as is the case nearly everywhere in the Lop desert to the west
of the new Lop-nor — relics which partly indicate a mobile population.

This people lived under conditions very similar to the present day Lopliqs. Some
must have carried on agriculture, at least to a limited extent. Most of them, and
especially the more wealthy, owned cattle and sheep, camels and horses or asses, and
all of them practised fishing in the river and the lakes and hunting in the reeds and
on the plains. "They are as birds and wild beasts" the contemporary Chinese char-
acterized the Lou-Ian people.

As the present day Lopliqs live on very much the same lines as the autochthons
of Lou-Ian, a few observations may be of interest in this connection. When visiting
Sait mollah in his s a t m a at Yaqinliq-kol, which, by the way, is one of the largest
reed-huts in the region, comprising several rooms, I saw Sait's wife spinning wool
on one of the "charkhs" used in the Tarim Basin. Afterwards Mr. Chen saw her
weaving a kind of rough woollen cloth in white and black, a material which was
used for clothing, bags, saddles and the like. This is a coarse material always made
locally, which very much resembles the coarse woollen stuff in the mantles from
Cemetery 5.

Mr. Chen also noticed that the family had a small vegetable garden. Their ef-
forts to cultivate wheat here were, however, unsuccessful.

There are large quantities of fish in the lower Tarim of our days, and many of
the water-fowl there furnish excellent meat, and their eggs are collected in the
season. Of larger game the boar and the antelope should be mentioned. 1 We have
no reason to suppose the animal life to have changed since the time of Lou-Ian, or,
to express it more correctly, the faunae of Lou-lan's time have now returned to the
desert along with the life-giving water.

For further discussion of the autochthon population cf. pp. 143—145.

The activities of the several Japanese expeditions sent to Sinkiang between 1904
and 191 1 by Count Otani and the Buddhist monastery Nishi Hongwan-ji in Kyoto
are known to me only through reviews of their publications 2 and the mention which
Stein makes of them. Of the original Japanese publications only one has been ob-
tainable: Mr Haneda's Description of some documents discovered by the mission
Otani in Chinese Turkistan (Toyo gakuho 1 : 2, 191 1). When the text of this chap-
ter was already in proof the large catalogue of the Korean National Museum in Seul
was received (Amamuna & Minamoto: Chosen Kobi-jitsu Taikwan). In the
third volume of this work PI. 82 shows, inter alia, a water bag of skin from
Rooran (i.e. Lou-Ian). More remarkable are the contents of PI. 78 (PL 79—81
show some of the same objects enlarged). Unfortunately there is no accompanying
text, only a statement that the articles originate from the local people in
Central Asia ( !) As to who collected the things, when and where, the cata-
logue gives no information. Now the following objects are easily identified as com-
ing from autochthon graves in the Lop desert: the four small baskets on the left
in the upper row of PL 78, the two felt head-dresses flanking the lower row, and
the raw-hide shoe in the centre of the lower row of the same plate. These things
are in fact so similar to my own finds from "Ordek's necropolis" that I feel prac-
tically certain that they originate from there too. Are these the results of the earlier
plunderings of the site? As stated by Ordek the searches of the site were started
on the order of the Chinese Amban in Charkhliq. We know that Mr. Tachibana
of the Nishi Hongwan-ji expeditions was in Charkhliq in both 1910 and 191 1. Did
he inspire the Amban to bring forth antiquities with the help of the natives, or did
the Amban start the action to suit Mr. Tachibana? Any of these possibilities seem
likely. It seems less probable that Mr. Tachibana himself went to "Order's necro-
polis", as Ordek mentioned none but local people among the treasure-seekers.

A footnote in Stein 1928, p. 787, may be of importance in this connection: —

1 Among the present population hunting does not play any important role in the economic life of the people,
and the boar is avoided on religious grounds.

1 P£ri in Befeo 1909 p. 626, 1910 p. 652, 1911 p. 465, and Maspero in 1915 p. 57.

"Vague information received by me in Charkhlik in January 1914 pointed to the dis-
covery by Lop hunters of a site also designated as Merdek-shahr somewhere near the
lower Tarim since my first visit in 1906. The description given of objects which were
said to have been brought from there and sold to Mr. Tachibana suggested the
survival of structural remains. I therefore regretted that want of time before I
moved into the Lop desert prevented me from making a search for the alleged site."
A third possibility remains: that the collection of Lop-nor antiquities in Seul was
brought thither by some other Japanese expedition unknown to me. But especially
Stein's information makes it most likely that these are the objects acquired by Mr.
Tachibana from the region of Merdek-shahr.

Other of the objects depicted in the Korean catalogue must originate from other
places than "Ordek's necropolis" and not necessarily from the Lop desert. The most
valuable among them is the pair of shoes on PI. 80. It is a great pity that nothing
is said about these wonderful shoes. Information about their proper place of origin
would be most valuable. Their elaborate shape with wide, turned-up, ornamental
toes is typically Chinese and may be seen on many terra-cotta statuettes of the
Sui and T'ang dynasties (e. g. Siren, Vol. 3 PI. 35). They were apparently highly
fashionable during this time.

Highly interesting as these finds in the Seul Museum are, I must restrict myself
to these notes until I get access to the original Japanese publications, where I hope
to find them fully described.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM CEMETERY 5

Grave 5 A.

5. A: 1. Head-dress of thick white felt, with

two woollen strings for tying under
the chin. On the left side a group of five inserted
pegs, each with a feather tassel at the top. The
pegs held in position by a transverse peg wound
round with sinew fibres. In the middle of the rear
edge a short string is inserted and knotted, H. 2$
cm. PI. 10:2.

5. A: 2. Mantle of coarse, undyed, chiefly yel-
lowish-white wool, in plain weave.
Along the lower edge a thin fringe, every three
pairs of warps gathered in groups and firmly in-
terlaced to the edge of the fabric and twisted to-
gether into the fringe, the ends finished with a
loop.

About 10 cm from the fringed side four shoots of
weft of red wool, inwards from selvages, at one
edge 17.5 cm, at the other 16 cm. Warp of partly
yellowish-white, partly greyish-brown yarn, 50
threads to 10 cm. Weft white, 85 threads to 10 cm;
double shoots of weft at 5.4 cm. at beginning of

fabric, 5.2 at end. At the upper edge (= beginning
of weave) loops of warps are inserted in each
other. The selvages are strengthened by a thick
cord edge made of groups of wefts alternately in-
tertwined. Br. 1.6 cm. Th. 1 cm. L. of winding ia
cm.

Size excl. fringe 2.1x1.55 m . L. of fringe about
14.6 cm. Dist. between fringe ends 1.2—2.8 cm.

5. A 13. Loin-cloth, band-shaped, braided of
same material as — :2, forming a
fringe at both ends. Among four of the furthest
strands at one edge of the loin-cloth, two and two
are twisted into a cord with a knot. Towards the
middle of the fringes two adjoining links arc tied
together. Around one of these and several others
is tied a red woollen thread. L. excl. fringe 85 cm.
L. of fringe about 44 cm. W. about 5 cm. PI. 11:3.

5. A: 4. Bracelet of doubled cord of same mat-

erial as — : 2, held together of a round
flattened bead of yellowish opal. The ends, with
tassels, have been knotted together. Full L. 32.7
cm. L. of cord 27.3 cm. Tassels 8.2 and 9 cm. Th.
7 mm. PI. 9: 12.

5. A: 5. Bunch of four wooden arrows. Two

tufts of feathers fastened to each shaft
with woollen yarn. Ends bluntly pointed but with-
out arrow-heads. Tied together in the middle with
a brown woollen string. L. 72 cm. Pi. 7:13.

5. A: 6. Small basket, finely plaited. Rounded

bottom, nearly cylindrical wall widen-
ing at the top. Decorated with triangles, horizon-
tal lines and a step-like zig-zag pattern of some-
what glossy grass laid on top of the ground. Made
in a close plain twined weave, and having two
three-strand braids, one near the bottom, the other
near the mouth. The mouth is covered with a layer
of white felt kept in place by a double string
wound round the felt. The handle consists of a
white woollen string knotted to the edge in two
places. The middle part of the handle is twisted
and inserted beneath the strings that keep the lid
in place. There seems to have been a second handle
made of a brown string fastened lower down. The
basket contained a few remains of a dried-up mat-
erial, which has been analyzed and found to con-
sist of millet porridge. H. 16 cm. Diam. about 12
cm. PI. 14 : 5.

5. A: 7. Two cords of reddish brick-coloured

wool, with which the mummy's hair
was tied behind. L. 45.5 and 49 cm. Th. uneven,
2 — 7 mm.

5. A : 8. Sample of grains of wheat strewn over

mummy.

5. A: 9. Sample of Ephedra twigs strewn over

mummy.

5. A: 10. Small dried-up pieces of animal's (?)
hide.

5. A: 11. Seven cut-off tips of calves' cars (?).

Gr a

v e

=; B.

5. B:i. Portions of loin-cloth with inserted

fringes along the lower edge. Tapestry
woven in step pattern in dark reddish-brown wool
and undyed, light yellowish wool, partly dis-
coloured to light brown. Warp of same wool. Wool-
len yarn of fringe, wound firmly and 2-ply in loin-
cloth, th. about 1 mm. ; wound more loosely and
4-ply in fringe, th. 3 — 4 mm. Warp: 4 threads to 1
cm.; weft: about 160 threads to 10 cm.
Fringe fragmentary, consisting of two untwined
threads inserted round extreme warp threads of
lower edge laid together and twisted. L. of longest
preserved thread of fringe 19.3 cm. W. of loin-
cloth 6.8—7.6 cm. PI. 13:4.

5. B:2. Fragm. from mantle of tight rep

weave of light brown wool, soft and

fine. In one place about I cm. broad a weft strip
of brownish red wool of same quality as above, in
an other place remnants of the same. Warp: 30
threads to 10 cm. Weft: 165 threads to 10 cm.

5- B : 3 — 5- Fragm. of wooden arrow-shaft or such-
like (partly glued together) decorated
with small incised triangles filled with red colour,
and arranged in transverse or spiral rows.

5. B : 6. Small wooden tooth with a flat part

at one end, which is decorated with
three transverse rows of incised small triangles.
Probably from a comb. L. 97 mm.

5. B: 7. Lower jaw-bone of a vulture.

Grave

5-C:i.

5 C.

Fragm. of a wooden object of same
kind as 5:119—124. Peg with oval

section, tapering towards one end, which has a step.

Wound round with coarse brown string near

middle part. Present L. 35 cm.

Grave 5 D.

5. D : r. Cord of fine, glossy wool in reddish

cream colour. Folding and loose thread

of one end preserved, the other end torn off. L.

00 cm. Th. of cord 9 mm. and of spun thread 2 mm.

5. D:2. Small basket like No. 5. A: 6, rounded

bottom. Pattern consists of horizontal
bands and rhombi arranged in oblique zig-zag rows.
H. 11 cm. Fig. 14:8.

5. D: 3. Rear part of arrow-shaft made of reed,

with remnants of three-winged fea-
thers. L. 27.5 cm.

5. D:4 — 5. Two wooden arrow-shafts, each with
two tufts of feathers. Decorated with
small incised triangles arranged in transverse and
longitudinal rows. L. 76 and 75 cm.

5. D:6 — 7. Two fragm. of wooden arrow-shafts
decorated with small incised triangles
arranged in transverse and spiral rows.

5. D : 8. Wooden pin, gently tapering, with

thickened cylindrical head cut in one
piece with it, and decorated with five transverse
bands, each consisting of two rows of small incised
triangles. L. 175 mm.

5. D:9. One half of a wooden object: peg of
even breadth, a little thicker at the
ends. One end bluntly pointed. Semicircular sect-
ion, flat side a little hollowed out. Cf. 5. L:4 and
others. 92X19 mm. PI. 8:9.

5. D : 10. Pair of wooden objects made to match :
two pegs of about semicircular section

■

made in the shape of the leg of a cloven-footed
beast. The flat sides have lain against one another.
A little below the middle the flat sides have some
transverse lines, and around them the wood is
blackened by fire. L. 23.5 cm. widest part 27 cm.
(Cf. 5- E:5, 5. F:7 and others). PI. 8:3.

5. D:n. Large feather, thinly wound round
with reddish wool. Broken. Probably
from head-dress. L. yj cm.

5. D:i2. Two bunches of Ephedra twigs, each
tightly wound round with yellow wool,
and joined together. The bigger bunch is also
wound round with some red and dark-brown wool.
L. 14 and 15 cm. PI. 11:6.

5. D: 13-14. Two bunches of cut off Ephedra twigs,
tightly wound round with brown and
yellow wool. L. 17.5 and 15 cm.

5. D:iS- Three bunches of Ephedra twigs
wound round a couple of times with
yellowish wool.

Grave 5 E.

5. E:i. Sample of mantle with fringe. Of

brownish wool woven in weft rep. 3
cm. at fringe edge double shoots of weft in more
open weave. 10.2 cm. inwards from edge of fringe
and 17 cm. from selvage there are four shoots of
weft of red wool.

The fringe is made of wefts gathered in groups,
tightly twisted together and fastened at the lower
edge of the fabric. Loops at ends. Th. 3 — 5 mm.
Dist. between fringe ends 12 — 25 mm.
Selvage 13 mm. with two warps strengthened by a
thick cordlike edge made of groups of intertwined
wefts (cf. 5. A: 2). Th. of cord itself 7 mm. L. of
winding 8 mm.

5. E:2. Footwear from mummy. Made of raw-

hide with the hair remaining, on the
sole turned outside, otherwise inside. A thick twist-
ed brown cord, 115 cm. long, runs through a per-
foration in the front part. On middle of instep
are remains of small plumage with red wool insert-
ed through the leather. A scam from opening to
sole on each side. L. of sole 31 cm. W. 13 cm.,
across heel 9 cm. Cf. No. 36 : 4.

5. E:3. Wooden arrow-shaft with two tufts

of feathers. Painted red and decorated

with transverse rows of small incised triangles.

Too crooked for effective use. L. 65 cm. PI. 7: 11.

5. £14. Rear part of arrow-shaft of same kind

as —.-3.

5. E:s. Wooden object of same kind as 5.

D:io. The two halves tied together

with red wool above the "hoof" (here merely a
knob). Has been wound round near the top as well.
Near the middle the flat sides have faintly incised
transverse lines surrounded by red colour. L. 21.5
cm. PI. 8:4.

5. E:6. Three kinds of woollen strings. Red,

and undyed greyish-yellow.

Grave 5 F.

5. F: 1. Small basket, neatly plaited; decorated
with oblique zig-zag bands, triangles
and horizontal bands of grass. Besides there arc
two bands of three-strand braid. Has had a handle
of brown woollen string inserted through the wall.
Contained grains of wheat and dried-up millet
porridge. H. 14.5 cm. Diam. about 11 cm.

5-F:2 — 3. Two arrow-shafts of tamarisk twigs,
each with two tufts of feathers. Some-
what bent. L. yy cm. — :2 PI. 7: 14.

5-F:4 — 5. Rear parts of two arrow-shafts of
same kind as — :2.

5. F:6. Thin tamarisk twig. L. 70 cm.

5. F: 7. Wooden object representing the leg of

a hoofed beast; made in two halves to
match, which are bound with string in two places.
A small bronze ring fastened in the wool wound
round near the hoof. Four transverse incisions
just above the hoof. 25X3.4 em. PI. 8:5.

a v e

5 G.

5-G:i-

Small basket, neatly plaited, with the
usual design of horizontal and zig-zag

bands laid on top of the ground work of plain

twined weave. Two bands of three-strand braid.

Has had a handle of string inserted through the

wall. H. 13 cm. Diam. about 9 cm.

5. G:2. Fragm. of basket-work, probably from

large, shallow tray-basket. Double
twined open-work. PI. 14:3.

5-G:3- Long smooth peg in the form of a
straight serpent with a spool-shaped
object in its mouth. The back of the serpent is
covered with small incised rhombi filled with red
colour, forming zig-zag bands. The flat belly has
transverse lines, every second one with a row of
small pointed triangles filled with red. Just behind
the middle part a drilled hole. L. 69 cm. Diam. 1.1
cm. L. of object in mouth 15 cm. PI. 7:9 and
Fig. 14:3.

5. G:4. Fragm. of wooden arrow-shaft with
feathers attached to it with red wool.

a. Fallen baba stone near Ch'ai-o-p'u,

II IX

b. Cemetery 5. Tlie side of the hill is covered with disjointed coffins and fallen

down posts and "oars".

PI. X.

a. Winding bays of Lake Paialiq-kol.

b, A small branch of the riving Small River near camp R 71,

and spiral bands of Grave 5 T,

Decorated with transverse
small incised triangles.

5. G: 5-10. Six similar arrow-shafts, probably
tamarisk wood, each with two tufts of
feathers. Decorated with transverse bands of small
incised triangles. L. 72 — 69 cm. — :g PI. 12: 14.

5. G: 11. The greater part of a wooden arrow-
shaft of same kind as the preceding
ones; the feathers missing.

5. G:i2. Fragm. of arrow-shaft with three
groups of faint, transverse lines.

Gr a

ve 5 H.

5. H:i. Child's head-dress of dark greyish-

brown felt. At lower edge is inserted a
small piece of grey woollen yarn, chin-cord? H.
about 14 cm. Diam. about 12 cm. PI. 11:5.

5. H:2. Child's bracelet. Bead of light green

jade-like stone with brown cord thread-
ed through the hole. Diam. of bead 13 mm. PI.
9:11.

5. H : 3. Small basket, neatly plaited, of the

common type though the bottom some-
what flatter than usual. Has had a handle of brown
string inserted through the wall. H. 10 cm. Diam.
about 7.5 cm. PI. 14:2.

Grave 5 I.

5.1:1. Small plaited basket, the design al-

most effaced through wear. Near
the bottom a broad band of three-strand braid,
and a narrow one round the edge, which is also
finished with some extra coils. Once covered
with a white felt lid. Remains of a handle of
white string. H. 13 cm. Diam. about 13 cm.

5.1:2. Wooden arrow-shaft with two tufts

of feathers fastened with red wool.
Decorated with four groups of transverse lines
with thin small triangles. Longitudinal bands of
triangles between the groups. Smoothened point.
L. 76 cm.

5.1:3. Fragm. of the rear end of a wooden

arrow-shaft with a tuft of feathers
and transverse and longitudinal rows of deeply
incised triangles forming zig-zag patterns. PI.
12:2.

5. 1 : 4. Wooden peg with round section, taper-

ing towards one end. The other end
has a step; the thinner part is broken off. L. 31.5

cm.

(What is left of the contents of a plundered coffin
near grave 5 A).

5. J: 1. Pointed head-dress of dark brown felt

with white, elaborate ornamentation
of horizontal, tightly twisted strings, which have
been fastened with back-stitches in rows along the
head-dress in four places; only a quarter remains.
At the lower edge are four rows of stitches from
the chin-cord. The lower edge finished with thin
scallop stitch of similar strings. Top somewhat
frayed H. about 25 cm. PI. 10:6.

5. J: 2. Wooden arrow-shaft, crooked, with

two tufts of feathers. Neatly decorated
with transverse and longitudinal rows of small in-
cised triangles, filled with red colour. L. 72 cm.
Fig. 14: 1.

5- J ! 3 — 4- Two fragm. of wooden arrow-shafts,
each with a tuft of feathers and de-
corated with transverse rows of incised triangles.

5. J: 5. Wooden arrow-shaft, somewhat crook-

ed. Has had two tufts of feathers and
is decorated with two groups of transverse rows
built up of small incised triangles. L. 67 cm.

5. J: 6. Fragm. of wooden arrow-shaft with

transverse and spiral rows of small
incised triangles.

Mummy 5 K.

5. K:l. Head-dress of yellowish-white felt,
pointed, with four transverse red
woollen cords and remnants of a split ermine
skin, fastened with light-red woollen threads in-
serted in the felt. The head of the ermine hanging
down in front. Chin-cords of the same wool as the
felt. Short string of similar wool inserted in the
middle of the rear edge and knotted together. H.
about 20 cm. PI. 11:4.

5. K:2. Necklace of four brown grass-and-

hemp strings and four dark-red wool-
len threads laid together and wound with two pale
red woollen threads, which were probably placed
at intervals of 12 — 14 mm. In one place a small
feather tassel fastened with thin sinew-fibre, in
another place a diminutive grey stone bead. Diam.
of bead 3 mm. Th. 1 mm.

Grave 5 L.

5. L: I. Small flat bead of shell. Diam. 5 mm.

Cf. No. 5:18.
5. L:2. Wooden pin, gently tapering, with

thickened cylindrical head. The head

■**■

is decorated with seven transverse zig-zag bands
which are formed through small, very pointed, in-
cised triangles. L. 15.3 cm. Fig. 14:7.

5. L: 3. Wooden pin of same kind as — : 2 but

with thicker head, having eleven
groups of triangle-bands. The pointed end broken
off. Found sticking in the woollen fabric — :6.
L. 17.3 cm.

5. L:4- Wooden object consisting of two

halves, of the same kind as 5. D: 9 etc.
When found the now decayed red wool was neat-
ly wound round a layer of feathers in the sunken
part of the two halves. One end straight, the other
blunt-ended. The interior deeply hollowed out; it
contained a few bones from the head of a large
lizard. The two halves are of uneven length: 11.5
and 10.5 cm. Diam. 2.6 cm. PI. 8:6.

5. L:5. One half of an object identical with

— :4. The hollowed part is painted
red. 9X2.7 cm. PI. 8:1.

5. L:6. Two fragm. of an undyed, pale yel-

lowish-white woollen mantle in rep
weave. The warp twisted somewhat harder than
the weft. Selvage preserved at one part, strength-
ened by a thick cord.

5. L:7. Small bundle of reddish-brown wool,

wound round in two places with the
same kind of thread, in one of which a small
feather is inserted.

Finds mainly from the sur-
face of Cemetery 5.

(5: 1—5:44 from the flat eastern end of the hill.)

5 :I — 2. Two willow-leaf-shaped arrow-heads
of light-green silex and brown chert.
Rather blunt-ended, of inferior make. —.2 is
slightly polished. L. 39 and 41 mm. PI. 12:4 — 5.

5:3. About half of a leaf-shaped arrow-

head of green silex. PI. 12:6.

5:4. Leaf-shaped arrow-head? of polished

slate. L. 42 mm. Br. 12 mm. PI. 12:3.

5 : 5- Whetstone of slate, one edge has some

transverse lines. 97X25 mm.

5 : 6. Flat bead of green, flamy serpentine.

Diam. 9 mm. PI. 15:8.

5^7—15- Nine barrel-shaped beads of striated,
grey and white opal. L. 12—8 mm. PI.
15: *6.

5:i7-

5:18.

5:i9-
5:20.

5:21.

Ninety-six small shell beads, mostly
with the original string remaining in
the holes.

Three thin, flat beads of shell. Diam.
6 mm. PI. 15:9.

One hundred and twenty- four small
beads of shell of same kind as — :2i.

One hundred and fifty-five small beads
of shell of same kind as — :2i.

5=i6-

Eight small beads of shell (a Spondy-
lus) attached to the original cord.

Ninty-three small beads of shell. Diam.
5—2 mm. PI. 15: 15.

5:22. Small flat, oblong object, slightly

curved, of light-green dental bone (?).
The convex surface has ten transverse lines 25X6
mm. PI. 15:7.

5:23. Fragm. of corroded, somewhat con-

cave bronze ring-fitting.

5 : 24 — 25. Two small bronze fragm., possibly of
two-winged arrow-points.

5:26. A few corroded bronze fragm.

5 : 27. Wooden cup, made in one piece. Near

the edge there are two pairs of holes
7 cm. from each other. H. n cm. Diam. 13.5 —
12.5 cm. PI. 12: 15.

5:28. Rectangular wooden object, handle ?

One side convex, the other concave, at
each end a moulding. 79X18 mm. PI. 9:7.

5:29. Small wooden object of nearly the

same shape as — :28. 51X14 mm.

5:30. Fragm. of round wooden peg with

four globular mouldings and two
transverse rows of small triangles filled with red.
PI. 9 : 8.

5 = 3* — 39- Nine fragm. of arrow-shafts or pegs
of wood, decorated with transverse or
longitudinal rows of small triangles filled with
red.

5:40. Two-winged arrow-point of bone with

large barbs and a socket to receive the
shaft. On each side six incised lines, V-shaped.
88X18 mm. PI. 12:9.

5:41. Small bone object of unknown use. A

straight piece with an oblique project-
ion. Decorated with four groups of transverse
lines. A groove follows one edge of the project-
ion and continues along the shorter part of
straight member. L. y% m m. PI. 12:11.

5:42. Bone object of same type as — 141

but with broken points. PI. 12:10.

5:43. Fragm. of bone lamella with one flat

and one convex surface, the latter

having five V-shaped incisions. 65X13 mm. Pi.
12:7.

5:44-

One end of a thin bone lamella with
a transverse line. From a bow ? Br.
27 mm. L. 106 mm.

(5:45 — 5 : 74 found at the W.
end of the palisade).

5 : 45. Wooden arrow-shaft with two tufts

of feathers and decorated with trans-
verse and spiral rows of small incised triangles
filled with red. Rather crooked. L. 70.5 cm.

5:46. Wooden arrow-shaft, very crooked,

decorated with four groups of trans-
verse incisions, each consisting of four rows of
small triangles with the points turned towards
each other. The arrangement of these groups
shows that there have been two tufts of feathers.
L. 75 cm. Fig. 14:9.

5 : 47. Wooden arrow-shaft, rear end frag-

mentary. Decorated with groups of
transverse and spiral rows of small triangles. L.
63 cm.

5:48. Wooden peg representing a serpent

(cf. 5. G:3) with a spool-shaped ob-
ject in its mouth. Along the back a double zig-
zag ribbon, and on the sides two extended zig-zag
ribbons, all consisting of small incised triangles.
On the lower side of head and neck there are thin
incised lines, and along the belly a nearly straight
band of the same kind as on the sides. 26 cm.
from the head a small hole through the body. L.
of peg in mouth 14.2 cm. Tail broken off. Present
L. 57.8 cm. PI. 7:8 and Fig. 14:4.

5:49. Long black feather, the shaft wound

round with red wool, the barbs how-
ever being left free. A pointed peg or pin is at-
tached to the lower end. Probably a plume from a
head-dress. L. 2>7 cm. PI. 9:10.

S : 50. Wooden peg with round section, one

end thinner than the other. L. 26.5 cm.

5:51. Wooden peg with a thinner part, 26

mm. long, at one end. The other end
has had a similar thin part. A ribbon or suchlike
has been wound round it. L. 25.5 cm.

5 = 52.

5 : 53-

Broken peg of same kind as — : 50 and
51. L. 19 cm.

Fragm. of wooden arrow-shaft (?)
decorated with longitudinal rows of
small incised triangles.

5 : 54- Portion of tamarisk twig, one end

charred, decorated with a spiral row
of small triangles carelessly cut in the bark. L. 19
cm. PI. 9:4.

5=55- Cylindrical head of a wooden pin of

same kind as 5. L:3 and many others.
Decorated with fourteen transverse rows built up
of small incised triangles with the points turned
towards each other and filled with red. The rows
are so narrow that the effect of the triangles is
that of a zig-zag band. L. 95 mm. diam. 13 mm.
PI. 9:5-

5 : 56. Wooden comb consisting of seven long

and four short teeth pierced alternate-
ly through a piece of sinew. Each long tooth has
a flat head decorated with seven transverse zig-
zag bands formed through two lines of small in-
cised triangles, filled with red, and with the points
turned towards each other. On the back the de-
coration is inferior and the seven rows are placed
obliquely. L. 18 cm. W. across sinew 6.5 cm. PI.
9:1.

5: 57. Long tooth from a comb of same con-

struction as — 156, stuck in a piece of
sinew. Decorated with five transverse rows, each
consisting of two lines of small incised triangles.
Along the back are plain, transverse lines. L. 18.8
cm.

5:58-

5:59-

5:60.

Tooth of same kind of comb as — : 57,
with same decoration. L. 18.2 cm.

Tooth of same kind of comb as — : 57,
but less well made. L. 18 cm.

Tooth of same kind of comb as — : 57,
with unfinished decoration: the trans-
verse lines are incised but only two triangles are
finished. The flat head painted red, as is the case
with several of the preceding ones. L. 18.5 cm.

5 : 61 — 66. Six smooth teeth, apparently from a
comb, the teeth of which were kept to-
gether by a sinew. There were no long teeth in this
case. L. 87 mm. Cf. No. 36 : 14.

5:67. Three small fragm. probably of same

tooth, which is slightly carved.

5:68. Bone object, probably used as pin for

fastening the mantle. A long straight
tapering; part and perpendicular to it a projection
near the thicker end. On the long part seven trans-
verse lines. Model of a hoe or some weapon (Kof)
L. 127 mm. Br. across projection 35 mm. PI. 12: 16.

5:69-

Bone arrow-point, conical, with socket.
Round the base seven incised lines. L.
11 cm. Diam. 1 cm. PI. 12:12.

5'7°- Plaited basket with nearly effaced

ornaments, apparently oblique zig-zag
bands. On the upper part crescent-shaped ornaments
enclose warp-stems in pairs. Fragm. of handle,
made of twisted yellowish string, fastened to the
wall with five separate coils at each side. H. 19
cm. Diam. about 11 cm.

5:7i-

5:72.

5:73.

5=74*

Piece of white felt, probably the lid of
— 170.

Cord of yellowish-white, undyed wool.
Th. 5—6 mm.

Small peg with a bushy tuft of feathers
fastened to it with red wool. Apparent-
ly a plume from a head-dress. L. 17 cm.

The greater part of a weasel's skin tied
to a piece of white felt, apparently from
a head-dress.

(5 : 75 — 5 : 93 were found in the
sand above the coffins E
and F).

5:75. Wooden arrow-shaft with two tufts of

feathers attached to it with red wool.
Neatly decorated with transverse and spiral rows
of small incised triangles filled with red. L. 76 cm.
PI. 7: 12 and 12:8.

5:76—78. Three wooden arrow-shafts with two
tufts of feathers and decorated in the
same fashion as — =75- L. 73.5 and 77.5 cm.

5:79—80. Two wooden arrow-shafts, crooked,
and having originally two tufts of
feathers; decorated in the same fashion as — = 75.
L. 75 and 78 cm. — :8o Fig. 14:2.

5 : 81 — 84. Four fragm. of wooden arrow-shafts

of same kind as the preceding ones,

though two of them have no triangles, only lines.

5 : 85. Arrow-shaft of tamarisk wood. Has

had two tufts of feathers but other-
wise undecorated. L. 78 cm.

5 : 86 — 87. One complete and one broken wooden
arrow-shaft, each decorated with a
spiral line. L. 67 and 53 cm.

5:88. Wooden peg of same kind as 5: 50. L.

198 mm. PI. 9:3.

5 : 89. Plumage from head-dress. A long black

feather, thinly wound with red wool,
and four tufts of short brown feathers each tied to
a pointed peg. The whole plumage kept together by
a cross-going peg entirely wound with red wool.
On one side a piece of a weasel's skin. Longest
feather 39 cm. PI. 10:8.

5:90-

5:91.
5:92-

5:93.

Small peg with a tuft of feathers in the
upper end. Part of plume of a head-
dress. L. 22.5 cm. PI. 9:9.

Peg with feathers, of same kind as
— :00.

Peg with a black feather, attached to it
with red woo!. The upper part broken
off. From a head-dress.

Cord of brown wool with a knot at one
end. Probably handle of a basket. L.
31.8 cm. Th. about 1 cm.

Surface finds in general,
Cemetery 5.

5:94. Wooden arrow-shaft, rather crooked,

with one remaining tuft of feathers a
little above the middle, the upper tuft lost. Decor-
ated with transverse and spiral rows of small in-
cised triangles filled with red. L. yy cm.

5:95-101. Seven fragm. of wooden arrow-shafts,
some thick and some thin, with por-
tions of one or two tufts of feathers and decorated
in the usual way with small triangles.

5:102-109. Eight fragm. of wooden arrow-shafts
with the usual ornaments of small tri-
angles. — : 103 Fig. 14:10.

5: no. Arrow-shaft of tamarisk wood with a

spiral line with a few incised triangles,
all turned in same direction. L. 70 cm.

5: in. Wooden arrow-shaft with the usual de-

coration filled with red. Obliquely
pointed at one end. L. 57 cm.

5:112. Fine arrow-shaft of tamarisk wood

with four groups of transverse orna-
ments, each consisting of five lines with small
triangles turned in the same direction. L. 78 cm.
Fig. 14:5.

5: 113-114. Two rather heavy wooden arrow-shafts
with a marked groove in the rear end
to receive the bow string. L. 63.5 and 65.5 cm.
— : 113 PI. 7: 10.

5:115. Wooden peg of same type as 5:50,

thinner at one end, pointed at the other.
L. 37.5 cm.

5: 116. Piece of a reed.

5: 117. Flat wooden peg tapering towards one

end. 23 cm. from the broad end there is
a small oval hollow with burnt surface. L. 58.5 cm.
Br. 3.9— 1.5 cm. PI. 7:1.

5: r 18. Wooden object of same type as — : 117

but the narrow part has a more round-

ed section. One side flat, the other rounded. 24 cm.
from the broad end there is a shallow, burnt
cavity. L. 53 cm. Br. 3.8— 1.2 cm.

5:119. Wooden object of same main type as

— U17 and — : 118 but more elaborately
shaped. The broad end has one flat surface with
two longitudinal grooves and below these a square
depression. Round the middle a bunch of horse-
hair is tightly wound with brown strings. The
pointed end, which has a small step, is bent prob-
ably unintentionally. L. 63.5 cm. Br. 4 cm. PI. 7:6.

5 : 120. Wooden object of same type as — : 119.

The two longitudinal grooves at the
broader end do not reach to the edge. The rectang-
ular depression is surrounded by small drilled
holes. At the step near the pointed end the object

is wound round with brown wool. L. 59 cm. Br.
5 cm. PI. 7:2.

5 : 121. Wooden object of same type as — : 119.

L. 61 cm. Br. 4.5 cm. PI. 7:4.

5 : 122. Wooden object of same type as — : 120.

The two longitudinal grooves do not
reach to the edge of the broader end. Oval section.
Blackened by fire in two places. The pointed end
broken off. L. 40.5 cm. Br. 4.2 cm. PI. 7:3.

5:123. The broader part of a wooden object

of same type as the previous ones.
The two longitudinal grooves are more shallow
and longer than usual, and the square depression
below them is absent. The rounded side of the
broader part has been covered with feathers (now
nearly all decomposed) kept in place with red
strings. L. 38 cm. Br. 5.7 cm. PI. 7:7.

5:124. The broader end of a wooden object

of the same type as the preceding ones.
The longitudinal grooves are deeper than usual,
and immediately behind there are eight transverse
grooves. Semicircular section. L. 23 cm. Br. 3.8
cm. PI. 7:5.

5:125. Two wooden objects, made to match,

in the shape of a leg of a hoofed
beast. Cf. 5. D: 10. In the middle of the front part
a notch is carved across both halves. Near the
broader end the insides are burnt as if the two
halves had clasped a glowing metal object or some-
thing similar. Immediately below this place are
seven incised lines on each half. L. 25 cm. Br. 2.8
cm. PI. 8:8.

5:126. Wooden object in two halves of same

type as — : 125. L. 27.5 cm. Br. 2.5 cm.
PI. 8:7.

5: 127. One half of a wooden object of same

type as — : 125. L. 28.2 cm. Br. 2.9 cm.

5:128. Wooden object in two halves, made

to match, of same type as 5. L:4-
Roughly made. The flat sides hollowed out. L.
94 mm. Br. 18 mm. PI. 8:2.

5:129. One half of wooden object of same

type as — : 128 but very well made.
The hollowed out part is painted red. L. 11.1 cm.
Br. 3 cm.

5:i3°-i35. Six wooden pins of same type as
5. D:8. The cylindrical heads decorat-
ed with transverse rows of small incised triangles
with red colour still partly preserved. L. 249-179
mm. — : 131 Fig. 14:6.

5:136- Small wooden comb consisting of six

equal teeth fastened side by side in a
piece of sinew. The upper part of the pegs are
broader, somewhat flat and decorated with some
carelessly incised lines. L. 95 mm. Br. 48 mm. PI.
9:6.

5: 137. Wooden peg, probably from a comb of

same type as 5 : 56. The broader, flat
upper part has five transverse rows of small in-
cised triangles, the other side has only some
transverse lines. L. 18.5 cm.

5: 138. Wooden pin of same kind as — : 130 —

135. The cylindrical head decorated
with nine narrow rows of triangles with the points
turned towards each other and giving the impress-
ion of a zig-zag band. L. 18.4 cm. PI. 9:2.

5:139. Small basket of the usual type with

part of the dark-brown felt lid pre-
served. Decorated with horizontal ribbons and,
probably, oblique zig-zag bands. There is also a
three-strand braid. Has had a handle of brown
string. H. 12.5 cm. Diam. about 10 cm. PI. 12: 13.

5 : 140. Basket of the usual type, the upper part

damaged. Decorated with two hori-
zontal rows of triangles and oblique bands with
serrated upper edge, giving the same step-pattern
that is so common on these baskets. Two broad
three-strand braids. The handle has been fastened
to the outside of the wall with some separate coils.
Present H. 20 cm. Diam. about 16 cm. PI. 13:3.

5: 141. Basket of the usual type with preserved

handle of twisted strings firmly wound
round with woollen string. Handle fastened to
outside of wall with some separate coils. The pat-
tern, partly unclear because of wear, consists of
oblique bands, the upper side of which form steps,
the under side with distinct points. One three-
strand braid at the bottom of the basket, one near
the rim. H. 21 cm. Diam. about 13 cm. PI. 13: 1.

■T

5:142. Basket of the usual type. The pattern

is indistinct but has consisted of the
same elements as on other baskets from here,
though more varied. The bottom has a broad three-
strand braid, and on the upper part of the wall
there are three narrow ones. The handle has been
made of a string threaded through the wall. H. 16
cm. Diam. 10 cm. PI. 14: 1.

5:143. Basket of same kind as — : 142 but

with only two three-strand braids. H.
16 cm. Diam. 11 cm.

5: 144. Small narrow basket of the usual type

with oblique zig-zag bands and two
three-strand braids. Handle of brown woollen
string H. 14 cm. Diam. 6.5 cm. PI. 14:4.

5: 145. Fragm, of basket of same kind as the

preceding ones. H. 17 cm. Diam. has
been about 12 cm.

5:146. Fragm. of basket of same kind as the

preceding ones, though larger. The
handle has been fastened to the wall with separate
coils. Present H. 29 cm. PI. 13:2.

5:147. Loin-cloth in plain weave and with

fringe, of coarse unevenly twisted
greyish brown wool (camel wool?) Three cross-
stripes of fine red wool, about 2 cm. wide, made
in the weft, one in the middle, the others about
5 — 6 cm. from the ends.

The fringe partly torn off, consists of extended
warps at both ends and extended wefts at lower
edge of loin-cloth. L. excl. fringe 76 cm. W. about
10.5 cm. The fringe at one end 30 cm., at the other
rather uneven, longest threads 66 — 70 cm.; the
fringe of the lower edge 30 cm. long.

Loin-cloth open, joined only by a double knot
of the upper selvage's 8 warps, tightly twisted into
a cord. PI. 11:7.

5:148. Loin-cloth, band-shaped, torn at both

ends. Band of fine and even, braided
wool, violet to brown. Inserted fringe consisting
alternately of narrower parts of the same yarn
as "in the band and of wider and broader parts
of thick wool in light brown. W. of loin-cloth 4 — 5
cm. L. of preserved part 104 cm. Fringe occupies
66.5 cm. in the middle. Only two light-brown
threads of the fringe have their original length,
about 35 cm. PI. 12:1 (with the extremities ex-
cluded).

5:149. Two fringed ends of a band-shaped

loin-cloth of same braided material as
— : 148. Each band divided into six smaller braids,
the threads of which continue in the thick strings
of undulated wool, forming the ends. Th. of wool-
len strings at fixtures about 13X8 mm. L. of

longest strings 48.7 cm. The plaiting-threads of
the bands and the strands of the fringe all in one
piece. PI. II : 1.

5:150. Piece of large mantle of originally

yellowish-white wool. Woven in weft
rep. Warp firmly twisted, th. 1 — 1.9 mm. 30
threads to 10 cm. Weft looser, th. 1 — 2 mm. 130
threads to 10 cm. Selvage with two warps strength-
ened by cordlike edge, br. 1.2 cm., made of groups
of intertwined wefts (Cf. 5. A: 2). Th. of cord 7
mm. L. of winding 7 mm., weft stripe 2 cm.
wide = 11 shoots of weft of light wine-coloured
wool, th. 1.5 — 4 mm., shoot over two and under
two warps. Pi. 13: 5.

5:151. Piece of mantle woven in weft rep of

undyed dark-brown wool (sheep?), in
warp partly greyish yellow, light brown (camel?).
Warp firmly twisted, th. about 1.5 mm. 50 threads
to 10 cm. Weft loosely twisted, th. 1 mm. 250
threads to 10 cm. Selvage br. 8 mm. at one side,
with two warps; weft yarn not made in one, ends
of each shoot held by the next and so on.

In brown fabric weft stripe, 2 cm. wide — 8
shoots of weft — of light brick-coloured wool,
partly faded, th. 4 mm. Shoot of weft over two
and under two warps.

5: 152. Pieces of mantle woven in weft rep of

light yellow-white wool, fine and soft.
Two incomplete weft stripes, w. 3 cm., on top of
each other in tapestry weave of reddish brown
wool, of same quality as the preceding one. Dist.
bctw. stripes 17.9 cm.

Warp brownish yellow, firmly twisted, th.
0.9 — 1.5 mm. 30 threads to 10 cm. Weft looser,
th. 1 — 1.5 mm. 160 threads to 10 cm. Placing of
red stripes on garment indefinable.

5 : '53- Pieces of mantle woven in weft rep of

undyed light brownish yellow wool,
fine and soft. Warp tightly twisted, th. 0.9 — 1.5
mm. 50 threads to 10 cm. Weft slightly twisted, th.
about 1.8 mm. 120 threads to 10 cm. Selvage on
two fragm. strengthened by a cordlike edge similar
to that of 5. A: 2. Th. of cord 6 mm. L. of wind-
ing 4 mm.

5:154. Plume from a head-dress, consisting

of five pointed pegs each with a tuft
of feathers attached to it with yellow wool. The
different plumes are kept apart by a transverse
peg bound to them with yellow wool. L. about 21
cm. PI. 10:5.

5:155-156. Two feathered pegs, plumes from
head-dresses. L. 23 and 20 cm.

5:157. Large head-dress of dark, greyish-

brown felt. Five pegs stuck through

the felt near the edge, forming a group; their
plumes are worn away. Below the pegs are rem-
nant stitches of a cord. At the lower edge a
chin-cord is fastened with three stitches, the cord
being made of the same wool as the felt. H. about
28 cm. PI. 10:9.

5:158. Semicircular head-dress of dark grey-

ish-brown felt with two red 4-ply
strings round it. Small fragm. of a weasel skin
fastened with red wool, inserted in the felt and
wound round the skin. Remaining stitches at op-
posite parts of lower edge from chin-cords. Short
string of same wool inserted at the middle of the
rear edge and knotted. H. about 24 cm. PI. 10:7.

5: 159. Pointed head-dress of dark brown felt

with elaborate cord ornamentation in
dark red wool. A remaining feather peg is wound
round with red wool all over. The top open,
damaged. The lower part has been finished with
scallop stitching in dark-purple yarn. The chin-cord
has been made of similar yarn. II. about 27 cm.
PI. 10:3.

5 : 160. Small pointed head-dress of dark-

brown felt with elaborate string orna-
mentation of red, 3-ply wool. Remnants of split
weasel skin fastened with red woollen yarn in-
serted in the felt and knotted round the skin. The
head-dress has one peg which has carried a plume.
The lower edge is fragmentary and finished with
scallop stitching in red. At the lower edge three
rows of stitches for the chin-cord, which is miss-
ing. H. about 28 cm. PI. 10:1.

5:161. Head-dress of dark-brown felt with

elaborate string ornamentation of
light reddish-yellow wool. Remnants of a split
weasel skin fastened with the same kind of strings.
The lower edge finished with thin scallop stitching
of similar yellow wool. II. about 24 cm. PI. 10:4.

5: 162. Piece of dark-brown felt used as bask-

et lid (Diam. about 10 cm.) fastened
with brown woollen string, wound three times
round the lid.

5: 163-168. Six different strings or cords, partly
with knots. — : 166 of wool and plant-
fibres, the rest of wool.

5:169. Piece of dark green chert (or jade)

with two surfaces polished.

5:170. Bunch of sinew-fibres tightly bound

together with light red, light green
and beige wool. L. 10.5 cm.

5:171. Bunch of Ephedra twigs, grass and

feathers, bound together with coarse
twisted strings of one red and one dark-brown
thread. L. 17 cm. Cf. 5. D:i3 — 14.

5:172. Thin bunch of stiff grass bound to-

gether with dark brown strings. L. 38
cm. PI. 9: 13.

5: 173. Small bunch of stiff grass joined to a

similar smaller bunch, both bound

together with grass or vegetable fibre. L. 16 cm.

5: 174. Long black feather, wound round with

yellow wool. Broken in two. Original
L. about 50 cm.

5:175-178. Fragm. of four pegs and feathers
bound together with wool.

5:179. Cord composed of brownish purple

wool, fine and even, the core consisting
of five threads, torn off at the ends, and tightly
wound round with untwisted yarn. Probably handle
of basket or suchlike. Compl. L. 13.5 cm.

5:180. Cord composed of nine greyish hemp

(?) strings of different length, torn at
the ends, the longest about 51 cm. Towards the
middle tightly wound with brownish red wool.
Probably the handle of a basket.

5:181. Woollen cord consisting of five

strands, of which four are pale rose-
coloured and two brown. In two places the cord
is wound with dark brown wool. Compl. L. 45 cm.
Th. 7 — 9 mm.

5:182. Two ends of coarse, dark-brown wool,

of goat's hair? Th. 3—5.

G. WATCH-TOWER AT THE SMALL RIVER. 1

Ordek also mentioned a burial place situated about 30 li to the east of Cemetery
5. We never made any attempt to find it, as we could not venture too far into the
sand desert away from the water with our poor beasts of burden in such a swelter-
ingly hot season.

1 The description of this watch-tower ought to have been included in the chapter about the ruins, but as the
ancient remains along The Small River have been treated in the order in which they were discovered I have
found it convenient to retain it here.

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Instead we turned to the south in search of
a ruined watch-tower of which Ordek spoke.
He also mentioned another tower, said to be
situated 20 li to the north-west of Cemetery 5.
If we reckon the ordinary li as between 4- and
500 m. this would take us very near The Small
River and Lake Pataliq-kol, traversed by it. Or-
der's li, however, were more elastic than any
other Turk's I have met. The limits between
which his li used to fluctuate, during the short
period I had occasion to control it, were 100 m.
and 1000 m.

The first mentioned watch-tower was easily
found nearly 18 km. SSW of Cemetery 5, and
situated among sand dunes, 6 — 7 m. high, to
the west of The Small River. The tower is built
of stamped clay. The continual erosion by wind
has worn away the sides considerably, and the
shape is now conical, PI. XIV a. It rises about
7 m. above the ground, the base was probably
square originally; it measures 16 X 19 m. It is
surrounded by a low square enclosure, partly
sand covered. Especially on this low mound-
shaped wall, but also on the ground, I found
many potsherds of large, red vessels, the major-
ity being plain. The profile of one of them is
shown on Fig. 35:2. Besides the red ware
there is also blue-grey, grey, and yellowish, all
hard-burnt, recalling the ware known from
Lou-Ian. Some fragments are shown on PI. 18:4, 5, 8, 9. Various iron fragments
and two arrow-points were also found, both of the points being triangular with tang,
PI. 18:3. A Chinese copper coin without legend, PI. 18:6, seems to be a degene-
rated Wu-ch'u, a late Han or post- Han issue. A rather large dark blue grinding
stone (mealing-stone) must have been transported to this stoneless place from far
away. On nearly all exposed clay surfaces between the sand dunes in the neighbour-
hood of the ruin I saw red pottery fragments, pieces of rusty iron and slag.

The situation of this watch station makes it highly probable that it served either
as an out-look for the Merdek fort or as a station along a road following The
Small River from Charkhliq or Miran up to Qum-darya and the Silk Road, the
latter in all probability having followed the main river.

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Fig. 18. The middle part of The Small River,
with archaeological remains.

ioo

This watch-tower was the southernmost point from which I saw The Small River.
Its winding, narrow course disappeared in a south-south-easterly direction, being
surrounded by small lakes, swampy reeds and meadows with seemingly good graz-
ing. About 20 li further down The Small River was said to form two lakes, a
Baghrash-kol, and a Kok-toghraq, and after a distance of two days' travel on horse-
back the river should terminate. Nobody could give any definite information as to
the position of the terminus of the river, but if the information obtained was cor-
rect, and I have no reason to doubt it, the river would reach very near to Qara-
qoshun. When I asked my men if it reached Shirge-chapghan they answered 'Yes',
but at other times it was stated to turn eastwards. Niaz bai, a Turk from
Charkhliq, who had his summer abode with his sheep not far from the watch-
tower, called The Small River Qum-darya, i. e. the same name as that of the mother
river. Higher up I heard one mention the name Yangi-darya, but also this is applied
to the main river. The dwindling course of one of its branches is seen on PI. X b.

When Stein, about New Year 1906* — 07, marched from Lou-Ian in a south-
westerly direction to reach the course from north to south of lower Tarim he came
upon rows of dead trees, which very likely mark the course of my Small River at
a more southerly point than that from which I saw it. I take the liberty of quoting
some passages from Stein (1921, p. 452) :

"There (at camp 130) I came upon the first rows of dead Toghraks since Camp

127 stretching in well-defined lines from north to south. the

wild poplars of the Tarim Basin show an invariable tendency to grow in lines paral-
lel to the nearest open water-courses or the channels of subsoil drainage which
continue them. Here the dead Toghraks, many of them of large size, all lay prost-
rate on the ground, and though their bleached and withered trunks and main
branches still showed clearly recognizable features, I could see that they must have
been dead far longer than those, for instance, which had grown up and died at
the Niya Site since it was abandoned about the fourth century A. D. The position of
this Toghrak grove, probably marking an ancient channel of the Tarim, was not
more than sixteen miles in a straight line from the present bed of the Ilek branch."

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM THE WATCH-TOWER

9: 1. Handle of large earthenware jug; with

projecting rim. Brick-red ware in-
termixed with coarse-grained sand. PI. 18:4.

9 : 2. Stout handle from earthenware vessel,

blue-grey ware intermixed with coarse-
grained sand.

9:3. Potsherd with a horizontal lug. Rather

thin red ware, brown inside.

9:4. High neck of an earthenware vase of

light-grey, hard-burnt ware. H. about
19 cm. Diam. of mouth 12 cm. PI. 18:5.

9 ! 5-6.

9:7-

Two potsherds from the rim of two
vessels. Dark bluish-grey ware.

Potsherd from rim of large, bulky
vessel of light-red ware intermixed
with much sand. Fig. 35 : 2.

IOI

9:8. Three joined potsherds from a large

vessel of rather thin, yellowish ware,
red inside, and decorated with a coarse pattern
incised with a double- or triple-pointed instrument.
PL 18:8.

9:9. Potsherd, probably from the same

vessel as — : 8.

9: 10. Potsherd from a largish vessel, decor-

ated with a hatched border incised
with a sharp instrument and surrounded by two
rows of small impressions. The ware is yellowish
on the outside and red on the inside. PI. 18:9.

9: 11-14.

9:i5-

9: 16.

9:17-

Four small potsherds of light-grey and
blue-grey ware.

Small Chinese copper coin without
legend, apparently a degenerated Wu-
ch'u. Diam. 17 mm. PI. 18:6.

Triangular iron arrow-head, very rusty.
L. 63 mm.

Triangular iron arrow-head, more
slender than — : 16. L. 71 mm. PI.
18:3.

H. BURIAL PLACE 7.

,: ■

From the ruined watch-tower we turned northwards again. A march of 1 1 km.,
as the crow flies took us to the small cemetery No. 7 situated to the west of The
Small River among sand dunes here and there interrupted by a few mounds with
dead tamarisks. From here Burial place 5 lies 7.5 km. to the north-east, and Burial
place 6 is situated only 1800 m. to the north-east. Cf. Fig. 18.

It contains the remains of three, probably four graves lying on and around a flat
hillock with dead tamarisks.

Grave 7 A.

The best preserved grave was 7 A, though already in a much disturbed condition
when we arrived. The coffin was made of half a hollowed-out trunk, Fig. 19.
One end was closed but had an opening at the centre, which had been shut by means
of a semicircular board placed inside the wall. The other end was open and ended
in a blunt point; it had two deeply sawn grooves to receive the ends of a semi-
circular board. These two end-boards are seen at the lower part of Fig. 19. Two
long boards had formed the lid, which had apparently been lined with thin felt. On
top of the lid there had been a layer of brushwood held together by twisted ropes of

Fig. 19. Coffin of Grave 7 A.

I02

the same material. Among this brushwood we found the skull of a sheep. In the
bottom of the coffin four stout legs were inserted, giving it a curious appearance,
but in this way the coffin was made to stand firm. The inside of it measured well
2 m. in length.

A pole nearly 2 m. long probably stood as a funeral mark or monument on the
grave.

The corpse was now lying outside its proper resting place, PI. XI a. This must
be the work of plunderers, probably Ordek. It was the most marvellously preserved
mummy I ever saw in the Lop desert, and therefore did not seem to have been ex-
posed very long to the destructive elements of the atmosphere. It was that of an
elderly, stately gentleman with a small white beard, a thin moustache and white
hair. The face was long and narrow with a very firm, broad, square chin, big, well-
preserved teeth, and a high nose. The nostrils were shut with a pair of "stoppers"
of wool wound with red silk, Pi. 25:9 — 10. These were probably placed there to
prevent effusion. 1

The parched skin of the mummy was of uniform, yellow-brown colour resembling
very dark sunburn, and preserved all over the body, PI. XI b.

The feet were enclosed in low boots of red leather and of the same cut as those
from Cemetery 5 and Grave 36.

Only some rags remained of the dress, a long gown of thin, undyed silk in plain
weave, which had an edging of strawberry-coloured silk, 5 — 6 cm. wide. Since the
dressing remains this silk stuff gives the impression of being some kind of gauze.
There are some fragments of a belt made of the same material as the gown; on PL
XI b it is seen knotted round the waist. The strip 7. A: 4 is of cotton material, i. e.
probably of Indian origin. Tied on to it is a narrow strip of red silk, figured in batik
with small lozenges. This technique is originally Indian. (Cf. Stein 1928, Ast. VI.
1.02).

The most interesting part of the dress is the collar, sewn together from seven
pieces of four different kinds of polychrome silks with bold designs and wonder-
fully bright colours, PL 18: 1. I do not intend to anticipate Miss Sylwan's treat-
ment of this highly suggestive and important piece of textile work, which, for the
discussion of the relation between East and West in the textile art is of outstanding
significance. For the description I refer to the list below, written by Miss Sylwan.
From a study of the weaving technique she has discovered the remarkable circum-
stance that the patches a and d (Fig. 20) are of Western, but the pieces e and / of
Chinese manufacture (/ is a loose piece not marked on Fig. 20). Stylistically the

1 The closing of all apertures of the corpse by inserting specially formed jade objects, a custom developed
in China during the Han dynasty, jade being used on account of the belief in its ability to preserve flesh from
decay and thus immortalize the body, may be a symbolic development of an originally hygienic procedure. This
custom of closing the apertures with some kind of substance has been, and still is, practised among several
peoples.

103

Fig. 20. Outline of the collar 7. A : 6.

winged quadruped dominating the bold pat-
tern in piece a belongs to the monster world
of the Near Eastern art sphere. From com-
bining the three pieces of a the pattern has
been slightly enlarged, but not sufficiently
to show the complete pattern.
One of the Chinese pieces, e, carries a line of an interwoven character, Ch'ang

(Glorious, Prosperous). The red pieces c and d are too worn to allow of a proper

examination of the pattern.

This one collar is a strong manifestation of the mixed cultural relations prevail-
ing in the Lou-Ian kingdom, and so typical of its status. It is the first article com-
posed of silk both from the East and from the West that has come to my knowledge.

In the third century A. D. a flourishing textile industry developed in Persia, the

factories obtaining not only fabrics but also raw silk from China (Rebel, p. '55).

Whether our Western silk pieces belong to this period or not remains an open
question.

When examining the mummy I got a strong impression of standing face to face
with a non-Chinese and non-Mongolian type, and as a matter of fact I was think-
ing the whole time of an Indian. I cannot be too positive on the last point, but the
photo PI. XI b certainly confirms my first observation.

Grave 7 B.

The coffin in grave 7 B on the eastern rim of the same hillock was half destroy-
ed and covered with dune sand. Like the coffin 7 A just described the lid had also
had a cover of brushwood. It contained a skeleton, the skull of which has been
subjected to anthropometric examination by Professor Gaston Backman to whose
forthcoming report I must refer. The coffin was situated roughly NW-SE, the
head being placed NW.

The nostrils were shut with "stoppers" wound with red silk, PI. 25 : 7—8, just as
was the case in grave 7 A. Of the dress very little remained: fragments of white
felt from the coat, edged with red-patterned silk (of Western origin, too worn to
allow any description of the design), grey woollen material from the trousers, a
cornet-shaped piece of dark-red silk found near the head, and some other frag-
ments of silk fabrics.

Grave 7 C.

Immediately to the east of grave 7 A there was a dismembered coffin of the same
construction as in Fig. 26, to be described presently. It was 2.25 m. long, the end
boards measured 40X26 cm., and the corner posts were 50X14X13 cm. One of the

104

boards had been mended, two pieces being tied together with ropes. It was placed in
S 70°W — N 70°E, and near it were lying a few human bones. Otherwise it did
not yield any objects. A narrow pole, nearly 2 m. long, had probably been erected
as a monument (cf. 7 A).

On the top of the hillock I saw the two shorter ends of a coffin of the same type
as the one just mentioned (= Fig. 26), but I could not make out if they belonged
to 7 B or to a fourth coffin.

Poles on top of mound.

At the top of the mound there were also
some low poles, much worn by the weather,
standing in an irregular circle, see plan Fig.
21. When digging in the sand filling this
"enclosure" the neck of an earthenware pot
came to light, Fig. 35 : 9. Probably these poles
were erected as some sort of grave monu-
ments as a very poor imitation of the impos-
ing monuments on Cemetery 5. The irregu-
lar shape, and in fact the whole arrangement
hardly favour the assumption that these re-
mains are those of a hut.

Fig. 21. Plan of erected posts at Burial place 7.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM BURIAL PLACE 7

Grave 7 A.

7. A: 1. Seven large fragm. from a gown of
loosely woven silk, undyed, discoloured
to brown, in plain weave, with remaining dressing
(glue from silk worm?). One fairly large piece
has fragm. from back and front with seam; a
gusset is inserted in the lower part of the gown.
Here is a patch of loosely woven silk in plain
weave, undyed, slippery. It is uncertain whether
the coat has been lined with this silk.

Strips of strawberry-coloured silk taffeta, 5 — 6
cm. wide, are sewn on to the edges of several
fragm. of silk from the gown. One piece shows
red silk strip with a pleat round the corner.

The seams of the gown are made of rather
coarse, undyed (?) silk.

7. A -.2-3. Portions of waist-band, sewn together
with the same undyed silks as in the
gown.

7. A 14. Strip of undyed, yellowish-white cot-

ton fabric in plain weave, partly dis-

coloured to brown. Cut somewhat on the bias right
across width. In one half two shoots, each consist-
ing of two blue cotton threads. Around the strip
is tied another strip of red silk taffeta, figured in
batik with small lozenges.

7. A 15. Strip of same kind as — 14 but not

tied. L. 72.5 cm.

7. A: 6. Collar of the gown, sewn together of
several pieces of silk of four or five
patterns. At one end is a strip of the same silk as
the undyed one from gown. At the other end a
strip of undyed cotton fabric in plain weave,
meant for tying. The collar has been folded. Silks
a and b have probably been on the outside, cf.
Fig. 20.

a) Figured weft-rib, figure warp 2-ply. Ground
deep blue. Pattern red, beige, bluish green,
white and blue from ground, incomplete horned
quadruped with straight upright wings, lion's
tail with check pattern and indistinct orna-
mental shapes. Western origin.

■

:
■:

105

b) Figured weft-rib, 2-pIy. Figure warp. Ground
beige-yellow. Pattern red and white, indistinct.

c) Figured weft-rib, 2-ply, figure warp. Weft
twisted or untwisted. Ground beige. Pattern
red, indistinct.

d) Figured weft-rib, 2-ply, figure warp. Ground
beige. Pattern red, indistinct. Western origin.

e) Patterned warp-rib, selvage. Ground grey ; pat-
tern red, bluish green, black, indistinct. One
Chinese character interwoven.

f) Small separate strip. Figure warp-rib, selvage.
Ground deep blue. Pattern white, red, bluish
green. Chinese origin.

PL 18: 1.

7. A : 7-8. Two stoppers, which were inserted in
the mummy's nostrils. Made of felt
wound round with red silk. L. about 5 cm. PI.
25 : 9—10.

Grave

7. B : 1.

7 B.

Fragments of white felt from coat,
slightly rugged, edged with strip of
figured silk, weft-rib, red and grey. Folded edg-
ing around corners. Shape and pattern indistinct.

7. B:2. Fragm. of greyish yellow woollen

fabric in plain weave, from trousers.

7. B:3. Strip, composed of two pieces of red

silk taffeta sewn together, with two
strips of undyed silk taffeta attached.

7. B:4- Piece of undyed slippery silk, in plain

weave, of a kind often used as lining.
(Cf. 7- A: 1).

7. B : 5. Piece of dark-red, loosely woven silk

in plain weave, sewn together in corn-
et shape. Was lying near corpse's head. H. 18.5
cm. W. about 10 cm.

7. B : 6. Human hair, dark brown and grey,
partly tied with red silk taffeta, sewn
together with undyed silk taffeta, the latter wider
towards the free end.

7. B : 7-8. Two small stoppers from corpse's
nostrils. Wound round with red silk
in plain weave and undyed thread. L. about 3 cm.
PL 25: 7—8.

7. B : 9. String of hemp or grass, tied in a loop.

Find during excavation among
poles erected on burial place 7.

7. C: 1. Two joined potsherds from rim of

small jug. Marked rim and short neck.

Light reddish-yellow ware intermixed with finely

grained sand. Diam. of mouth 12 cm. Fig. 35:9.

I BURIAL PLACE 6.

This burial place is also situated on the western side of The Small River, only
1800 m. from Burial place No. 7, and 6 km. SW of No. 5. It is surrounded by sand
and dry tamarisk mounds in a landscape of the utmost barrenness, PI. XII a. I first
came across this site on my way to Burial place 5 when I brought away some of the
contents of Grave 6 A, but only after having completed the examination of the other
graves in the region did I undertake the principal survey.

Grave 6 A.

The richest grave, 6 A, lies between 6 B and 6 C. The coffin was exposed in the
sand, and was made of half a hollowed out poplar trunk, 2.1X0.65 m., with nearly
oval end-boards and a lid of one or two long boards that had been covered with
brushwood. On PI. XII b a part of the emptied coffin is seen on the extreme left.
The situation of the coffin was S8o°W— N 8o°E, the head being placed in the
eastern end.

The corpse was that of a woman, as seen from the dress and the accessories. The
skull has been handed over to Prof. Backman for examination. Very little remained
of the corpse save the skeleton.

106

!red CZmilpaLlemea HDbon MM .ic«r G223qr«rt

Fig. 22. The cape 6. A : I.

uAdjed

She was most elegantly dressed in silk from top to toe. The most complicated
and puzzling part of the garment is a sort of cape, now in three pieces, one back
part and two front parts. These were apparently joined on the shoulders but open
at the sides, and in front, Fig. 22. The front parts reached the wrists, and during
the examination of the coffin I therefore believed the lower edges of the front
parts of the cape to be sleeves. Both back and front parts have a broad border of
lozenges of sewn-on silks in green, red, violet and brown colours. A ribbon in coarse
warp-rib runs along the upper side of this border; on PI. 16: 5 is seen a detail of its
pattern. The ground-pattern of the ribbon is built up of checks with the same con-
formation as the five on a die. After every third of these "fives" follows a figure
of varying shape. One of them reminds one of two combs opposed to each other,
another is slightly reminiscent of the outline of a bronze ornament among the Or-
dos bronzes such as Arne 1933 PL VII: 10 — 12.

The front parts of the cape have each two pointed lappets, which apparently
hung down on each side of the opening in front when the cape was worn open.
These elements are quite strange, as one would expect them to be placed horizont-
ally and not vertically. When the front parts of the cape were tied together the right
part totally covered the left one. There is a ribbon on the left shoulder for fasten-
ing the cape, and when so worn the lappets of the left side were visible in the
opening for the right arm.

The prune-coloured borders of the edges near the arms end in points, too, but less
pronounced than in the case of the lappets.

The upper part (when worn) of this cape is much damaged as seen in Fig. 22,
and the joining between the three parts is therefore somewhat hypothetical. As no
traces of any head-gear were found it is not absolutely out of the question that the
cape was large enough to cover the head too as some sort of hood. Even if we lack

107

*"*

**d pto-rt ta*i5JfCd,poii€rAedE^3pou^p^cd r^bon IE2-3 g*"cfin i jtifldytC

~* *

Fig. 23. The shirt 6. A: 2 (dotted lines = invisible edges).

exact parallels to such an arrangement certain Central Asiatic tribes of our day use
women's head-dresses of very voluminous shape which may afford at least some
points of general resemblance. But this conjecture is very uncertain.

Below the cape the buried lady wore a shirt with bodice of undyed silk taffeta
with very long sleeves completely covering the hands, Fig. 23. The lower part of
the sleeves is adorned with a thin red silk damask in plain weave and twill, with a
pattern of rows of zig-zag lines attached to ribs between which are both diamonds
and human figures of a highly geometrized shape, PI. 16:9, (this photograph was
taken with translucent light). The pattern has a general likeness to Han dynasty
tiles with simple geometric ornaments and with Han silks in general. Below this part
the sleeves have an edging of plain green silk.

The ornamentation of the front part of the bodice consists of a red silk strip runn-
ing round the neck and along the opening in front. This strip is followed by a silk
ribbon in warp-rib weave, 4 cm. wide, with three similar parallel borders in differ-
ent shades of buff, each having a lion in a field with reversed colours. The outer
border of this ribbon shows distinctly, because the colours are here red and white,
PI. 16: 1. The shape of the lions is not very naturalistic and not so well executed
as those on the lion border on a shoe among Stein's finds (Stein 1928, PL XLII,
L. H. 04). The right part of the front apparently overlapped the left part, as the
latter has a shorter "lion-ribbon" than the former.

In a loose ribbon at the right hip were tied a pair of iron scissors, or more cor-
rectly shears as it is made in one piece, PI. 16:2. The description of a pair of
scissors found in the Astana cemetery nearly corresponds to ours (Stein 1928, p.
685, Ast. i. 8.05). A pair of T'ang silver shears in the Asiatic Collections in Berlin
also shows the same construction with the limbs crossed over from side to side form-.
ing a loop (Kummel, PL 95); another T'ang specimen is depicted in Katori PL
94: 5. This figure-of-eight shape is unknown on European shears; their handles or
springs are always open. Our Lop-nor specimen does not correspond absolutely
with the T'ang shears referred to and is not necessarily of the same age as these.

108

red

j I

oiel Pfr-S'-l

g^'een

brown oh

jndjed aeam

Fig. 24. The skirt 6. A 13, spread out.

The skirt reached the ankles, being approximately I m. long, and was originally
quite wide, consisting of at least nine panels. Before being placed in the grave it
was cut open, and in Fig. 24 is seen a drawing of the unfolded garment. The
lower part has a border, 12 — 14 cm. wide, made up of horizontal strips of green,
red, brown and violet silks. Above this border there is a zone of elegantly arranged
frills between vertical passe-poils. When worn, the outline of the skirt must have had
something in common with those cornet-shaped skirts widening downwards which
are depicted on the Han clay statuettes (for instance Siren, Vol. 2 PL 76) and the
painted tomb tiles from Lo-yang in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

The legs of the trousers measure also about 1 m. in length. They are made with
wide legs which are gathered and close-
fitting round the ankles, Fig. 25. The trou-
sers on a small terra-cotta figurine from
Khotan seem to be of the same style (Mon-
tell 193s, PL IX: 7).

There are also fragments from the
sleeves of an under-garment, but the rest
of it consists of undefinable fragments.
The same kind of undyed plain weave silk
is used in all the wearing apparels.

So far, this is the only more or less com-
plete lady's dress from the time of Lou-
Ian not only in Eastern Turkistan but in

Fig. 25. Silk trousers 6. A : 4.

109

the whole of China. It is therefore scarcely surprising that it remains quite uni-
que as to style and cut.

Miss Sylwan has reconstructed the whole garment, and without the aid of her
deep knowledge and understanding of textile matters I should never have been
able to clear up the different fragmentary elements of this puzzling dress and com-
bine them to form something like a complete garment. What has come out of it is
therefore totally due to Miss Sylwan's untiring labour. She has tentatively charac-
terized it as of non-Chinese style though the fabric it is sewn of is of Chinese origin.

None of the plentiful Chinese grave sculptures of clay or the larger stone
sculptures show any dresses cut to the same model as ours, and a search for an
Indian parallel is equally unsuccessful. Some general resemblances are of course to
be found, both with Chinese and Indian-influenced and Iranian specimens. Let us
hope that Miss Sylwan will be able to determine the homeland of this type of
dress in her coming investigation of the silk materials from Lop-nor and Edsen-
gol, collected by me during Sven Hedin's expeditions.

A round pouch or small bag of undyed silk taffeta, PI. 16:4, was carried at the
right side of the waist. The loose bands seen on the plate, besides serving as an
attachment, were also decorative, as they are tied in artful knots. The red ribbon
encircling the pouch had gold ornaments glued on to it.

Near the waist the rusty iron mirror PI. 16:6 was found, with its cover of red
silk bordered by a beige-coloured ribbon with a pattern of squares, and once carry-
ing a row of small attached gold spots. *

This technique of glueing small pieces of hammered gold on to soft material is,
according to Miss Sylwan, probably Chinese.

A small embossed bronze plate, PI. 17:3, certainly adorned the garment too.
Stein found identical gilded plates near Lou-Ian (Stein 1928, PI. XXVI, L. C.
020).

The wooden spindle-whorl still sticking on its peg, which has a small perforation
near the upper end, also belongs to the outfit of this lady, PI. 16: 8.

Round the neck she wore a simple necklace of strings with a few small white beads
of stone or shell, and some of gilt glass in the front. Unfortunately this necklace
was lost in the transit from the cemetery to the camp and could not be recovered.
From Cemetery 5, however, we have a somewhat similar one (5. K:2). The
white beads were of the type shown on PI. 15: 15 and the glass beads of an oblong
shape. The latter are no doubt of Western origin. Similar ones have been found in
the Lou-Ian station.

Among the remains of the garment was found the doll's dress PI. 17: 1, 2,
4» 5* consisting of a coat, two shirts and a pair of shorts. There was, however,
no doll. In spite of this it is highly probable that the doll's garment was
placed in the grave as an expression of the same belief that caused the felt doll to be
placed in Grave 10 and the rag doll in Grave 36 (cf. pp. 56 and 137).

The silk bag PL 16: 7, found near the shears, is of Chinese make, as are all the
textiles in this grave. The colours are now pale, on a brown ground the elegant floral
design is executed in blue and light green(?). The outlines are very delicate, and
the pattern covers the whole surface. A line of a Chinese character runs through
the flower scrolls along the length of the bag; it is hard to discern with certainty
but it is probably meant to be a nien (year) cf. Stein's L. C. II. 03.

Fig. 26. Coffin 6 B. From above, one extremity and one
side. In the top picture the lid is removed.

Grave 6 B.

Only 3 m. to the north of Grave 6 A, and parallel to it, lies Grave 6 B. The
coffin was dismembered but could easily be rebuilt, PI. XII b. The construction of
this type is the most elaborate among those used in the Lop-nor region. As seen
from the drawing Fig. 26 it is built of
four square corner posts in which the ©"

broad boards forming the sides and the
ends are inserted with tenons, which
have been kept steady by two dowels
through each one. The board forming
the bottom rests on a special cross-
bar between the corner posts. The
ideal reconstruction Fig. 27 is to show
how the different members were joined.
The lid is made of two long boards

joined to each other with small dowels. No marks could be seen show-
ing, how the lid was fixed to the coffin. The big heap of brushwood on the right
side in PI. XII b was no doubt placed on top of the lid, and the whole thing was
probably tied to the coffin with ropes.

The corner posts form real legs reaching 19 cm. below the bottom, thus giving the
coffin the appearance of a bedstead. For comparison with the size of the identical,
though less well-preserved, coffin from Burial place 7 (p. 104)1 give the measure-
ments here. Length of side boards 173 cm., size of end boards 44X34 cm., size of
corner posts 55X1 1X9 cm.

On Burial place 4 I saw some small fragments of this type of coffin, and Stein
found it in at least one of this cemeteries (L. H. Stein 1928, Fig. 169).

The coffin was lined with white felt, partly sticking to the boards. Of the skele-
ton only fragments remained, beside parts of the dress of the corpse: fragments of
a silk coat and trousers, and a coat of cotton fabric. The latter may possibly have
been the lining of the silk coat. The piece of a coarse mantle woven in four-leafed
twill of hair, and having broad browns stripes, PI. 27: n, was probably some kind of
matting or blanket. Both technique and material are different from those of the
mantles from Cemetery 5.

Two silk ribbons were also found,
one of which probably with the
same lion pattern as PI. 16: i
though now indistinct, the other
with a red and white chess-board
pattern, PL 18:2, both woven in
warp-rib.

A trifling piece of patterned
polychrome silk, No. 6. B : 7, has
an interwoven Chinese character.

The fragmentary embossed
bronze plate PL 15: 1 was, certain-
ly, originally affixed to some soft
material, probably the garment.
A bone handle with a remaining part of an iron knife, PL 16: 3, and a wooden
arrow-shaft, PL 18: II, were also found inside the coffin, the latter indicating the
male sex of the corpse. From the size of the coat one infers that he was rather
heavily built. The arrow-shaft has a marked notch for the bow-string, and in the
front end the tang of an iron arrow-point is still sticking.

A small bundle of dark brown hair might be an offering, as in many other Lop-
nor graves (cf. Grave 36, etc.).

Fig. 27. Ideal corner construction of a coffin of the type Fig. 26.
A) corner post, B) support of bottom, C) bottom, D) side board,

E) end-board, F) lid.

Grave 6 C.

io m. SSW of coffin 6 A there was a third coffin, situated in S 70 W— N 70°E,
a half hollowed-out trunk that was split and worn by weather. It measured 2.15
m. in length. As in the other two coffins the head was lying in the eastern end, and
the coffin was lined with felt. Only parts of the skeleton and of the garment re-
mained. The latter in certain features reminds one of the dress in Grave 6 A, for
instance a lower edge of a skirt (?) with nearly the same arrangement of differ-
ent-coloured stripes as the big skirt Fig. 24, and in addition, vertical pleats after
the same model as that represented on a most beautiful tomb statuette of immedi-
ate post-Han date in the Eumorfopoulos collection (Siren 1930, PL in). It had
some small traces of beaten gold on it, which had apparently been glued on to the
silk. The painted spots on the garment of the clay statuette referred to above are
possibly meant to represent such applied ornaments of metal.

A sleeve, 6. C:4, is 40 — 45 cm. wide.

Besides the textile fragments no funeral deposit was discovered.

112

PI. XI

a. Grave 7 V

b. The mummy in Grave 7 A.

PL XII.

*mrafr ^^

■^

i£ - -■ ■ *--

-*"

**-,

> 1*

nBHKH^nVilH

, v

**■ #*

<-;— vr

r* —

a- The surroundings of Burial place 6.

«LdP

*"''-'*

fe>

^^^^^^

.' ^

* *

b. The coffin 6 B. The brushwood to the right has been placed on top of the fid. To the left the

opened coffin 6 A.

A fourth grave 5 m. NE of 6 B had been totally destroyed by the action of
weather, except some pieces of human bones lying at the side of a bunch of brush-
wood.

All the three coffins were almost completely exposed, and it could not be ascer-
tained whether they had been buried in pits in the ground or covered by some super-
structures. It is not likely that the coffin type Fig. 26 was dug down in the
ground , it more probably stood in some kind of hut. Stein found some evidence of
such burials (Stein 1928, L. H.).

Enclosure near grave 6 B.

About 20 m. to the north of Grave 6
enclosure, 6 x 7.5 m., lying in the same di
marked by pieces of logs about 0.6 m. in
fallen down.

Digging inside this enclosure we came
wooden cups of a roughly semi-globular
coarsely made and of the same type as PI.
was of the opinion that I was dealing with
been a grave where everything interred

B there were traces of a rectangular
rection as the coffins. The "walls" were
length and lying in a row as if they had

across four more or less fragmentary

shape and with a ring handle. They are

19: 5 — 6, though smaller. At that time I

a small dwelling, but it may as well have

save the cups had been destroyed.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM BURIAL PLACE 6

Grave 6 A.

6. A: I. Cape of silk, fragmentary. Three

pieces preserved: back and two front
parts. Final shape somewhat unsure. The plain
part of the cape is of undyed taffeta. On
both lateral edges of the back and on the edges
of the front part towards the back there are broad
bands of prune-coloured taffeta, forming points
downwards. At the lower edge of the back a broad
straight lozenge border of taffeta in various col-
ours. From left: bluish-green, deep red, green,
prune, natural, yellowish-red (discoloured), green
and brown. The lozenges arc separated by a nar-
row edging of brown rep. The border is edged at
the bottom with similar brown rep. Between the
lozenge border and the undyed silk of the cape
there runs a band in coarse warp-rib weave. This
band has red edges and in the middle is a buff
and faded green pattern, consisting of repeated
fields of checks alternating with ornamental fig-

ures of various shapes, one in each interspace (de-
tail PL 16:5).

The front parts of the cape terminate at the
bottom in a border of the same kind as the back.
The finish towards the front of the border of both
parts is frayed, indefinite. The woven silk band
on the left side runs 5 cm. outside the border, on
the other side both band and border arc cut off.
Towards each side of the front, corresponding to
the prune-coloured bands, arc two hanging pointed
lappets, each edged on the one side with green, on
the other side with red taffeta. Cf. Fig. 22.

In the back part the full width of the fabric is

about 47 cm.

6. A: 2. Shirt of silk, consisting of back, two

front pieces and long sleeves. Bodice
of undyed, yellowish taffeta, ornamented with red
taffeta and woven red and white borders. The up-
per part of the sleeves is of the same undyed silk
as in the bodice, the lower part being of red

damask. At the wrist a band of plain rep in pis-
tachio green. The garment has a waist band
fastened at the side seams. Large parts are miss-
ing, but reconstruction is possible, Fig. 23.

The ornamentation of the front pieces continues
round the neck towards the front, with red silk
strip, about 4 cm. wide, and a silk ribbon in warp-
rib weave, 4 cm. wide, with three similar parallel
borders of different colours, each with a stylized
lion in a field in reversed colours, PI. 16 : 1. The
pattern of the outer border, alternating in red and
white, quite distinct, the others are indefinite.
This band is missing on the left lower front piece,
the right one having been laid over the left.

The red silk, forming the lower part of the
sleeves, is of damask in plain weave and twill,
biased and composed of several pieces. The pattern
consists of rows of zig-zag lines of various kinds
attached to ribs, between which are partly dia-
monds, partly human shapes. PI. 16:9.

At the lower part of the bodice is a waistband,
sewn on with undyed silk, to hold the dress to-
gether. In the right-hand seam are similarly applied
ribbons of the same silk as in the bodice, with
loops in one of which the pair of scissors — : 12
was suspended.

All the seams arc turned towards the back or
inside. Fig. 23.

6. A: 3. Skirt of silk, undyed and resembling
taffeta, composed of biased panels, one
of which is much broader than the others and
gathered at the bottom, with a border in various
colours. At one side the skirt was cut between
two panels before burial. Nine panels are now
distinguishable, although some remnants suggest
the possibility of even more. Of these nine, three
are well preserved. Five panels form one part,
four another. The top of the skirt had been
gathered; the waistband is missing. The panels
are sewn together with plain seams as far as to
about 22 cm. from the bottom of the skirt, then
tightly gathered about 10 cm. Then conies the
border hanging like a frill. The panel seams are
covered from the bottom up to as far as about
half the height with edgings of coloured silk of
plain weave. From the right: red, red, red, prune,
red, prune, red, prune, red; the last scam is with-
out edgings, the first width being only a small
piece.

The border is made separately and lined with
the same undyed silk as in the skirt, and sewn
on to its lower edge. It is composed of double
strips of silk taffeta turned downwards and sewn
together successively at the lower edge with silk
of the same colour as the strip. The colours of the
strips from the bottom upwards, and with disting-

uishable measurements: undyed silk 37 mm., green
(partly discoloured), red, undyed, dun fawn and
prune, each about 8 mm., with red strip about 45
mm. on top. Fig. 24.

6. A: 3a. Fragm. of waistband (?) sewn to-
gether, of undyed silk.

6. A 14. Silk trousers, undyed taffeta, full

width of fabric 47 cm. Two widths are
used for each leg; the scams at the sides. The
front part is missing. In the hind part a piece
from the fork is preserved. At the top is a double
edge in which is inserted a folded silk strip, 6 cm
wide, for fastening the trousers round the waist.
Trousers gathered at ankles and edged with double
silk strip. Seams sewn with undyed silk. Fig. 25.

6. A:5a-b. Two sleeves, fragmentary, from under-
garment, of undyed silk taffeta, sewn
with the full width of the fabric, about 47
cm. Cut in rounded shape. The scams turned in,
sewn with undyed silk.

6. A: 6. Piece of undyed silk taffeta, full
width of fabric 46.5 cm.

6. A:7a-b. Ribbon and strips of undyed, plain
silk weave.

6. A:8a-c. Silk ribbons, folded, plain weave.

6. A:9a-b. Several fragm. of undyed, brown and
red silk taffeta of various qualities.

6. A: 9 c. Several fragm. of undyed, loosely
woven cotton fabric in plain weave,
partly white, partly discoloured to brown.

6. A: 10. Pouch of rather coarse silk taffeta.
undyed, yellowish. Sewn out of one
straight piece gathered at both ends. At one of
these ends are two ribbons, with knots, loops and
ends running through the gathering; two ribbons
arc sewn on at each- side of pouch opening, with
the ends torn off. The ribbons are sewn with the
edges folded in and then turned. Round the middle
of the pouch is sewn a folded strip of red taffeta
with remains of imprints of hammered gold.
Reddish brown untwined silk has been used. The
pouch is lined with undyed, loosely woven silk
in plain weave, poor quality. Diam. about 7.5 cm.
PI. 16:4.

6. A: 11. Bag of figured silk, warp-rib. Ground
prune-coloured. The pattern is com-
posed of fine light-green floral scrolls. This col-
our is also used for outlining buds and flowers
of blue. One Chinese character woven in. Very
frayed, the silk discoloured. Small remnants of
lining of undyed (?) taffeta at one edge. 15.7X8.3
cm. PI. 16:7.

114

6. A: 12. Iron shears. The limbs cross each
other just above the blades, the spring
thus forming a loop. Rusted. Point of one blade
missing. The cutting edges have been 3.5 cm. long.
L. 9.6 cm. PI. 16:2.

6. A: 13. Iron mirror, circular with central
knob on back. Very rusty. Diam. 8.5
cm. PI. 16:6.

6. A: 14. Roundel of red taffeta covering back
of mirror — : 13. Lined and edged
with buff damask in plain weave and twill, figur-
ed in checks. Along the edge of the damask and
next to the red silk arc remains of hammered gold
plate and marks of paste, showing that the gold
lay like small roundels along the edge. Between
the red silk and the damask a layer of thin, white
felt. The edging sewn on with red silk. Diam.
about 8 cm. PI. 16:6 (before removal from mir-
ror).

6. A 115. Small embossed bronze plate, circular
with two perforations at the edge for
fastening to a garment or suchlike. Diam. 13 mm.
PI- 17:3.

6. A: 16. Wooden spindle whorl on a peg, 26
cm. long, with a small suspension hole
at the upper end. The whorl is nearly hemispheri-
cal. Diam. 3.9 cm. PI. 16:8.

6. A: 17. Doll's shirt of undyed taffeta with
shaped bodice. No seams at the should-
ers, a cut opening and a slit for the neck, also for
the sleeves. The seams turned in, sewn with fine
silk of the same colour as the garment. Marks of
stitches along all open edges. L. 12.5 cm. PI. 17:4.

6. A: 18. Doll's jacket of same silk as — 117,
with shaped bodice. The lower part
missing. Sleeves of kimono shape, sewn on with-
out hem at the wrists. One sleeve torn off. All
seams turned in, sewn with fine untwined silk in
the garment's colour. L. of compl. sleeve 4.7 cm.
PI. 17: x.

6. A : 19. Doll's trousers of undyed silk rep
somewhat coarser than — 117 — 18.
Each leg made of folded piece with selvage at the
bottom, and the seams turned in towards the middle
and the fork. Sewn with silk. L. of legs about 5.5
cm. PI. 17:2.

6. A:20. Doll's coat of same silk as shirt and
jacket. The front open; the upper part
is of kimono shape with sleeves sewn on. The left
sleeve missing. The lower part, sewn on around
the waist, has inserted gores, slightly broadened
towards the bottom. Round the neck a strip of red
silk rep, 1.2 cm. wide, is sewn on. At the lower part
of the coat, from the bodice to the bottom edge,

folded strips of yellowish-brown taffeta, about 1.8
cm. wide, are sewn on. L. of coat with collar, along
the middle of the back 14.5 cm. W. of shoulders
10.5 cm. PI. 17:5.

Grave 6 B.

6. B: r. Back of a man's coat of silk taffeta,

discoloured to brown, probably undyed,
partly fragmentary. Shaped around the waist and
with two gores in the side seam under the right
sleeve. A portion of the sleeve remaining. The up-
per part has an open slit on the right side edged
with brown silk taffeta. On the left side a small
fragm. of brown silk. Fastened to the neck is a
fragm. of the collar, consisting of a strip of un-
dyed taffeta, edged with a narrower strip of brown
silk.

6. B:2. Back of a coat of cotton fabric in

plain weave, partly fragmentary. The
shape is rather similar to — : 1. Brown remnants
of silk taffeta at neck, slit and lower edge. Gore
at right arm. Slit indistinct. The fabric partly in
good condition, white.

6. B : 3. Portion of trousers of undyed silk taf-

feta. Two pieces with a seam in the
middle, and part of the fork sewn on to them.

6. B : 4. Several remnants of undyed silk taf-

feta.

6. B ; 5. Silk ribbon, figured warp-rib, divided
lengthwise into three; the middle part
has had a red and white pattern, probably the same
lion-pattern as on the ribbon on the shirt 6. A: 2
(Cf. PI. 16: 1). Preserved L. 32 cm. W. 3.4 cm.

6. B : 6. Silk ribbon, figured warp-rib, with

checks in red and white. 11.5X2.3 cm.
PI. 18:2.

6. B : 7. Two small pieces of figured silk, warp-
rib in blue, buff and red (?) In the
close, indefinable pattern a Chinese character.
They have been sewn on to undyed silk.

6. B : 8. Fragm. of thick mantle or blanket of
light brown and somewhat mixed
brown coarse animal's hair of the same quality.
Woven in 4-leafed twill over two and under two
warps. Warp: invisible mixed brown yarn, th. 2
mm; about 40 threads to 10 cm. Weft: th. 2 — 3
mm; 70 threads to 10 cm. Selvage at one side, 1.5
cm. wide with five warp-threads over which the
wefts are laid in loops.

Dark-brown stripes, 2.5 — 3.2 cm wide, arranged
in pairs. The broader light space between the
striped parts is 2.4 — 9.2 cm; the narrower light
space within each part respectively 2.5 and 3.7 cm.
PI. 27:11.

:>1

6. B : 9- Fragm. of embossed bronze plate : two

petals of a rosette with raised border
and a raised inner line, denoting a second layer of
petals? Dress ornament. PI. 15:1.

6. B : 10. Fragm. of iron knife with bone handle,
made of a rib. The handle 96X16 mm.
PL 16:3.

6. 8: IX. Arrow of light wood, of nearly uni-
form thickness. Deep notch at the base
to receive bow-string. The top splintered, contain-
ing the remains of the iron tang of the arrow-
point. L. 56 cm. PI. 18: 11.

6. B:i2. Oblong wooden object. At each end
a broader and flatter part. Narrow
and high in the middle. Much weathered. L. about
40 cm.

6. 8:13. Bunch of dark-brown human hair.

Grave 6 C.

6. C:i. Lower edge of a skirt (?) similar to
6. A: 3, of undyed silk-rep with frill
of silk taffeta, consisting of a part, 6 cm. wide,
with vertical pleats. Below this are five strips,
8 — 9 mm. wide, of silks in the following colours:
natural, prune, natural, brown and red. At the
bottom a band of undyed silk taffeta, 5 cm. wide.
Small remnants of hammered gold here and there
on the garment

6. C:2. Fragm. of skirt lining (?) of coarse

fabric in tabby weave, probably of
hemp. At the top a folded edge gathered with
rough thread of hemp or grass.

6. C:3. Fragm. of silk taffeta, white, with
marks of stains from red fabric. One
selvage.

6. C:4* Sleeve, very wide, of undyed silk taf-

feta with adjoining piece of the bodice.
The sleeve is composed of several different pieces
joined together, fragmentary. Full w. of fabric
46 cm.

6. C:5-6. Two strips of red silk taffeta.

6. C:7- Various remnants of undyed silk taf-
feta, partly with adjoining red silk.

6. C:8. Small piece of cotton fabric in tabby

weave.

6. O9. Small piece of woollen fabric in plain

weave.

6. C:io. Ribbon of brownish red silk taffeta.

6. C:xi. Three fragm. of brown silk taffeta.

Hut (?) near to the N of grave 6 B.

6. D:i. Semicircular wooden cup or dipper

with remains of a ring-shaped handle.
Coarsely made out of one piece. The bottom some-
what flattened. Diam. about 8 cm. H. 5 cm.

6. D:2-3. Two wooden cups of the same kind
as — : 1 but more damaged. Diam.
about 8 and 8.5 cm.

6. D:4- One half of a wooden cup of the same
kind as — : 1 — 3. Diam. about 9.5 cm.
H. about 5 cm.

J. BURIAL PLACE 4.

On the western side of The Small River 8 km. WNW from Burial place 5 and
7 km. NNW of Burial place 6 there is a totally destroyed burial place that I have
called No. 4 because it was really found previous to No. 5, though it is better
mentioned here, after the smaller cemeteries 6 and 7.

Surrounded by tamarisk cones with dead vegetation were four or six destroyed

coffins lying on the ground. The wood was much weathered and the boards had

dried into curious rolls. Both hollowed-out trunks and the type Fig. 26 had been

used as coffins. Only few traces of human bones were to be seen.

I collected some pieces of yellow silk and a coarser fabric, and some dark-brown
human hair.

To judge from the type of the coffins this burial place was of the same kind as
No. 6 and 7.

116

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM BURIAL PLACE 4

4:1.

4:2.

4:3-

Bunch of coarse black-brown human
hair.

Several very frayed fragm. of fine red
woollen fabric in tabby weave.

Pieces of silk, packed together, origin-
ally yellow. Blood-stained?

4:4. Two fragm. of cotton fabric, original-

ly white, discoloured to fawn, each
sewn together with a ribbon of silk, also discol-
oured. Both cotton and silk in plain weave. 16.7X
10.6 and 7.2X1.9 cm.

4=5-

Piece of silk, originally yellow, now
reddish.

K. DISCUSSION ON THE MINOR CEMETERIES.

These three minor burial places along The Small River — where future explor-
ations will certainly reveal still more — differ sharply from Cemetery 5.

There are several types of coffins, but none similar to those in No. 5. The minor
places lack impressive wooden monuments, and the whole grave deposit, both
shrouds and accessories, are distinctly unlike what was met with at No. 5. Very
little is of local make, all the silk and cotton fabrics, for instance, being importa-
tions from China and India respectively. For some of the silks of which the collar
7. A : 6 is composed we have to assume a Bactrian or Iranian origin.

It is not impossible that at least some of those buried in this way were real
Indians. But whether Indians or not, they were no doubt of a social standing far
above that of the autochthons buried in Cemetery 5. This distinction in social status
does not exclude a chronological difference.

Like much else of the Lop-nor material the dating of these graves is attended with
considerable difficulty. The close resemblance to some of Stein's Chinese graves
nearer to the Lou-Ian station makes it highly probable that the same chronological
limits are valid, i. e. approx. 100 B. C. and approx. 330 A. D.

The Small River with its narrow channel, which nevertheless furnished the
whole water supply for those living in this part of the Lop desert, must be very sen-
sitive to fluctuations in the water amount of its mother river, Qum-darya. It is not
out of the question that The Small River dried up completely before Qum-darya
became quite dry, and if so the region around The Small River became un-
inhabitable earlier than approx. 330 A. D.

The map Fig. 18 gives an idea of the general situation of the burial places in
the region of The Small River. None of them is placed immediately next to the
river-bed but some distance away from it. Cemetery 5 lies isolated, which stresses
its difference from the small cemeteries.

If the burial sites were thus placed some way off from the river the dwellings of
the living must have been situated near the water. But of these no structural
remains were found.

117

4- GRAVES IN THE DELTA OF QUM-DARYA.

In the introduction to the section dealing with the ancient remains along The

Small River I have referred to the beginning of Dr. Hedin's journey in native

canoes from Konche along the Konche-darya. He continued along the whole

course of the new river Qum-darya. The beginning of May 1934 saw him and his

party in the jagged delta of Qum-darya, where he discovered and examined some

ancient graves containing articles of considerable importance to the student of

archaeology and ethnology. The outer setting and the events of these excavations

are described in Dr. Hedin's personal narrative "Den vandrande sjon" pp. 102—
117, (German edition "Der wandernde See" pp. 90 — 103.).

A. MASS-GRAVE 1 (NO. 34).

On May 6th, 1934, Sven Hedin's men found a tomb on a mighty mesa or eroded
ridge of clay in the middle of the delta near its northern edge. The mesa was 25
m. high, the tomb being situated 17.5 m. above water level. It was found to be a
collective grave consisting of a rather shallow rectangular pit located NE— SW as
were also the extension of the mesa, with roofing of wooden boards, and a couple
of standing poles marking its edge.

Fifteen human skulls and some other human bones were lying in a jumble with
rags of various fabrics, wooden objects of many kinds, and so forth. There were
no complete skeletons or mummies. Judging from the number of skulls the extant
bones were only about one fifth of what they ought to have been.

The pit did not contain any coffins. What Hedin calls a much decayed canoe
found in the pit is, however, probably the remains of a coffin.

Three of the skulls and the lower jaw of a fourth were brought away; they have
been handed over to Prof. Gaston Backman for examination, to whose forth-
coming report I refer.

All the funeral deposit, save some, badly decayed or fragmentary bowls, was
taken away. Cf. PL XIII a.

Here follows a brief survey of the objects; for a more detailed description I refer
to the list on pp. 128 et seq.

Vessels.

The two pottery jars PL 21 : 2—3 are of typical Han shape, and the light grey
ware is also typical of the Han period. The higher one very much resembles a speci-
men from Charchan, PL 35 : 3.

The wooden vessels are in the majority. Of the cups or dippers shown in PL 19: 4
— 6 there are seven pieces counting the fragments. They have a plain ring-handle.

118

The same type recurs among Stein's finds (Stein 1928, PI. XXIX, L. H. 01) as
well as Huang's from Lop-nor (Huang 1933, I, Fig. 28); our 6. D: 1— 4 also
belong to this group. The smaller specimens may have been used as drinking ves-
sels, whereas the larger ones may have served as scoops or the like. Most of them
show traces of having been in use for a considerable time.

The fragmentary beaker PI. 19: 7 is of rather plain make, and is reminiscent of
Stein 1928, PI. XXVII, L. M. I. 035.

A cup-like vessel of squat shape and of more refined workmanship is shown in
PL 21 : 4; it is three-legged and painted in black, red and yellow. The edge is repair-
ed in two places with small bronze rivets, now much corroded. The ring-shaped
handle with a flat piece on top goes back to a Hellenistic-Iranian type which came
into vogue in China especially during the T'ang dynasty. When placed in the tomb
this vessel contained some kind of liquid (food?) of which there are still some
dried-up remains.

A round shallow bowl PI. 19:8 shows traces of having been lacquered, its rim
having possibly been covered with some other material, maybe silver. This vessel,
too, has been repaired in ancient time, rather clumsily, with two iron plates.

There are also two fragments of another round lacquered vessel.

The small oval box PI. 20: 6 is very fragmentary, but it has once been a nicely
lacquered double-bottomed case for the preservation of a lady's toilet or fancy ar-
ticles. One part is divided into three partitions. A symmetrical ornament of thin
bronze has been fastened to the outside of the cover. Stein had found two oval
cases in the graves L. C and L. H. (Stein 1928, PI. XXIX) but they are larger and
did not furnish any guidance for the reconstruction of the fragments described
above. The only exact parallels known to me have been excavated from Chinese
Han dynasty tombs in S. Manchuria and Korea, i. e. Nan-shan-li and Lo-lang, 1
(Shimada 1933, PI. XXXII and Hamada 1934, PI. LXII). These finds originate
from the later Han dynasty, and the last mentioned tomb from the latter part of
this period. The bronze ornament on our oval box, Fig. 28 c, does not correspond so
closely to those on the similar boxes just mentioned and here reproduced as Fig.
29 b-c, as with the bronze fittings on a rectangular box and on the famous painted
basket, Fig. 28 a-b. Our ornament is an intermediate type between those mentioned.
When used on round or square articles this ornament takes the shape of a symmet-
ric quatrefoil, as Fig. 29 a from Wang Hsu's tomb at Lo-lang, and as such it often
occurs as a central decoration on Han dynasty mirrors, on round lacquer vessels,

1 Lo-lang or Lak-lang was a military colony in Korea founded by the Emperor Wu in 108 B. C. It re-
mained the centre of Chinese authority throughout the Han dynasty. Japanese archaeologists have, with most
praiseworthy care, excavated a number of the Chinese tombs at Lo-lang, and their labour has been rewarded
with wonderful objects of art and handicraft. These have beea published in a model way. The lacquered ves-
sels found in the tombs here bear dates covering the period between 85 B. C. and 52 A. D.; these pieces were
made in the western part of Szuch'iian not far from Chengtu. Lo-lang is another example of Wu's active fron-
tier policy as manifested in the north-cast and a striking parallel to his activities in the north-west.

119

/" ? ^S ^r^

Fig. 28. Bronze mountings, a) from the painted basket,
b) from Nan-shan-li, c) our No. 34 : 3. Size 1/3.

and so on. From the Noyan-ola tombs there are at
least two specimens of quatrefoil ornaments, one
of lacquered leather, the other of wood (Ausstell.
chin. Kunst Berlin 1929, Nos. 1256 — 7)); they
were probably some kind of attachments.

The lacquered articles from the Lop desert, as well as those found at Noyan-ola
and in Korea, have been manufactured in China proper.

A coiled basket, PL 21: 1, has also served as a receptacle, and is most likely of
local make, though of quite another technique than that manifested in the finely
woven grass baskets so common in the autochthon graves. It is interesting to note
that none of the latter kind was found in the mass-grave.

Fig. 29. a) rosette from
a Lo-lang box. b) bronze
mounting from a box
from Nan-shan-li c) from
the tomb with the painted
basket. 2/3.

Trays etc.

On the photo PI. XIII a not less than six wooden trays of rectangular shape and
with four short legs can be discerned. In the collection there are only three speci-
mens, besides two loose legs from another two. Some of these objects got lost during
the transport from the site to the main camp. Only the specimen shown in PI.
19: 3 has all the four legs preserved in place, but they are also better secured than
the rest. On the bottom there is a carving at one end like a roughly shaped heart.

The legs on PI. 19: 2 are straight and plain, those on PI. 19: 1 are thinner in the
middle, and PI. 20:5, all that is left of another tray, is carved after a con-
ventional lion-leg pattern with an originally Western (Iranian?) prototype.

This kind of wooden trays or miniature tables is quite a common outfit in Chinese
tombs, especially of the Han dynasty and the period immediately following this.
Thus Stein found many of them around Lou-Ian and at Ying-p'an, both rectang-
ular, oval and circular.

In Korea, Japanese archaeologists have unearthed marvellously lacquered tables
and trays of this type (Hamada, PI. LXVIII— LXX; Oba and Kayamoto, PL
XLII — XLIII). In the C. T. Loo collection there is another lacquered one, ascribed

120

to the Han dynasty. From South Manchuria we know of a clay tray with holes in
the corners, apparently to receive short legs (Mori, PI. XXXI), and in the same
tomb the fresco paintings on a wall show a kneeling man in front of whom a cy-
lindrical vessel with a ladle is standing on a low table or tray of the type in question,
showing that they were used in the burial ceremonies among the Chinese. A sacri-
ficial table of pottery depicted by Laufer (1909, PI. XXIV) also points in this di-
rection.

•

A parallel from a region west of Lop-nor is furnished by a bronze table from
near Verni (Alma-ata) along the road from there to Kulja in the Hi valley (Tall-
gren 1937 a, Fig. 3) "probably a case of a sacral object used for religious rites, as
a stand or altar for holy vessels, idols or sacrifices". It is rather large, 1.25 x 1.12
m., and on the edge are standing thirty winged quadrupeds, probably lions, sculp-
tured in the round. In the same paper Tallcren also deals with stone sacrificial
"vessels" or altars (Fig. 4—16) from the latter half of the last millenium B.C. from
the region between the Ural mountains and the Volga, belonging to a Scytho-Sar-
matian civilization, and all originating from graves. I do not believe that the Chinese
wooden tables or trays must necessarily have been developed out of these stone al-
tars; the comparison, however, is interesting.

As far as I am aware, the Chinese trays are mostly known from grave finds. That
the Lop-nor specimens were used also by the living is evident from the many knife-
cuts on both sides of them. I find it less likely that these knife-marks should originate
from the cutting up of some sacrificed animal at the burial ceremony. Stein also
found a specimen in a ruin (Stein 1928, L.MJ.i.017). One of his wooden trays has
originally been coated with some kind of polish ; it is possible that some of the Lop-
nor trays have been lacquered, as were those found in Korea.

The oval board PI. 32:4 has possibly been suspended horizontally in leather
strings, and if so the picture shows the lower side. The other side is much worn.

Bows.

Two bows were found in this mass-grave. The one shown in PI. 32: 1 is nearly
complete, and made of a single branch of tamarisk wood, i. e. it is a self bow. The
original length was about 112 cm. This first bow is of little interest when compared
with the second one, a compound bow, which, unfortunately, is now in a very bad
state of preservation, but nevertheless the most complete specimen from Chinese
Turkistan. 1

1 From the Tibetan fortress of Mazar-tagh at Khotan-darya Stein has three end-pieces of composite bows
all of the same shape (Stein 1921, PI. LI, and 1928, PI. VI). During the Sino-Swedish Expedition the Chinese
archaeologist Huang Wen-pi found two pairs of bone-tips from a compound bow near Yar-khoto west of
Turfan (Huang 1933, Vol. II, PI. 2) their length being 20.1, 19.6, 19.8 and 19.1 cm. The unequal length may be
due to their being in a fragmentary state. According to Mr. Huang (who by the way regards them as weaving
tools!) they date from the Former Han dynasty. This dating is based only on the construction of the tomb from
where they originate. Any European archaeologist would prefer to place them somewhat later and regard them
as Avarian.

121

wmm *ood ^

\— —

_l bone

■ horn

iiJ tendon
_i sinew-fiber

When excavated, this bow was complete, and it
is seen thus on the lower right-hand part of PL
XIII a. During the transport from the site to the
main camp some 140 km. higher up the Qum-
darya it became dismembered on account of in-
adequate packing material, and several parts got
lost. On different occasions subsequently these
grave finds were unpacked and repacked, and
each time the bow fragments were probably never
taken due care of, as they looked rather poor and
insignificant. Therefore only about one fourth of
the bow remains. It is the more regrettable that it
was so spoilt and broken before anybody could
describe it, as its inner structure must have been
very particular to allow of such a pronounced
cupid's bow shape.

The best preserved part is one car (A) PI.
18: 10 and Fig. 30, with the members still ad-
hering to each other. The core consists of two
wooden slips, on the belly there is a wedge-shaped
member of horn, each side is provided with a
slightly curved bone reinforcement, and the neck
has a cover of tendon that partly envelops the
sides too. The outer ends of the bone-tips
are cut square, the nock for the string is
2 cm. from the end, the total length is 25.5 cm., and the breadth 1.5 cm. On one
side there is a furrow worn by the bow-string. The other ear (B) Fig. 30 has lost
its pair of bone-tips, save the inner end of one of them. Judging from its position
this tip must have been longer than those of A, about 32 cm. when complete. The
horn member of A is 17.9 cm. long, whereas the one of B is 23 cm. The broader
end of the latter is overlapped by a second horn lamina, the widest part of which is
2.1 cm. It therefore seems as if the ear A had been shorter than the ear B. Now
such a feature is quite common with this type of compound bow. When not in use
the string was loosened from the end with the shorter ear, i. e. the more pliable one,
and fastened only when the bow was to be used.

On the lower Volga the bone reinforcements to bows found in graves were 30
and 24.5 cm. long and 1.5 cm. broad (Werner, pp. 38 et seq.) ; the longest met with
was 34.5 cm. and originates from Carnuntum. This tallies very well with the recon-
structed size of the corresponding elements of our bow. With such long bone-tips,
making the ears quite rigid, the length of the complete bow must have been con-
siderable. The approximate measurements that can be made on the photo PI. XIII a

Fig. 30. The tips (A and B) of the com-
pound bow No. 34:26. Size 1/3.

122

give between 1.4 and 1.5 m. in a straight line from end to end. The Yrzi bow is
1.47 m. along the curve (see below). The position of the bone remains of an Avarian
bow in Grave 130 of Olio, Hungaria, shows that its length has been 1.6 m.
(Horvath, p. 21).

The broadest part of our bow must have been at least 4 cm.

When this type of bow has been found in graves only the bone parts have been,
as a rule, preserved. Besides the two pairs of ear-pieces there are also bone elements
from the grip or handle. From our bow there is one narrow curved bone strip that
can hardly have formed part of an ear (it is wedge-shaped at one end, just as is the
left one in the Fig. on p. 39 in Werner's paper), and a fragment of a 2.9 cm.
broad lamella. The latter certainly comes from the curved grip (cf. Werner, Fig.
on p. 37, and Marosi, Fettich, PI. Ill: 5— 6), as the grip must have been rigid to
allow of such a marked cupid's bow shape as our bow undoubtedly possessed. Appar-
ently it was "pre-shaped" to a great extent. Among the other fragments of wood
and horn it is impossible to make any determinations as to their exact place in the
bow. A horn lamella is 3.3 cm. broad and 0.4 cm. thick.

The reconstruction seen in Alfoldi Fig. 2 comes very near the general outline of
our bow.

The effective pull in this type of bow is limited to a rather short area.

The middle part of the Lop-nor bow recalls the shape of the so-called Scythian
bow as we know it from various representations on reliefs, coins and so forth, but
the ears are nearly straight whereas the ears of the Scythian type are strongly
curved and apparently made mostly of horn, Fig. 31 ; l the difference in length must
also be considerable. Unfortunately no actual specimen has come down to us. The
Lop-nor bow is more closely related to the"Sassanian" type.

The general construction is that of the Yrzi bow from the Baghouz necropolis
on the Euphrates (Brown, with full bibliography). This Yrzi bow is of about the
same age as the Lop-nor bow, and one of the few Asiatic compound bows that has
been carefully published. I want to take this opportunity of conveying to Dr. Frank
E. Brown of the Yale University my thanks for his kindness in drawing my atten-
tion to some features of the Lop-nor bow that I might otherwise have overlooked.

The oldest extant compound bow was preserved in an Egyptian tomb of the
fifteenth century B.C. (Litt. in Brown, footnote 5), but whether the origin of
this contrivance is to be sought in Egypt is uncertain. More likely the evolution of
the composite bow took place in Asia, and the homeland of such complicated forms
as the Yrzi and the Lop-nor bows is to be looked for in Central Asia. No really
old complete bows are known from Central Asia. Among the oldest fragments
there is a yet unpublished bone tip excavated by myself in a Han dynasty fortress
on the lower Edsen-gol river in Inner Mongolia.

1 It is hard to get a clear impression of the Scytho-Sarmatian bow-ear of bone, from South Russia, repro-
duced in Ebert's Reallexikon, 13, Taf. 39 A.

123

Fig. 31. A Scythian stringing his bow. From
an electron vase from Kul Oba.

Among the oracle bone inscriptions from An-
yang there is a character denoting composite bow,
apparently made of bone, wood and tendon. This
is the oldest record of this bow type in China, but
its origin is non-Chinese. 1 Childe believes that
the Sumerian bow "was probably already of the
variety known as composite; in any case some
bows were bound with gold and the ends were
tipped with carved pieces of copper to which the
string was attached" (Childe 1928, p. 181). This
Sumerian form seems to me be an artistic develop ••
ment of the composite bow of "natural" materials,
the Central Asian form being more true to the original type.

These compound bows were highly effective in use, and also very valuable. It is
said that it takes between five and ten years to manufacture a first-class com-
pound bow in our days, and the procedure can hardly have been quicker in ancient
times. Therefore, when such bows were deposited in the graves it must have been
in order to pay special honour to archers of high distinction.

These powerful bows were the main weapon of the Huns and allied Inner Asiatic
horse-nomads of the wide steppes. With them the Huns attained their fame as
mounted archers, and we may be convinced that this fame was not due merely
to a long and thorough training of the warriors but also to bows of the highest
perfection. The Mongols carried the same bow, which is since known as the "Tar-
tar" bow, when they conquered half of the Old World under Chingghis Khan and
his successors; and it may still be seen in use at some princely court in Mongolia
at archery competitions. Its use as a weapon came to an end only about the end of
last century.

Various small articles.

Three wooden combs, two of which are depicted on PI. 20: 3 — 4, are of the com-
mon Han type known from the Limes at Edsen-gol and Tun-huang as well as from
different parts of Eastern Turkistan. Many have been found in Chinese tombs in
Korea, and White publishes several as coming from the old Lo-yang. They have
a high rounded back and very fine teeth.

Two long hair-pins of black-lacquered bamboo, PI. 20: 1 — 2, have adorned the
high coiffure of a lady. The type is known from Han dynasty tombs in Korea.
Bronze was also used for this type of hair-pins.

Other items of women's outfit from this grave arc three wooden spindles, more
or less fragmentary, PL 20: 7—8, and a loose spindle whorl of wood.

1 The inscription can indeed be dated to the time of Wu Ting, 1324— 1266 B.C. (Creel, p, 195).

124

A pair of leather shoes or slippers are 23—23.5 cm. long, PI. 21 : 8. The inner
sole has some light-brown hair left. The same footgear was also used by Chinese
and Indian monks in the Turfan region during the T'ang dynasty, as seen on the
fresco paintings, e. g. at Bezeklik, and it has remained in use among the Chinese
until this day.

Textiles.

As the textile material is going to be the subject of a special volume in this
Report series, in which Miss Vivi Sylwan will give descriptions and publish the
results of her thorough studies of the material both from a technical, historical and
artistic point of view, I need only touch superficially on the very important silk
fabrics found mixed up with all the other objects in this collective grave.

In Stein's mass-graves the bodies, or what was left of them, were tightly wrapp-
ed with silk rags from old garments. Hedin does not mention anything of this
sort in his annotations concerning Mass-grave 1, only that everything was found
lying heaped in no special order. It is quite clear that several of the rags have
formed parts of garments, e. g. Nos. 34: 40, 41, 46—48, 5°. In PI. 21 : 7 is seen a
child's tunic of blue-green silk rep with a collar of undyed silk taffeta; the sleeves
are short, and the lower part of the tunic is rather wide.

Most of the silk fabrics are plain. PI. 25 : 2 — 3, however, show two patterned
samples, both from garments, and having a common ground-pattern of rectangles
with concave ends. Beside these rectangles the piece PI. 25: 3, which has formed
the lower part of a sleeve, has a row of cash-figures. The lozenges are those typical
of Chinese Han dynasty silk, and the whole pattern closely recalls that of some
Chinese silks found at Palmyra, which are not later than the third century A. D.
(Pfister, Figs. 8, 11 — 12).

PI. 25 : 2 has also a lozenge pattern beside the rectangles, but this is very fragm-
entary.

One of the larger fragments of a garment is adorned with a narrow edging of
a beautiful polychrome silk in warp-rib, PI. 23 : 3, cut obliquely from the fabric that
is woven after the same pattern as Stein's L.C.oj.a (Stein 1928, PI. XXXIV).
The colours are of the same shade as those on Stein's piece though they are ar-
ranged a little differently. Two interwoven Chinese characters, jen hsiu, form a
part of the sentence Han Jen hsiu etc. as treated by Prof. Giles in Appendix I to
Stein's "Innermost Asia", p. 1045. It is interesting to note that the two charac-
ters on one side of the pouch PI. 23 : 1 are apparently identical with the two last ones
in the sentence just referred to, and they correspond to Prof Giles' rendering, not
to that proposed by M. Aurousseau (cited in the same appendix of "Innermost
Asia").

That we have to deal with a silk of the Han dynasty is beyond doubt. The shape

125

of the scrolls surrounding the different kinds of beast representations, all of a
feline nature, point to later Han. To the stylistic parallels between these scrolls
and those on Han tomb sculptures that Andrews has pointed out we may now add
the fresco scrolls from a brick tomb of the later Han dynasty at Ying-ch'eng-tzu,
South Manchuria (Mori & Naito, PI. XXXVI a and XLII I). A close resemblance
is also furnished by a tomb relief from Lii-tsun, south of Kia-hiang in Shantung,
especially as regards the fierce-looking slender-bodied quadrupeds in a surgent mo-
vement competing with the waves of the scrolls (Laufer 191 1, PI. IX. The left-
hand animal on this relief is executed in a position nearly identical with that of the
third from the right on our textile, as seen on Stein's complete specimen). It is rather
a coincidence that this tomb sculpture comes from Shantung. We know that a part
of the plain silk which China exported westwards was manufactured in Shantung,
a province which still ranks among the foremost silk producing parts of China. It
almost lies within the range of probability that the polychrome silk under con-
sideration is a Shantung product too.

The whole composition with animal figures interwoven between flowing scroll
bands is also known from lacquer work and inlaid bronzes of the Han period, the
beautiful bronze tube in the C. T. Loo collection (Rostovtzeff 1927, PI. II) form-
ing the closest analogy.

On PI. 22 are collected small silk bags or pouches with pleasant colours. Three of
them are made of old embroideries executed in chain-stitch. Apparently they have
formed part of ladies' outfits. One of them contained a diminutive leather bag with
a white powder. A chemical analysis undertaken by Mr. Hj. Ljungh has proved this
powder to consist of white lead. This lucky find shows that the ladies even of this
desolate Chinese outpost knew how to embellish their oriental features by the use of
face powder. In Wang Hsu's tomb at Lo-lang in Korea both a powder brush, pul-
verized talc and white powder were met with, the latter consisting of native car-
bonate of lead (Harada pp. 33 f). The chemical composition of the powder used in
Lou-Ian and Lo-lang is thus the same. This indicates that white lead was the material
commonly used for face powder in China at the end of the Han dynasty. Already
before any actual specimen had been found Laufer has stated from literary evidence
that making face powder of white lead is a thoroughly Chinese practice and not an
importation from some tribe outside the frontiers as had previously been suggest-
ed. (Laufer 1919, p. 201).

The bags PI. 22:4 and 5 are partly cut from embroideries with very similar
pattern of S- and C-shaped figures, and they may also be compared with the square
embroidery PI. 22 : 3 from the single grave nearby. A part of the bag PI. 22 : 5 is
made from another embroidery with a larger pattern, and the bottom is of a third
piece.

The largest bag, PL 22: 1, is moss-green, also sewn together from several pieces
taken from one embroidered damask patterned in warp-rib. The embroidered pat-

126

tern consists of different kinds of filled figures, nearly covering the whole surface,
and recalling certain parts of the Noyan-ola embroideries, inter alia Trever PI. 16
and 18:2.

Stein also found two small silk bags in the mass-graves L. C.

There are also several ribbons, partly with knots, as for instance PI. 21:6, and
various silk pieces of uncertain use, PL 20:9.

Before leaving the silks we must turn our attention to a small strip of plain,
undyed silk which would be of no special interest in this connection but for the ink
inscriptions on it, PI. 21:5. On one side there is a line of Kharoshthi characters
which Prof. Sten Konow, Oslo, has been kind enough to examine. He trans-
lates it as "The Sindhu teacher's roll, 40" for which I refer to Prof. Konow's
own paper that he has generously placed at my disposal and allowed me to print
as an appendix at the end of this volume. His dating of the writing to the end of
the second century A. D. is of special importance for the chronology of the whole
grave.

On the other side of the same silk strip there are two Chinese characters, not
very clear, which Prof. Karlgren has kindly interpreted to me as chin shift, "fabric
ten" either standing for 'Silk roll 10', Ten silk rolls' or 'Quality io\

These inscriptions in two languages, brief as they are, give us a hint of the ge-
neral progress of the all important silk trade of this time. We know that the Chinese
themselves did not take their silk as far as the Roman Orient, the Sogdians,
Parthians etc. serving as intermediaries. These peoples were well aware of their
favourable position in this respect, and anxiously guarded their trade monopoly,
hardly letting any Chinese silk merchants pass through their own countries. That
the Sogdians, on the other hand, had agents travelling far into the Chinese do-
minions is verified by such documents in Early Sogdian script as those found by
Stein in Lou-Ian and as far to the east as the Tun-huang Limes near the ancient
Yu-men-kuan. So far the Sogdians. They were perhaps never settled in any com-
munities in the Tarim Basin. Indians, on the other hand, were so settled, and to such
an extent that the Kharoshthi script was very widely spread there during the first
two centuries of our era, this script being then superseded by the Brahmi.

It is not absolutely impossible that the roll of silk of which our inscribed piece
formed an edge was handed over from a Chinese to an Indian just in Lou-Ian. A Chi-
nese, here or maybe further east in his home country, had marked it as his "Roll or
Quality 10", the Indian then marking it with his own name, and the length of the
roll. Probably this Indian sold it retail in Lou-Ian, as a part of it came to rest in a
Chinese tomb. Otherwise he may have forwarded the silk merchandise further west-
wards. It seems justified to conjecture that the unsettled conditions prevailing in
China during the latest decades of the Han dynasty prevented the Chinese silk mer-
chants from venturing upon too big enterprises, and that they did not proceed with
their caravans beyond Lou-Ian.

127

Some very worn fragments of a pile-carpet of patterned wool call for attention
as their technique is non-Chinese. Stein has some better preserved fragments with
nearly the same design (Stein 1928, PL XLIV, L. C. ii. 09 a, b, and L. C. iii. 014).
He regards them as products of an early carpet industry in the Tarim Basin.

In summing up the discussion of Mass-grave 1, we observe that most of the
objects forming the sepulchral deposit can be labelled as Chinese. The silk fabrics
are directly imported from China proper, and so, certainly, are the small objects of
lacquered wood. The coarser wooden objects may as well have been manufactured
locally, though mostly according to Chinese pattern. There are no goods common,
however, with those of the autochthon Lou-Ian people, as we found them represented
for instance at Cemetery 5.

I am not going to enter into this question though I cannot but stress what others
have said before: in the Chinese patterned silks from these Lou-Ian graves we en-
counter the first traceable wave of expansion of Chinese art directed towards the
Western world.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM MASS-GRAVE 1

34:1. Pottery jar with flat bottom, squat

with narrow and short neck and well-
defined rim. Upper part of body ribbed spirally.
Light-grey ware. H. 14.2 cm., diam. of bottom
11 cm., of widest part 15.5 cm., of mouth 6 cm. PI.
21:3.

34:2. Pottery jar of same ware as — : 1 but

of more slender shape. Upper part of
body faintly ribbed spirally, and lower part scraped
off vertically. H. 17.8 cm., diam. of bottom 6.8
cm., of widest part 12.2 cm., of mouth 5.7 cm. PI.

21 12.

34:3. Symmetrical ornament of thin bronze.

From a straight central part emerges
a two-leafed volute at each end and from each
side at the middle. Between the "leaves" a small
point. One of these shows traces of having been
gilt. The object has apparently been placed on top
of the lid of 34:4. 71X38 mm. PI. 20:6, Fig. 28c.

34:4. Fragm. of a small oval wooden box,

once lacquered. It was apparently a
double-bottomed box with one part divided into
three partitions by means of two transverse walls.
The inside seems to have been lacquered red all
over. The outside of the walls have been lacquered

dark-brown with some narrow red lines. The lid is
convex on the top (where the bronze ornament
— :3 has been attached) and has a faint black
border ; the inside of the lid is concave ; it is of infe-
rior make compared with the rest of the box. One
bottom is 99X43 mm., the other 102X47 mm., the
lid 100X46 mm. PI. 20:6.

34:5. Round shallow bowl of lacquered

wood, probably elm. The outside has
been brown-black, the inside red. Repaired with
two iron plates. Has possibly had the rim covered
with another material. Diam. 16.5 — 17 cm. Diam.
of the low foot ring 11 cm. H. 4.5 cm. PI. 19:8.

34:6. Two adjoining pieces from the rim of

a round vessel of lacquered wood. The
outside has been dark-brown, the inside red and
the rim has probably been black on the inside.
Diam. about 15 cm.

34 : 7. Large wooden cup, squat ; cut, not

turned, in one piece with a ring-handle
flattened on top. Three low feet, from which flat
parts stretch upwards along wall, terminating a
little below the widest part of the body. Repaired
with bronze rivets in two places. Painted black
with a red border round the mouth, red inside. The
feet are yellow. Contains a dricd-up substance.

128

Diam. at widest part 19.4 cm., at mouth 13 cm. H.
13 cm. PL 21:4.

34 : 8. Wooden cup or dipper without foot.

Cut, not turned, in one piece with a
ring-handle flattened on top. Diam. 15 — 14.5 cm.
H. 8 cm. PL 19:6.

34:9. Wooden cup of same type as — :8 but

somewhat oval. The rim gnawed, prob-
ably by some rodent. Diam. 12.5— 1 1.7 cm. H. 7
cm. PL 19:5.

34: 10. Wooden cup of the same type as the

preceding one, handle broken off.
Somewhat oval shape. Probably made of elm.
Widest diam. 16 — 14.5 cm., diam. of mouth 13 — 12
cm. H. 9 cm. PL 19:4.

34: 11. Oval wooden cup of the same type as

the preceding ones but with the handle
missing. Split in old days and repaired with string.
L. 14 cm. Br. 1 1.5 cm. H. 8 cm.

34 : 12. Fragm. of a fairly large wooden cup

of the same type as the preceding ones.
Widest diam. 16 cm. H. about 11 cm.

34:13. Ring-handle with flattened top from

a largish wooden cup, possibly — : 12.

34: 14. About half of a small wooden cup of

the same kind as the preceding ones;
several pieces glued together. Widest diam. 10 cm.
H. about 7 cm.

34:15-16. Two fragm. of the rim of a large
wooden bowl with a roughly carved
groove on the outside below the rim.

34:17. Wooden beaker, cut, not turned. The

entire rim is broken away. Present H.
14.5 cm., diam. of flat bottom 6.5 cm. PL 19:7.

34:18. Small round basket with lid. Flat bot-

tom, the wall is sloping inwards. The
lid is made with a step between the edge and the
flat top. Coiled with interlocking stitches on a
single-rod foundation. H. with lid 13 cm., without
lid 8 cm., diam. of bottom 15 cm. PL 21: 1.

34:19. Rectangular wooden food-tray with

four low, stout legs. The tray cut in
the solid with a raised edge round the upper sur-
face and two transverse raised ribs on the under-
surface. Near the ends of these ribs are holes to
receive the legs, the square tenons of which run
through the tray. In the middle of one end the
under-surface has a contour carving resembling a
heart. Both sides used as cutting-board. 41X28 cm.
H. 6—7 cm. H. of legs 4 cm. PL 19:3.

34:20. Rectangular wooden food-tray with

four legs (two of which are now miss-

ing). The tray is cut in the solid with a raised
edge round the upper surface. The legs, 10.5 cm.
long, are thinner in the middle. They are affixed
to the tray with tenons. 48X28 cm. PL 19: 1.

34:21. Wooden food-tray of the same type as

— :20 but with straight legs fastened
with round tenons. Two legs missing. 32X20.5 cm.
L. of legs 6.7 cm. PI. 19:2.

34:22. Broken-off leg, probably from a tray

of the same kind as the preceding ones.
Slightly resembling an animal's leg. L. 7.5 cm.

34:23. Carved wooden leg of food-tray; con-

ventional lion-leg pattern, oval tenon.
Full length 12 cm. L. of tenon 2 cm. PL 20:5.

34 : 24. Nearly circular wooden board with a

square groove on one side. From the
edge two holes converge towards each corner of
the groove, and through the holes leather strings
have been run ; they have also followed the groove.
The board may possibly have been suspended by
the strings horizontally. 13.2X11.3X1.5 cm. PL
32:4-

34:25. Wooden bow, probably of tamarisk.

The middle part for the space of a
hand's-breadth is left uncarved, but from there
and towards the ends about half the thickness of
the wood is carved away, giving these parts of
the bow a nearly semicircular section. One end
missing. The remaining end has a carved notch
for attaching string. Present L. 92 cm. Original L.
probably 112 cm. Br. 2.3 cm. PL 32:1.

34 : 26. Fragm. of a compound bow, which has

been built up of wooden, bone and
hornlamella* and sinew. Twenty-one fragm. in all,
but this is less than a third of the bow. One end
complete. It consists of two curved bonelamellse
with a notch for the string 2 cm. from the end.
On the inside a hornlamella is wedged between;
the central part is occupied by two wooden mem-
bers, and the outside is covered with sinew. The
bonelamellse arc 25.5 cm. long and 1.5 cm. broad
at end. The horn member is 18 cm. long. A loose
hornlamella is 3.3 cm. wide. Fig. 30 and PL 18: 10.

34:27-29. Three wooden combs with fine teeth
and nearly semicircular back. 72X83X6
mm., 69X83X6 mm. and 50X65X4 mm. — '.27 PL
20 : 3, — : 29 PL 20 : 4.

34:30-31- Two long hair-pins of black-lacquered
bamboo. L. 16 and 15.3 cm. PL 20 : 1 — 2.

34 : 3 2_ 34- Three wooden spindle whorls, each

with a fragm. of the peg remaining in

hole. The whorls arc hemispherical or flat. Diam.

129

43, 28—24 and 33 mm. —=32 PL 20:8, — = 33 PL
20:7.

34 : 35- Wooden spindle whorl with hemi-

spherical section. Diam. 38 mm. Th.
20 mm.

34 '• 36-37. Two small dried-up pouches or such-
like of leather.

34:38. Pair of black leather shoes (shaped as

slippers). The sole sewn on to the
upper part with sandal-seam. No heels. There are
light-brown hairs still remaining on the inside of
the sole. L. 23.5 and 23 cm. W. 8 cm. PI. 21:8.

34:39. Hair, probably human, dark-brown and

reddish-brown.

34:40. a) Large piece of reddish-brown silk

rep, with an other piece of silk rep,
reddish-yellow, undyed ( ?) and very fine, sewn
on to it. At one end a piece of moss-green silk
damask, now faded, with some rags of another
piece of damask attached.

Ground of damask in plain weave with pattern
in warp-rib. The pattern of former piece of da-
mask consists partly of alternately repeated oblong
diamonds, partly of zig-zag lines and standing
lozenges in alternating rows. PI. 25 : 2. Selvage at
one side. The pattern of the rags, which is very
fragmentary, shows the lower part of a beast with
three legs and some line ornaments, for the most
part indistinct.

b-d) Three pieces from the same reddish-brown
and yellow silk rep as in a.

34:41. End of sleeve, hemmed, of reddish-

brown silk rep, biased. Fragmentary.
W. about 22.5 cm.

34:42-43. Two ribbons of reddish-brown and
brownish silk rep.

34:44. Three sewn ribbons of silk, tied in a

ring with long ends hanging down.
The ribbons are folded and sewn with the edges
turned in. One is of green taffeta, another of red,
and a third of yellow undyed silk taffeta. The
latter has a knot at one end. PI. 21 : 6.

34:45. Rectangular piece of striped silk rep in

green and brown, edged with reddish-
brown strips of silk taffeta. At the centre are
attached ribbons of green silk rep and bluish-
green taffeta tied together. Sewn with light green
silk. 43.5X12 cm. PI. 20:9.

34:46. Portion of a large garment of partly

faded silk taffeta with stripes of
green, woven with undyed warp and alternately
undyed and green weft. Attached is a strip of
figured silk warp-rib. biased.

Ground reddish-brown, pattern blue, yellowish-
brown and yellow. The pattern is identical with
Stein 1928, PI. XXXIV, L. C. 07a but incomplete.
It consists of four-legged beasts, scrolls and two
Chinese characters. The strip consists of two
pieces sewn together; all from the same fabric.
W. of strip about 2 cm. PI. 23:3.

34:47. Fragm. of a sleeve; several pieces,

sewn together, of green, partly faded
silk damask rep with warp-rib pattern. Selvage.
Repeated pattern of alternating rectangles with
concave short sides. The points of the rectangles
touch each other. This pattern is interrupted by a
border outlined with zig-zag lines at each side
and with a cash-pattern in the middle. Between the
cash-row and zig-zag lines runs a border of lo-
zenges, the obtuse-angled corners of which are
surrounded by smaller lozenges and enclose five
dots. On the next largest piece the border is dif-
ferent, possibly with fishes, but very fragmentary
and indistinct. PI. 25:3.

34:48. Large fragm. of blue silk rep with a

strip of brownish red silk taffeta
attached. Size of fragm. 33.5X24 cm. VV. of strip
4.7 cm.

34:49. Child's tunic of bluish-green silk rep,

sewn in kimono shape with biased
side seams and straight sleeves. The neck is cut
straight with half of the upstanding collar of
double undyed silk taffeta. The garment is prob-
ably torn off at bottom. Width of shoulder with
sleeves 31 cm. W. at bottom 37 cm. H. 27 cm. PI.
21:7.

34:50. Kerchief of yellowish white silk taffe-

ta, darkened. The short sides hemmed.
L. 57.5 cm. W. = full w. of fabric, about 46.5 cm.

34: 51-52. Two ribbons of bluish silk rep. 40X2.3
cm. and 35X0.9 cm. — 151 full width
of fabric 40 cm.

34 : 53"64. Eighteen various fragm. of bluish
green and undyed silk taffeta and rep.

34:65. Strip of undyed silk rep with line of

Kharoshthi writing at lower right-hand
corner. Selvage. 26.5X3.5 cm. Cf. Prof. Konow's
appendix at end of volume. PI. 21 : 5.

34:66. Small pouch of moss-green embroi-

dered silk damask. The lining, of yel-
lowish silk rep, is longer than the embroidery and
folded down as far as its upper edge. About 1 cm.
from the opening of the pouch a silk thread is
drawn through. A sewn ribbon of undyed silk-
taffeta holds the pouch together here; one ribbon
end complete, the other torn off. At the top a

130

;

-ft

remnant of an attached ribbon of undyed silk
taffeta. The embroidered part consists of several
small pieces cut from bigger embroidered pieces
and sewn together. The moss-green damask of the
embroidery is woven in rep with a pattern in warp-
rib. The embroidery is executed in chain stitch of
silk in yellow, brown (red?), greenish blue, green
and possibly other colours, now faded. The pat-
tern consists of several kinds of figures. Inside
,the pouch were small carbonized lumps, probably
from some fruit stone. H. about 7.5 cm. PI. 22:1.

34:67. Small pouch made of different pieces

sewn together. At the top, folded un-
dyed silk taffeta with tying ribbon drawn through.

The centre is of red silk rep, embroidered with
chain stitch in light blue, dark blue, green, brown
and undyed silk. This part consists of three diffe-
rent pieces; two of them have probably been con-
nected and show independent but incomplete
shapes; the third has heart-shaped figures with
reversed S's between bars, and opposed C's above
the hearts. The lower part of the pouch is of green
silk rep, embroidered with chain stitch in yellow,
blue and brown. The indistinct pattern consists of
lines and a leaf. No lining.

The tying ribbon of the pouch is made of pale
green silk taffeta and held together by blue, sewn
ribbon (fragm.).

On the opposite sides of the pouch two ribbons
of green silk are attached to the embroidery.

Inside were some carbonized lumps, probably
from fruit stones. H. about 6.5 cm. PI. 22:5.

34:68. Middle part of small silk pouch. The

same embroidered silk as in the central
part of 34:67, with heart-shaped figures. At the
top folded, at bottom gathered together with silk
thread drawn through. Present H. about 4.3 cm.
PI. 22:4.

34:69. Small pouch made of several small

pieces of silk in various colours sewn
together. Very frayed. At the top undyed folded
rep, in the middle red, at the bottom undyed and
prune-coloured. Tied round with strips of light
green and blue silk taffeta, partly faded. Lining
of undyed rather coarse silk taffeta. The pouch is
sewn together with green, brownish-red and un-
dyed silk. H. about 9 cm. PI. 22:2.

34:70. Contents of pouch — 169: a small

leather bag containing powder of
white lead; wrapped in wool-hairs.

34:71. Three attached fragm. of undyed cot-

ton fabric in plain weave, discoloured
to brown.

34:72. Fragm. of hemmed woollen rep, now

brown.

34 : 73- Two pieces of rough woollen braid.

W. 2 cm.

34:74. Fragm. of lightly fulled woollen felt,

discoloured to yellow.

34=75- Fragm. of carpet or mantle, woven in

three-leafed twill of coarse light and
dark brown hair yarn. Warp mixed greyish brown,
th. about 2.5 mm.; about 30 threads to 10 cm. Weft
th. about 3 — 3.5 mm. in both cases about 30 threads
to 10 cm. A stripe of brown weft at one edge of
the fragm. shows that the rug has been patterned,
probably striped.

34:76-79. Fragm. of patterned wool pile-carpet.
Fragm. with selvage from both side
borders preserved, although original W. of carpet
is indeterminable. Pattern on the whole indistinct.
Border, about 4 cm. wide, furthest out with trans-
verse stripes in dark brown, light yellow and fair-
ly bright red; within, towards the middle, 3.5 cm.
wide border of latch hooks, dark-brown on light-
brown ground. It is impossible to decide whether
the border has been broader towards the middle.
The pattern of the middle field is vague, occa-
sional angles of lozenges and checks only just di-
stinguishable. Colours diffuse, yellow, red, brown,
brownish purple and in a few places green knots
in roundels or single.

Ground fabric weft rep, alternately close and
sparse. Warp brown wool; th. 2 — 2.5 mm. 54 — 58
threads to 10 cm., in the selvage about 20 threads
to 5 cm. Weft th. about 2 — 2.5 mm., 5 — 7 — 11
shoots of weft = 8 — 12 mm. w. between knot rows,
mostly greyish-yellow. At a part of 13.5 cm. pale
red wefts, next to it, between three rows of knot,
two threads in each shoot of greyish yellow weft,
otherwise one thread in each shoot.

B. GRAVE 35.
(= Single grave a).

On the eastern side of the big mesa with the first mass-grave there is a minor
mesa stretching NE — SW and measuring only 12.7 x 3.8 m. The top rises 9 m. above

131

water level. A standing tamarisk pole attracted the attention of Dr. Hedin's men,
and when they started to dig they found a rectangular pit in the very hard mesa
clay. 0.7 m. from the surface they came upon the lid of a coffin lying NE — SW,
with the head pointing NE. The whole coffin was raised to the ground where it
was opened.

It consisted of half a hollowed-out trunk with the ends closed with semicircular
boards; the lid was made of two boards. The length was 1.82 m. the width 0.52 —
0.45 m. The inner length was 1.71 m., the width 0.42 m., and the height 0.29 m. It
is visible on PI. XIII c. Dr. Hedin is of the opinion that the coffin is a cut-off canoe.

When the lid was taken off a layer of felt was hiding the corpse, that of a young
woman 1.6 m. in height, PI. XIII b. On the head she wore a kerchief of silk-wadding
wound like a turban. The dress consisted of outer and inner garments of silk and
hemp. Only samples were taken of the different kinds of fabrics, and though Dr.
Hedin gives a description of how they were found it is not easy to get an impres-
sion of what the dress was like. Let us hope that Miss Sylwan will be able to
throw some light on this interesting question.

The patterned yellow silk damask PI. 25 : 1 formed the most attractive element
of the dress. Its geometrical design with coupled lozenges is typically Chinese and
is identical with Stein 1928, PI. XLIII, L. C. vi. 01, and belongs to the same class
of splendid Chinese silks as the following fabrics from Noyan-ola and Lo-lang:
Trever PI. 21:2 and Harada PI. CXXIV. It was cut in a triangular piece, one
edge bordered with blue silk, and was probably from the lower part of a long
garment. The blue silk had also been used for other parts of the dress.

On her feet she wore a pair of shoes with intricate designs, and of fine work-
manship. When found, the shoe was coated with clay and looked much damaged.
Thanks to the untiring efforts of Miss Sylwan and her assistants at the Rohss
Museum, Gothenburg, it has been successfully cleaned and mounted, and is now
one of the most charming textile objects in our collection, PI. 24. It is nearly com-
plete, except for the sole, which was made of hemp(?), otherwise the material is
silk. The toe part is best preserved, and to this part of the shoe the decoration is
limited. The elaborate design comes out satisfactorily on the somewhat enlarged
reproduction PI. 24:2. There is an upper crimson border with a row of dragons
marching right and with the elegant, swift movement in every line so typical of the
Han art. They are executed as quite naturalistic quadrupeds with a very long tail
and a long crest from the neck.

Immediately below there are some small green indistinct figures, and then follows
a pair of extremely stylized eyes extended backwards into red lines. Below these
lines there is on each side a row of purple-coloured birds(?). The central horizon-
tal band, crimson with green spots, is crowned by a row of swimming ( ?) birds, all
moving left. Below the central band the pattern is in green colour, unfortunately
damaged. There seems to be another row of birds swimming left, and below this

132

pairs of broad triangles arranged with the points towards each other, a design known
from Huai style bronzes (Umehara 1936, PL LXXXIII). The lowest part is too
damaged to allow of any analysis.

As seen from the above the design is arranged in horizontal rows, but there is
also a kind of vertical central stripe.

Stein has found a similar shoe in one of the Chinese graves L. H. (Stein 1928,
PI. XLII and LXXXVIII, L. H. 04) and another, with decorations all over in the
ruin L. B. NW of the Lou-Ian station (Stein 1921, PI. XXXVII, L.B.IV.ii.0016).
The main decorative elements recur on all three specimens. Especially the first men-
tioned of Stein's shoes have birds, but flying, and dragons, or lions as Stein calls
them. And his may possibly be lions. Their tails are not so elongated as on ours, and
there is no neck crest.

Miss Sylwan is going to deal with the technical aspect and what it signifies.
Stylistically the decoration is Chinese, and the material used in the upper is silk.

The beautiful little square embroidery PL 22:3 was found on the breast. It is
cut out of a larger embroidery, and closely resembles the one used for the small
bags PL 22:4—5 from Mass-grave 1. The silk is red, and the designs, which are
slightly reminiscent of cicadas, are sewn in chain-stitch, blue, yellow-white and
brown. A small pearl is attached in each of three corners, the fourth one is lost

The silk pouch PL 23: 1 with its beautifully preserved colours is one of the most
attractive textile objects from the Lou-Ian region. It is made of two different kinds
of patterned warp-rib with interwoven Chinese characters. One of them is quite
legible (/ = harmony, union), the other two are not correctly woven, but most likely
they are meant to represent Wu Chi (without end), i. e. characters identical with
the two last ones in the sentence on Stein's silk L.C.07 a for which I refer to Giles'
appendix in Stein 1928, p. 1045. On the narrow strip of silk used in this pouch
(PL 23: 1 b) there are pairs of small birds (ducks?) facing each other, a floral
design quite naturalistically executed, the end of a scroll, and an ornament with
three rolled-in volutes and three slender prongs. The same pronged motif occurs
as an element in the ornament on the broader piece of silk that forms the main part
of the pouch, PL 23: 1 a. This element is very common on the Noyan-ola embroid-
eries (Kummel PL 55 — 59)» and on some of Stein's figured silks from Lop-nor,
especially from L. C. It occurs also on a piece of Chinese silk from Oglakty in the
Minusinsk region (Tallgren 1937 b, Fig. 23). On the inlaid bronze tube in the C. T.
Loo collection which Rostovtzeff places in the early Han period we find a similar
element, though less dissolved (Rostovtzeff PL III).

As there are green and blue colours which in print come out almost the same as
the back, ground the otherwise satisfactory PL 23: 1 does not reproduce the in-
tricate and dissolved pattern quite correctly. In reality the elements of the ornament
form an oval figure; several of these recur on one of Stein's silks (Stein 1928, PI.

133

XXXV, L. C03). The colours are well preserved and give an impression of re-
fined beauty.

Outside the head end of the coffin the following articles were placed : the nicely-
turned wooden drinking cup, painted in red and black PI. 27:6, a wooden food-
tray on four low legs, the skeleton of a sheep, and some Ephedra twigs.

The small cup is of the same type as Stein's Ying. III. 3. 07 from Ying-p'an
(Stein 1928, PI. CX), though more elegant. There are other features, too, recalling
another of the Ying-p'an graves (Ying. III. 4) for instance the head-gear.

The food-tray is to be compared with those found in Mass-grave 1. It is made of
two boards. On the bottom there is a carved mark, and both sides show traces of
having been used as cutting boards.

Both the type of coffin and the rich silk garments of the deceased lady place this
grave in the same class as Grave 6 A. Whether these two ladies belonged to the
same race or not is, however, another question, but they had no doubt the same
social standing.

As to the age of this grave we are hardly able to date it more precisely than
within the known limits of the period of Chinese settlements in this region. Most
likely this lady lived during one of the three first centuries of our era.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM GRAVE 35 (Single grave a)

35:1-

the

Square piece of yellowish white silk
felt. Was wound like a turban round
head of the corpse. About 50X60 cm.

35:2. Dress fragm. of yellow silk damask

with inserted strip of bluish-green
silk taffeta, 6 cm. wide, sewn on with undyed silk.
Damask with ground in plain weave, pattern in
twill with zig-zag lines with intervening double
lozenges with angles outside two opposed corners.
l r ragm. somewhat biased, with marks from stitches
on two sides. Patched. W. about 39 cm. H. along
blue strip about 47 cm. PI. 25: 1.

35:3-5-

35:6.

Several fragm. of same material as
— :2.

Fragm. probably from the lower part
of the same garment as above, of
undyed silk rep, cut somewhat on the bias like
— :2. Selvage. Hem in two places. Lining of un-
dyed, slippery silk, in plain weave, ragged and big-
ger than the outer fabric.

35:7. Fragm. of back of hemp (?) fabric

with shoulder scam on to small front
part. Belonging to this part a low, upstanding
collar. A small piece of the same fabric attached
to the lower edge. Greatest L. 74 cm.

35:8. Large ragged piece of undyed hemp

( ?) fabric in plain weave, full width
about 43 — 44 cm. Worn. May have belonged to
the same garment as — 17.

35:9. Portion of a garment of hemp(?)

fabric in plain weave, two parts. The
upper part consists of two pieces of blued fabric
with brown gore in between; all fragmentary. The
lower part attached to the upper part and con-
sisting of larger piece of undyed hemp(?) fabric,
partly with hem. Sewn with undyed silk or thread
of some other yellow material.

35: 10. Three fragm., two large and one small,

of a garment of undyed hemp ( ?)
fabric in plain weave, biased and forming a point.
Hem at two sides. The two larger pieces have
been joined together. The smaller piece has been
torn away from the larger one. Hems of the same
kind as — :9. Full width of the material about 47
cm.

35: 11. Fragmentary panel of skirt or trousers

of undyed hemp(?) fabric in plain
weave. Gathered at the top and somewhat biased
towards the upper part, seam with fragm. from
the next panel attached. L. 90 cm.

134

35:12-13. Two fragm. of the same fabric as
— : 11.

35:14. Two ribbons, made of biased hemp

( ?) fabric in plain weave, folded to-
gether with the edges turned in, and ribbon of thin
undyed woollen fabric in plain weave, now yellow.
Probably from a waist-band.

35:15. Ribbon of folded silk taffeta, partly

sewn together and tied in a loop. The
two ends arc torn off. Before washing the silk
was very light in colour, now yellowish brown.

35:16. Fragm. of ribbon, made of dark red

silk taffeta, folded and with the seams
turned in. At one end, with selvage, the edge is
folded in and shows marks of stitches; weaved
as a result of gathering. The other end frayed.

35:17. Small square piece of red silk taffeta.

Embroidery of chain-stitch in blue,
yellowish white and moss-brown silk. The pattern
consists of alternating rows of standing hearts,
within which are bars on each side of an S; in the
point a drop. Above the hearts a dot and two op-
posed C's, carrying an acute angle. The square is
cut out from a larger embroidered piece. It is
edged round with brown silk. No lining. In three
corners small pearls threaded on silk and fastened
with a knot. The fourth corner damaged. 8.5X8.5
cm. PI. 22:3.

35: 18. Pouch of silk warp-rib of two different

patterns. It is made of a small straight
piece, rounded at the bottom, and a larger and
broader piece, gathered round the lower part of
the former and sewn on along the edges of the
narrow piece. A small extra piece is let in be-
tween the larger and the smaller pieces near the
top.

The larger piece consists of two reversed pieces,
the pattern thus being reversed as well. The
ground brownish red, the pattern dark blue and
yellow, of oval shape and composed of several
kinds of small volutes, inter alia one element with
three rolled-in volutes and three slender prongs.
PI. 23: ia. Repetition of figures: in the warp di-
rection straight succession; in the weft direction
alternating rows. Two Chinese characters also
form part of pattern.

The smaller piece has a dark blue ground and
a pattern in red, yellow and light blue. Pattern
incomplete; on one side a leaf, a flower on a long
stem and the end of a scroll. On the other side
two birds facing one another, part of a cloud
scroll, three rolled-in volutes with three slender
prongs, and a Chinese character. PI. 23: 1 b.

The pouch is lined with undyed silk in plain
weave. H. 17 cm.

35:19. Shoe, woven in silk over the last, in-

terlining and sole of hemp( ?). Inner
lining missing. The toe part well preserved, the
side and heel parts partly dissolved, the warp gone,
a very small piece of sole remaining. The weave of
the outer part is rep-like, the texture of interlining
and sole is braid-like, as in the former case the
pair of threads are every time twisted in the same
direction, in the latter case every other time in
the opposite direction.

The side and heel part in buff colour; there
may have been small green insertions at the sole
fastening. The toe elaborately figured and distinct-
ly narrowed from the sides. At the opening a buff
edging is laid along the cord and sewn on to the
interlining. This edge has probably run round the
entire opening. The pattern of the toe part is
striped downwards, towards the toe. Immediately
below the upper edge is a border of buff dragons
on a red ground. Below this are some small green
indistinct figures with a central V. A pair of slit-
like "eyes" extending backwards into a red line.
Below these lines a row of birds ( ?) in purple,
all on a buff ground. The central horizontal border,
red with small light-green ovals, has a row of
red birds on the top and a row of green ones
below. The central vertical stripe is marked with a
red triangle in the upper row of birds and a light
green field in the main horizontal border. The
lowest part of the toe is damaged, and the pattern
somewhat indistinct. A horizontal row of broad
green triangles arranged in pairs with the points
meeting on a horizontal line. Below these the
pattern is indistinguishable; it seems to have been
finished with a red edge with a small buff diamond
in the middle. Approx. L. 23 cm. Preserved L.
greater than that of the original, while the weft
has stretched owing to missing warps. PI. 24: 1 — 2.

35:20. Small fragm. of yellowish brown

warp-rib with waved pattern in some-
what darker colour.

35:21. Piece of yellowish white felt, which

covered the corpse, either as a shroud
or as a lining to the coffin.

35:22. Small fragm. of coarse woollen fabric,

dark brown and yellowish.

35:23. Wooden cup, lathe-turned. The upper

part painted red, the lower part black.
On the moulding near the bottom, alternating
black and red lines. H. 7 cm. Diam. of mouth 9.6
cm. PI. 27:6.

;-,

i35

35 ! 24. Rectangular wooden food-tray or low

table with four short legs. Made of
two boards joined with dowels. Raised border
around the upper surface. On the under-surface
a carved irregular mark of five lines. On both
sides marks of wear and knife cuts. The legs, oval
in section, fastened with rectang. tenons. L. of

legs 6,6 cm. only two of them complete. Size of
tray 45X29 cm.

35:25. Some bones from a sheep sacrificed

whole outside the coffin.

35:26. Some Ephedra twigs, found outside

the coffin.

C. GRAVE 36.

(= Single grave b).

On May 7th 1934 Dr. Hedin and Mr. Chen discovered a second single grave,
situated on the eastern side of an imposing mesa rising 25.3 m. above the water
level. 1

Fig. 32. The mummy in Grave 36

in her shroud after having been removed

from the coffin. Drawing from a photo by Mr. Chen.

i m. below the surface there was a coffin of the same type (half a hollowed-out
trunk) as in Grave 35, but instead of a wooden lid it had a covering of ox-hides.
Above the hides the small basket PL 26: 1 was found; its warp consists of rigid dico-
tyledonous stems, the weft is a mixture of grass and roots of an Artemisia. It is made
after the same model as those from Cemetery 5, but the pattern is made in the shape
of a net and not as zig-zag bands. This is the specimen examined by Mr. Hj.
Ljungii (Cf. appendix II). The handle is of brown wool, and the opening was
covered with white felt.

The coffin was 17 m. long and 0.41—0.35 m. wide. The well preserved though
much dricd-up mummy was that of an old woman with long, grey hair parted in the
middle. The body, which measured 1.52 m. in length, was enveloped in a finely
woven dark-brown mantle of soft wool with a yellow and red border, Fig.
32. In three places along the right side it was tied up into small bags containing

* As Dr. Hedin's maps of his canoe trip in the Qum-darya delta still await the final adjustments I am un-
able to give the position of the mesa more exactly. Its position on the map Fig. 37 is only approximate. It is
situated some little distance to the east of the graves first discovered.

136

small Ephedra twigs. One of these is to be seen on the sample of the mantle that was
taken from the site, PI. 26:4.

Round the waist she wore a thin loin-cloth of woollen fringes, red and undyed,
of a certain youthful elegance, PI. 26: 5. It recalls the specimen PL 12: 1.

The feet were stuck into a pair of raw-hide moccasins or shoes which
were decorated with red cords and feathers on the toes, and of which the
upper edge was dentated, PI. 26:6. The hair was turned inside save on the soles.
The model is the same as that used in Cemetery 5 ("Order's necropolis"), and
these also seem to be quite new and hardly used. They had an inner sole of lambskin.

The head-gear consisted of an inner cap of dark brown felt, PI. 26: 2, and an ex-
quisite outer cap of yellow felt, the top adorned with red cords, in the middle of
which is fastened the split skin of an ermine with the head hanging down in front.
On the left side there are two feathered pegs, wound with sinew fibres and red
wool, rising boldly above the top of the pointed head-dress, PI. 26:3. Both caps
are made with ear-flaps to be tied under the chin, apparently for winter use.
Except for the adornments the outer cap is identical with the head-gear worn by
the Scythian in Fig. 31, and a Sakian as seen on a relief at Persepolis (Le Coq
1925, Fig. 127).

Six wooden and one bone pin have apparently served to keep together the edges
of the mantle. Three of them have the barrel-shaped heads decorated with small in-
cised triangles once filled with red, PI. 27: 7 — 8. Three others have plain heads, PI.
27:3. The one made of bone PI. 27:4 is smaller, having a spool-shaped head.
These pins closely resemble those found by Stein (Stein 1928, PI. XXIV, L. F.
05 a, etc.). They are carved of hard wood with several annular rows of triangular
incisions, the triangles arranged a little differently from those so common on ar-
rows and other objects from Cemetery 5.

A small comb has the round pegs of wood fastened in a transverse piece of
tendon, PI. 27 : 10, just as is the case with combs from Cemetery 5.

PI. 11:2 depicts a small doll made of various kinds of wool rags steadied by a
small wooden pin of the same form as those just described but with cylindrical
head.

A small bundle of sinew-fibres and woollen yarn wrapped in a piece of red felt
may possibly have served as some kind of charm or amulet (cf. the bundles of
Ephedra twigs Nos. 5. D: 12 — 14).

Among the funeral deposit there is also a link of dark brown hair kept together
by a lashing, apparently representing a hair offering. The practice of cutting off
the hair and sacrificing it to the deceased is an old and widespread custom. Accord-
ing to Jordanes the Huns cut off their hair at the death of Attila (Rydh 1919,
p. 241). That the Huns practised this custom in their home country around the be-
ginning of our era is shown by the discovery of not less than fifty queues in tomb
No. 6 at Noyan-ola. In one of the Oglakty graves near Minusinsk two plaits of

137

brown hair were found; their age cannot differ very much from that of the Lop-
nor graves (Tallgren 1937 b, Fig. 4).

The dress of this old lady is identical with that of the young man in Grave 5 A of
"Order's necropolis", but of altogether higher quality. The coffin, on the other
hand, is to be compared with those from graves 35, 6 A, 6 C, and, in a way, with
7 A. Dr. Hedin opines that they are cut-off canoes of the ordinary Lopliq type still
in use. I am not quite convinced of the correctness of this explanation, but the cof-
fins were certainly made on the same principles as those applying to the construction
of canoes.

Culturally this lady belonged to the same people as those buried in Stein's
cemeteries L. R, L. Q., L. S. and L. T. and at "Order's necropolis", i. e. the in-
digenous population of the Lou-Ian kingdom. As already remarked, the affinities
with Stein's graves are closer than those with "Order's necropolis", a circum-
stance explained by the geographical sitution of the burial places, Stein's and
Grave 36 forming a local group. On the other hand, it is more than likely that there
also exists a chronological difference, "Order's necropolis" being somewhat older
than the other indigenous graves around Lop-nor.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM GRAVE 36 (Single grave b)

36:1. Pointed head-dress of light yellow,

rather thin felt. The back part has
partly covered (he neck and been gathered there
with white thread now almost disappeared. Two
lappets have met under the chin; they have partly
a red edge stitching. On the left side two pegs arc
inserted, each about 30 cm. long, wound round with
thin sinew fibres and, over that, red woollen yarn;
the tops have a rich feather tassel. Round the top
part of the head-dress seven woollen strings are
arranged horizontally, being threaded through the
felt in four places. Between these strings a split
ermine skin is fastened with light red woollen
strings threaded through the felt. The head of the
ermine hangs down in front. Very good condition.
H. from lappet to top 32 cm. PI. 26:3.

36:2. Inner cap of rather thin, dark-brown

felt, gathered together with brown
woollen thread at the neck. Lappets tied with
brown woollen cord under the chin. Finished all
round with scallop stitch of brown wool. The right
lappet is darned in two places. At the lower edge
of the lappets small ends of red woollen yarn are
inserted. H. 27 cm. PI. 26:2.

36:3- Part of a mantle, right side, of fine

soft wool, dark brown with yellowish

and red borders. The piece represents the complete

length of the garment with a fringe of warp at
the lower end =± end of the fabric, plain selvage at
the other end= beginning of the fabric, selvage
with a cordlike edge along it.

The main part is tabby weave, the same yarn
in warp and weft. The warp 50, the weft 40
threads to 10 cm.

Borders of rep in yellow with edges of yellow
and red checks, 5 — 7 mm. wide. Along the cordlike
edge there is such a border of warp rep, about
5 — 5-7 cm - wide. Across the mantle are two similar
borders, 2.6 cm. wide, of weft rep, one 4.6 cm. from
the fringed edge, the other 4.5 cm. from the selv-
age on the opposite short side. Yellow and red
wool firmly spun, th. about 1.8 cm. In the warp
rep border 75 threads to 5 cm., with a pair of
wefts in each border shoot. The weft rep border
has 22 threads to 2 cm., over two of the brown
warps, gathered together.

On both sides of the mantle at each junction
between the transverse and longitudinal borders is
a braid about 6 — 7 mm. wide, made of yellow and
red wefts from the transverse border. L. of braids
5—6 cm.

The fringe is made of two warps twisted,
gathered in links, one by one fastened to the lower
edge of the fabric, three links twisted together

138

I*-

into the end of every fringe. Th. about 6 mm. L.
about 10.6 cm.

L. of warp direction excl. fringe 171.4 cm. L.
of incompl. weft direction 32.1 cm.

Near the cordlike selvage and somewhat above
the middle the mantle was gathered into three
small bags containing Ephedra twigs. Only one
of these is preserved. PI. 26:4 and Fig. 32.

36:4. Footwear of raw hide, made after

about the same pattern as 5. E:2. The
hair turned outside on the sole, otherwise turned
inside. The top and upper part in one, with only one
scam running from the opening to the front and
sideways. The tops have been tied together with one
strap at each side. The upper edge of the tops is
serrated. Into the toe arc inserted three red ends
of wool and remnants of small feathers. Between
heel and arch the sole has a notch at each side.
Both soles arc joined in front with a narrow piece.
The shoes seem scarcely to have been used. L. 26.5
W. 10.5 H. 18 cm. In each shoe an inner sole: a
square piece of brown lambskin with curly wool,
finished with scallop stitching of red, untwisted
woollen yarn 3 — 4 mm. thick. The sole in the left
shoe 11X19 cm., the one in the right shoe has one
end torn off, the edging is gone, size about 10X24
cm. PI. 26 : 6.

36:5. Small basket, plaited of grass and

dicotyledonous roots and stems. Of the
same shape and make as those from Cemetery 5,
but decorated with net pattern. Cf. Mr. Ljungh's
analysis, Appendix II. Thick handle of brown
woollen cord. The basket is partly broken. H. 19.5
cm. Diam. about 11 cm. PI. 26:1.

36:6. Basket cover of white felt. Has been

attached with white strings on top of
— :5-
36:7. Portion of fringe-like loin-cloth con-

sisting of braided white woollen cord,
round which alternately red and undyed white
long double-wool strands have been laid and drawn
together with a loop. Two undyed strands of wool,
each folded with one loop alternating with two
double red strands laid together. The strands of
white wool are undulated and slightly felted, th.
4 mm. The red strands are slightly felted and un-
twisted, spun thread th. 2 mm. L. of loin-cloth 40
cm., longest end of fringe 28 cm. The quality and
colour of the wool the same as 5:148-149. PI.
26:5.

36:8. Doll made of wool rags fastened on

to a small wooden peg of the same
model as PI. 9:2. L. of peg 94 mm.

Round and over the pin are thick strands of
1'ght greyish brown and blackish-brown wool,

also finer strands of wine-coloured wool, all more
or less felted, th. about 3 — 1 mm.

The top part forms the doll's head. Around the
"face" a light greyish yellow strand of yarn, be-
hind this a wine-coloured strand. About 4.5 cm.
below the "face" the combined "neck" and "waist"
are wound round with a blackish brown coarse
folded strand with a loop holding some short
brown grass(?), fixture for girdle(?). Round a
part of the waist and hanging down between and
around strands of yarn is laid a piece of coarse
fabric of soft white wool. The woollen fabric is
in plain weave and does not recur among the
other Lop-nor finds. The warp is firmly twisted,
th. 2 mm., 3 threads to I cm. The weft in shoot
two threads parallel, vaguely spun ; two double
threads to 1 cm.

Size, excl. hanging strands, 14 cm. PI. 11:2.

36:9. Small bundle of sinew-fibres and dark

and light wool, twined two and a half
times with fulled felt, thin and fine and wound
five turns with red wool, th. 3 mm., of the same
colour and quality as the felt. L. 9 cm.

L. 258.6

36: 10. Brown woollen string, L. 258.0 cm.

Th. 3 mm.
36:11. Braid, two pieces of the same kind,

of white wool, th. 2 mm. Braiding
made of eleven strands of yarn over one under
one thread. W. about 1 cm. L. 28.7 and 31.1 cm.

36: 12. Human hair, dark brown, partly turned
grey.

36: 13. Tress of dark brown hair, the upper

end tightly wound round with string.
L. 61 cm.

^6: 14. Small wooden comb, consisting of

eleven round teeth (one missing) in-
serted in a piece of sinew. L. 6.5 cm. Br. 6 cm.
PI. 27 : 10.

36:15. Pin of hard wood with barrel-shaped

head decorated with four transverse

bands, each bordered by a row of small incised

triangles. L. 147 mm. L. of head 56 mm. PI. 27:8.

36:16-17. Two pins of hard wood. The barrel-
shaped heads are decorated with nine
rows of small incised triangles, their points turned
upwards. The rows arranged in groups of three.
The triangles have been filled with red. L. 163
mm. L. of heads 47 mm. — : 16 PI. 27: 7.

36: 18-20. Three wooden pins of the same kind
as — : 16— 17 but with plain heads.

L. 154 — 134 mm. L. of heads 48 and 43 mm. — : 20

PL 27:3.

36:21. Bone pin with spool-shaped head.

Smooth surface. L. 10 cm. PI. 27:4.

139

D. "RUIN II" WITH GRAVE. (NO. 37).

On May 7th, Dr. Hedin discovered what he calls Ruin II, not very far from the
first mass-grave in the delta. There was a small wooden structure on a terrace 13.2
m. above the water level. Hedin calls it a ruined house. Of course it may have
been a house, but it may as easily have formed part of a tomb structure, because
at a depth of 1 m. they came across a grave.

There was no proper coffin, only two horizontal logs placed parallel to each
other. With the ends resting on the logs were nine irregular wooden boards 39—
44 cm. long, and covering fragments of a skeleton.

Fragments of a pair of raw-hide slippers, and two baskets were taken from the
site. One of them, PI. 25 : 5, is of the same well-made type as those usually found
in the graves of the autochthon Lou-Ian people. The pattern is not exactly that
found on the baskets from "Ordek's necropolis" but resemble the decoration of the
small baskets found in the Lou-Ian region. The other is a big flat shovel-shaped
basketwork of a type that is still used for winnowing corn in China, Turkistan, India
and so on, PL 25: 11. In grave L. S. 3 Stfin found three of these basket "trays"
covering the coffin (Stein 1928, PL XXVIII). That our specimen has been long
in use is seen from the repair of the bottom.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM "RUIN II" OR GRAVE 37

37:i- Small basket, neatly plaited; small,

nearly flat bottom surface, the wall
widening: upwards (though not so much as is
seen in PI. 25:5, which shows the basket in its
present flattened shape). Decorated with horizontal
zig-zag: bands of glossy grass. Part of the rim
damaged. Has had a handle of strings fastened
on the outside of the wall with separate coils.
Manufactured in the same way as the baskets
found in Cemetery 5. H. 15.5. cm. Diam. about 12
cm. PI. 25 : 5.

37:2. Shallow basket-work tray of long

narrow shovel-shape, with upturned
edge round one end, which is rounded. The other
end is finished off flat and square. The basket-
work is strongly woven. Damaged, partly mended
with a piece from other basket-work of finer
weave. Size about 60X40 cm. PI. 25:11.

37=3-4- Two pieces of the same thin basket-
work as 5. G:2.

37: 5-6. Toe part from a pair of raw hide slip-
pers, the hair turned inside. Sewn
with the seams turned inwards.

E. MASS-GRAVE 2. (NO. 38).

On May 19th Dr. Hedin's men discovered another cemetery on a mesa sit-
uated a few hundred metres to the east of Stein's locality L. F., which is a ruin and
a cemetery. Across the mound there was a kind of palisade running from SE to
NW, 3.9 m. long, the distance between the two lines of poles being from 0.86 to
1.04 m. Near this palisade four graves were found, one of which was examined.

It contained eight skulls as well as other human bones. Of the funeral deposits

140

• -v£*ft*t -—

.: :i

Bwch fc^'-'f^s? Rca rer-v-;-^ ye now

u^-_

Fig- 33- Unfolded design of the lower part of the lacquered vessel no. 38:12.

some samples were brought back, and among these the following are worth men-
tioning.

No. 38: 1 is a head-dress of plain red-brown silk, fitting tight to the head. PI.
23:2 is a piece of silk with a die-printed pattern: some kind of figure of curved
lines repeated six times, a rather early example of printed textiles.

A coarsely made clay cup with a handle, PI. 27: 5, and two wooden food-trays or
troughs, PI. 27: 1 — 2, were recovered, the latter having dried-up remains of sour
milk sticking to the surface, apparently a food-offering to the dead. (Cf. Appendix
II).

There was also a much broken cylindrical vessel of a finer quality than the rest
of the objects. It was once lacquered in four colours with a design, the remains of
which are seen in Fig. 33. When complete the vessel was probably twice as high
as seen in the figure, and fitted with a small handle. A similar vessel, also from
the Lop-nor region, is published by Mr. Huang Wen-pi (Huang 1933, 1, Fig. 27).

The two wooden combs PL 25 : 4 and 6 are of the ordinary Han type. Both of
them were roughly re-shaped in ancient time, probably after having been slightly
damaged.

The content of this second collective grave is less varied than that of the one first
discovered. It also contained fewer individuals. I have also the impression that it
was searched in a more careless or rapid way than the first one, and that this is
partly the cause of the poorer result.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM MASS-GRAVE 2

38: 1. Oval cap of silk in plain weave, vari-

ous shades of brown. The crown con-
sists of three layers: furthest out light reddish-
brown silk rep; interlining of coarse yellow fabric
in plain weave, of animal's hair; inner lining of
loosely woven yellowish-brown silk rep. Around
the crown a strip, folded and sewn together on the
inside, of nutbrown rep, attached towards the

front to a piece of lighter reddish rep of the same
kind as in the crown. The strip at the back is sewn
on to Ihe crown and tied in a knot in front over
the forehead. Along the crown from back to front
a seam runs through all three materials.

38 : 2.

Piece of yellowish silk felt, tied in a
large knot.

141

38:3-

Tress of black hair and plait of yel-
lowish white wool.

38:4-5. Two pieces of wool rep, undycd and
deep red.

38:6. Narrow strip of silk rep, probably

undycd, discoloured to yellowish
brown, with printed pattern in black China-ink:
incomplete scrolls, repeated six times. PI. 23:2.

38 : 7. Fragm. of yellow silk rep with attached

strip of green silk rep and three small

fragm. of a green strip with the edges turned in.

38:8.

38:9.

38:10.

38:11.

Large piece of undyed ( ?) yellowish-
brown silk rep with one selvage.

More or less triangular piece of yel-
lowish-brown silk rep with two seams
and hem along biased edge.

Small fragm. of a rug, woven in twill
of grass fibre, probably a single thread
of animal's hair.

Small earthenware cup with ring-
shaped handle, and opposite to this a
small lip. Flat bottom. Roughly shaped. Light-
red ware intermixed with grains of sand. Rim
damaged. Diam. of bottom 7.5 — 8 cm. H. 8 cm.
PL 27:5-

38:12, Fragm. of cylindrical wooden vessel
with traces of lacquer. The round
bottom consists of a flat piece, lacquered red on
the inside, brown on the outside. Diam. n. 1 —
1 1.3 cm. The wall consists of a thin pane shaped
into a cylinder, the ends overlapping and glued
together (now open). The larger part of the wall
is preserved from the bottom to a height of 8 cm.,
though broken in several pieces. On the outside
the ground has been brown, the pattern red, black
and yellowish-brown, all in lacquer. The preserved
parts of the pattern is shown in Fig. 33. The

inside is lacquered red. Thickness of wall increases
towards top.

A fragm. from the upper rim is lacquered red
on the inside and brown on the outside, 7.6 cm.
high. Traces of red and yellow stripes on the
outside along the rim. A small flat handle, 1.8 cm.
wide, in the shape of half a cylinder, 1.7 cm. below
the rim. Only the ends remain sticking in their
holes in the wall. On the inner side of the wall the
ends have been joined together with two small
wooden needles, 1.8 cm. long. This fragm. of an
upper rim might belong to another vessel.

38: 13. Three fragm. of an oval wooden food-

tray or shallow trough, with four low
legs, made out of one piece. The legs are round
in section, about 2 cm. high. The original size of
the tray probably 46X28 cm. For reconstruction
cf. PI. 27:1.

38:14. Wooden trough, quite shallow, rect-

angular, with rounded corners and
slightly rounded ends, which are somewhat higher
than the long sides. L. 45 cm. Br. 25—26 cm. H.
in the middle about 5 cm., at the ends about 8 cm.
PI. 27 \ 2.

38:15. Wooden comb with high back, origi-

nally parabolic, and fine teeth. Cut
off in ancient times. H. 7.9 cm. Br. 5 cm., origi-
nally broader. PI. 25:4.

38:16. Main part of a wooden comb with
very coarse teeth. The high back ir-
regular, deformed. H. 5.9 cm. Br. 5.2 cm., origi-
nally broader. PI. 25 : 6.

38: 17. Wooden peg, semicircular section, the

ends tapering and having a step. 17.5
X0.8 cm.

38:18. Wooden peg like — 117 but without

steps at the ends. 18.2X0.9 cm.

38: 19. Small thin pointed wooden peg. L. 18.2

cm.

F. GRAVE (?) NEAR HEDIN'S CAMP 80. (NO. 39)

Camp 80 in Qum-darya's delta served as a base for Dr. Hedin and Mr. Chen
during their common efforts to survey the Lop lake with canoes. During their ab-
sence some of the servants collected about one hundred beads of glass, shell,
and carnelian. Mr. Chen, who handed over these finds to me, was of the opinion
that they originated from one or more graves which the servants had come across
on a mesa in the vicinity of the camp.

The glass beads are all small, mostly white translucent, but a few had originally

142

been gilded, PL 15: 19. The double-bead PL 15: 13 had also been gilded and recalls
beads from Lou-Ian. Eleven small white beads are identical with some from Ceme-
tery 5 (cf. PL 15:15)- PL 15:12 depicts thirty-one diminutive beads of violet
glass. PL 15: 17 is of carnelian, and PL 15: 18 probably of frit.

FINDS PROBABLY FROM ONE OR MORE GRAVES NEAR

HEDIN'S CAMP 80

39: 1. Sixty small glass beads, two of which

are yellow (one even showing traces
of gilding) the rest white. Diam. 5 — 3 mm. PI.
15:19.

39 : 2.

39=3'

Thirty-one very small beads of violet
glass. Diam. 2 — i mm. PI. 15: 12.

Double-bead of gilt glass. L. 7 mm. PI.
I5:i3-

39 = 4- Eleven small flat beads of shell,

identical with 5:21. Have been thread-
ed on a brown woollen string. Diam. 4 mm.

39:5. Spherical carnelian bead. Diam. 17

mm. PL 15: 17.

39:6. Spherical carnelian bead. Diam. 9 mm.

39: 7. Spherical bead of frit (?) with parallel

grooves. Once possibly covered with
blue glaze. Diam. 12 mm. PI. 15:18.

G. CONCLUSION.

Among the graves along The Small River found by me there are only single
graves, but those found by Dr. Hedin in the delta consist both of single graves and
mass-graves. If we classify them according to their contents we find that Cemetery
5 ("Order's necropolis"), Grave 36 and 37 are autochthonous, whereas the two
mass-graves and Grave 35 are Chinese. As to the minor burial places 6 and 7,
they may be Indian (and Chinese?). I leave No. 39 out of consideration as we
know too little of the circumstances around this "find".

Let us turn first to the autochthonous graves.

As pointed out in the description of the outer setting of the funeral site called
"Order's necropolis" as well as in the treatment of the individual graves, the uni-
form type of coffin, with a small variant, is noteworthy, especially as this site is the
largest cemetery known from the Lop-nor region. The same homogeneity is a char-
acteristic of the funeral deposits, as far as they can be ascertained after the
deplorable destruction caused to most of the coffins by both man and Nature. These
facts prove that those buried have had one and the same civilization, and most likely
belonged to one and the same people.

It is to be regretted that the circumstances did not allow of any complete mummy
being brought back to Europe for professional examination. This was, however,
impossible on account of practical difficulties in connection with transport, and
even the "finds" themselves led to complications with certain officials, as Dr.
Hedin has told in his personal narrative (Hedin 1936). The skulls lying exposed

143

were defective or partly destroyed by the elements. We have thus only some photo-
graphs of mummies from this Cemetery 5 but no measurable bodies.

From comparisons with Stein's cemeteries from the regions more to the east,
i. e. in and around the present delta, it is evident that our Cemetery 5 belongs to
the same group as those which Stein assigns to the autochthon Lou-Ian popula-
tion. Stein brought away two skulls from this kind of graves. Joyce characterizes
them as belonging to Homo alpimts. Nowadays Homo alpinus is best represented
among the Iranian-speaking hillmen of the valleys adjoining the Pamirs, and also
forms a very conspicuous element in the racial composition of the present popula-
tion of the Tarim Basin.

Stein emphasizes the non-Mongolian features of the Lop-nor mummies, and I
have been able, on the whole, to confirm his statement. One or two of the mummi-
fied heads at Cemetery 5 had, however, broad cheek-bones giving them a "Mon-
golian" look, but this might be due to the individual variations that occur in every
race or type (Cf. the photo facing p. 209 in Hedin 1937). The long hair is a non-
Mongolian feature.

In Stein's grave L. Q. Ill the mummy had a red moustache, and in a partly
destroyed grave 2.5 km. NNE of L. I. the corpse had fair hair (Stein 1928, p. 288),
traces that would confirm the supposition of the race as non-Mongolian. In Mass-
grave I, which I have labelled as Chinese, Dr. Hedin found human hair of dark-
brown but also of red-brown colour.

If we compare the autochthon graves known from the delta region with
"Order's necropolis" we find less homogeneity in the first group. The types
of coffin vary considerably, and so do the wooden monuments surrounding them,
where such exist and have been preserved. The woollen textiles seem to be of a
finer quality than those most common on "Order's necropolis", the felt head-dress-
es are of thinner felt and more elegant, and the small baskets are decorated with
another pattern than those from Order's place. The triangle pattern on the wooden
pegs also differs in some details. These phenomena do not denote anything but local
or chronological variations in the handicraft of the same people. It is possible that the
autochthon population living in the present delta region had closer relations with
some other people, from whom they received cultural influences which somewhat
changed their funeral customs. The people buried at "Order's necropolis", on the
other hand, seem to have been living isolated, at least from Chinese influence. As
far as I know, none of the articles which are typical of the autochthon graves have
been found outside the Lop-nor region.

Racially the autochthons may have been rather homogeneous over large parts
of the Tarim Basin. The political divisions into many small kingdoms can be ex-
plained by the curious physical conditions prevailing: sharply defined oases separat-
ed by large desert regions.

From Chinese sources we know of intercourse between the Lou-Ian people and

144

PL X1I1

a I )r. 1 ledin at Mass-grave I.
Photo by Mr, Chen,

b. The mummy in Grave 35, Photo by Mr. Chen.

C. Grave 35. The mummy removed from

the coffin and resting on the lid.

Photo l.v Mr. Chen.

VI XIV.

a. The ruined watch-tower

near The Small River, seen

from X,

b. The ruined watch-tower

Sanjc or Tsonch (Stein

Y, VII) between Korla and

Ving-pan, seen from E.

c. The ruined watch-tower

near Sai - chekc (Stein

Y ; VI) between Korla and

Ying-uan, seen from S\V.

the Hsiung-nu (Huns) and this is hinted at also on p. 166 (and Bergman 1935 c, pp.
106—108), though there have been no close affinities between the two peoples.
This is attested for instance by the textiles. Miss Sylwan has drawn my attention
to the fact that the woven fabrics of wool from the Lop-nor graves are technically
of a higher quality than the felt from there. The Lou-Ian people were skilful weavers
and knew well how to utilize their primitive resources. We know nothing about
any definitely Hunnish textile fabrics, 1 but we are fully aware that the Huns manu-
factured e. g. excellent felt carpets (the Noyan-ola tombs). In this respect the Mon-
gols are true successors to the Huns : they have not learned the art of weaving to
this day, but they produce felt of high quality. Miss Sylwan will enter more
thoroughly into this matter in her forthcoming publication on the textiles.

The Chinese expansion into the Tarim Basin started in the last decades of the
second century B. C, and the Lou-Ian kingdom must have been the first part to be
subdued. At the beginning there were hardly any Chinese settlements here. In
B. C. 49 the military station T'u-ken existed, and by and by the Chinese influence
must have made itself perceptible. The homogeneity of the graves at "Ordek's necro-
polis" and the absence of silk stuff there might be used as arguments for regarding
this cemetery as anterior to the time of the Chinese domination of the Lou-Ian
kingdom.

Finally we will touch on the question of the chronology of the Chinese graves.
The Lop-nor mass-graves are no doubt secondary graves and have nothing in
common with, for instance, Siberian mass-graves. The primary tombs have prob-
ably in most cases consisted of single graves, such as Grave 35 (and possibly double-
graves). If these latter were placed on too low ground where inundation would one
day threaten the tombs with destruction, or if they were exposed to the ill-effects
of the ever active wind-erosion, the corpses had to be moved and reburied at a
safer place in accordance with the pious Chinese custom to take care of the dead
relatives. Only the tops of the big mesas could afford a relatively safe resting place
for the dead. Inundation from the river could never reach so high, and the effect
of wind-erosion was also less strong on the hard mesa material than on the rather
soft yardang clay. Stein, who advocates this theory, is of the opinion that the
Chinese settlers in Lou-Ian, when they perceived the grave situation approaching
through the diminishing water-supply in the Tarim delta, collected the contents of
all exposed graves before leaving the region and reburied them in safe places on
the high mesas.

This explanation is quite reasonable and explains the mixed contents of the collec-

1 I am not at all convinced of the correctness of Camilla Trever's statement when she ascribes certain of
the woollen textiles from Noyan-ola to the Huns. And the examples of Hunnish textiles which Alfoldi mentions
in his review of Trever's book (in Artibus Asiae 6, pp. 160 ff.) may refer to embroideries or felt carpets and
not to really woven materials.

145

tive graves as well as their incomplete skeletons. The sepulchral articles in each
grave must consequently be of a somewhat varying age. We therefore cannot date
these objects more precisely than within the earlier and middle part of the Lou-Ian
period, say ioo B. C. — 300 A. D. Most of the datable objects in the mass-graves
seem to point to the later Han dynasty. Our Mass-grave 1, for instance, cannot
have been built earlier than the end of the second century A. D., probably later. This
is attested by Prof. Konow's dating of the Kharoshthi script on the silk strip No.
34:65.

I have to object to the method used by Stein in dating one of the Chinese silks
found at Lou-Ian. He compares his L.C.x.04 with T.XXII.c.ooio a, the latter from
a refuse-heap near one of the watch-towers on the Tun-huang Limes, where a
wooden record dated 98 B. C. was also found. If these objects had been excavated
from a single grave the date of the record would have been more valid for the silk.
Now they originate from a refuse-heap which has been long "in use", and under
such conditions we have to reckon with the whole period of occupation of the ruin
to which the refuse-heap belongs, and we thus come well down into the second
century A. D. Only if we count in this way are we on the safe side. The stylistic
analogies are also far from convincing, as can be seen from the reproductions. This
date has nevertheless been generally accepted and quoted in all cases where the
chronology of the Lou-Ian silks has been considered. I do not deny that both of the
silks are among the oldest known from Central Asia. They may perfectly well be of
the first or even the second century B. C, but such a statement must be based only
on stylistic criteria.

When Stein comes to this silk L.C.03ib and compares it with the silk piece
T.XV.a.002 from another Tun-huang tower with MSS. from B. C. 53 to A. D.
137, he applies these chronological limits to the Lou-Ian silk. Here his method is
unassailable, and the stylistic analogies are evident. These years do not, however,
constitute absolute limits for the occurrence of these silks in Central Asia.

The barrenness and desolation of the Lop desert is only intensified by the occur-
rence of so many grave-yards. The best preserved mummies give more an impression
of human beings asleep than dead, and the few who have experienced the strange
sensation of confronting them have stood in amazement at the marvel of Nature
which has kept them so life-like for two milleniums. In the delta region the high
mesa plateaus, which had the same appearance then as they have now, were chosen
as grave-yards in order to secure the dead from moisture and animals. There the
people of Lou-Ian are resting in their last sleep, all faithfully joined in death. From
their relatives they have got provisions and symbolic objects meant to enable them
to carry on their accustomed life also beyond the grave. Uncounted storms have
roared over their heads, stars have glistened over the tombs on quiet nights, and

146

every summer the hot glowing sun has burned down on their tombs. A peaceful

resting-place they certainly had, until strangers came and disturbed them in trying |

to reveal something of the unknown and to dispel something of the oblivion which

has for so lang rested over this lonely part of Central Asia.

5. THE RUINS OF THE LOP DESERT. 1
A. INTRODUCTION.

The ruins of solidly constructed fortresses with walls of stamped clay, stupas of
sun-dried bricks, and dwelling houses or temples with less solid walls but having
reinforcements of timber, form the most conspicuous remains of human settlements
of bygone ages in what for so many centuries has been an absolute desert. Thanks
to the efforts of all visitors — in reality they are not very many — to these desolate
regions quite a number of ruins have been discovered and put on record. In all prob-
ability many more await discovery, though probably none of any marked size.

Sven Hedin was the first to discover ancient ruins in the Lop desert, which

happened on his expedition 1900 and 1901. He has fully described these events in

his great work "Scientific Results of a Journey in Central Asia", Vol. II, and in

his personal narrative "Asien". I have already discussed these questions in BMFEA
7, pp. 72—74.

The next to visit these grounds was the American geographer Ellsworth Hunt-
ington. Between Altmish-bulaq and the Lou-Ian station he, early in 1906, came
across a good-sized house on the top of a great mesa, and half a mile from there
were parts of an ancient s a t m a or shepherd's hut of reeds (Huntington p. 262).
On his map he has marked seven ruins (beside the Lou-Ian station) between Alt-
mish-bulaq and Chivillik-kol. Save the two just mentioned he gives no particulars as
to their appearance or exact position, and it is impossible to correlate them with
the ruins found by later explorers. I have thus been unable to enter them on mv
maps. As far as mentioned in his book no collections of antiquities were made.

Sir Aurel Stein surveyed the Lou-Ian region both in the winter season 1906 — 07
and 1914, visiting all ruins discovered by Hedin, and tracing many others. In the
following I use Stein's designations also for those ruins found by Hedin, cf. the
map Fig. 37. In practically all localities he undertook excavations which yielded rich
collections of antiquities of about the same kind as those brought to light by Hedin.

The Japanese scholar Tachibana paid a visit to the Lou-Ian station in 19 10, but
I am unaware of any discoveries of ruins made by him.

The Chinese archaeologist Huang Wen-pi, who took part in Dr. Hedin's great

1 I have discussed the Lop-nor graves anterior to the ruins from there because the former have yielded much
more important finds, though it would have been more logical to start with the ruined dwellings and take the
graves last.

147

expedition to Sinkiang in 1927 — 30, travelled, in 1930, to the northern part of the
Lop-nor basin. There he located a ruined station and several structures at one of the
three northernmost freshwater bays of the present lake Lop-nor. From the context
of some Chinese records on wood bearing the dates B. C. 49 and B. C. 12 — 9, which
were excavated by Huang, he has stated the name of the ruin to be T'u-ken
(Huang 1930). Huang's discoveries here are of outstanding importance for the
chronology of the Lou-Ian settlements as his dated manuscripts are the oldest
known from the whole area.

Horner and Chen, in 1931, passed Huang's place T'u-ken, and it is thanks to
their mapping that the position of the ruin has been fixed. According to Horner
( T 93*> P- 370 tn ere are ruins of one big house with partly standing timber posts
from the walls, and one smaller, more solidly built structure. Probably there were
formerly still more buildings.

Horner and Chen found the upper part of the iron knife PI. 30: 10 and the bronze
tube PI. 30: 5 in these ruins. The knife is of a Chinese Han dynasty type, and was
at least 30 cm. long when complete. It may be labelled as a weapon. The bronze tube
is the upper part of a hooked socket which protected the end of a wooden rod in a
canopy (cf. p. 168). Its nearest parallel is from the tomb of Wang Kuang in Korea
(Oba and Kayamoto, PL 84), which is also of the Han dynasty.

B. HORNER'S AND CHEN'S COLLECTIONS FROM THE LOU-LAN

STATION.

The main site of the whole Lop-nor region, and its once military centre, is the
ruined station of Lou-Ian which Dr. Hedin was fortunate enough to discover in
March 1901, and from which he brought away a certain number of Chinese records
on wood and paper besides various other finds. The manuscripts and the small finds
were published by Conrady in 1920, and after another fifteen years the wood-
carvings were described by me together with a fuller treatment of all the small finds.

The ruins have been searched twice by Stein, and also visited by Huntington,
Tachibana, Horner and Chen. The latter is the only Chinese to have seen, in our
days, what is left of this Chinese outpost on the Silk Road. He has visited the site
thrice, which is more than any of the others have done.

The joint visit of Horner and Chen resulted in a collection of various small
articles (listed as No. K. 13378 below), and Chen's visits in 1934 gave an addition
to this collection (No. 32 in the list).

Coins.

Of Wang Mang's issues Huo-ch'uan and Ta-ch'iian-wu-shih there were found
two, and one specimens respectively, and of the normal Han dynasty Wu-ch'u

148

twenty-one specimens. Besides these there are one clipped Wu-ch'u, eight without
outer rim, and twelve Wu-ch'u of small size, i. e. debased. Twenty-one "Goose-eyes"
and twenty-two uncertain fragments were also recovered. No. 32 : 57 may be a non-
Chinese copper coin, but this is very dubious.

The discovery of these coins confirms the numismatic results arrived at through
the studies of earlier Lou-Ian collections.

Arrow-heads.

Two bronze arrow-heads with triangular section are of the ordinary Han type. PI.
28 : 43 has a triangular depression on each surface, and a short circular shank,
whereas the specimen No. 32 : 59 lacks both of these distinctions.

PI. 28: 42, of iron, is either a tanged arrow-head or else some sort of awl.

Mirrors.

PI. 28 : 1 — 2 show two fragments from the rim of bronze mirrors of Chinese make,
apparently of Han types. The first one has about the same decoration on the thick
rim as the complete specimen from Ying-p'an (PI. 15: 4). The second fragment is of
the same type as Umehara 1933 PI. 76, which is dated to the second or the third
century A. D. The rim is thin with a low ridge just as is PL 28: 4. A third fragment,
No. 32 : 62 may be from the same mirror as the second one.

PI. 28 : 4 is from a small mirror with floral design in low relief, of the type Ume-
hara PI. 77 — 78 from the later Han dynasty, and No. K. 13378: 35 also comes from
a mirror of this type.

For further discussion of the mirrors cf. p. 165.

Personal ornaments, strap fittings, etc.

The nice bronze finger ring PI. 28: 37 has an oval ruby as bezel.

PI. 28 : 36 is another finger ring of bronze, a sewing ring. Besides these there is
a fragmentary finger ring and a small piece of a second sewing ring.

There is a number of beads from Lou-Ian, seventeen of glass, seven of stone and
two of shell. The double-beads PI. 28: 15 — 17 have exact parallels among Hedin's
earlier finds (Bergman 1935 c, PI. XIII: 11 — 13). PI. 28:6 is an eye-bead of blue
glass and of inferior quality. PI. 28: 25 — 26 are round beads made from the marine
shell of a Turbo. The same material has been used for the fragmentary ring PI. 28 :
8, whereas Hedin's beads of shell were made of a Quadrula, i. e. a freshwater

149

shell (Bergman 1935 c, PI. XIII 123 — 29). A piece of an Anodonta, a freshwater
shell, was also found here.

The glass object PI. 28: 5 has also an exact parallel among Hedin's finds (Berg-
man PL XIII: 1). It is not a proper bead but has been attached to a rod of some
kind as ornament. A third specimen was found by Dr. B. Boiilin in a tower of the
Tun-huang limes together with Han objects (MFEA K. 13473:3).

Of other glass articles there are just a couple of sherds from vessels, No. 32 : 138
is yellowish-white, translucent and has traces of large ground ovals of a kind
occurring in Hedin's old finds from here. Two other sherds are of light green and
uncoloured glass. All the glass objects are certainly importations from the eastern
part of the Roman Empire, and it is interesting to observe how exactly the same
Roman beads occur both in the Tarim Basin and in Sweden. It has now been
proved by spectrum analysis that some of the Lou-Ian glass objects from Hedin's
old collection are certainly of western origin. This applies both to fragments of
vessels and beads (Seligman 1938, PI. IV: 7 — 9 and 12).

The simple bronze ring PI. 28:40 occurs in several examples in Hedin's old
collection. Now we have also got a square one, PI. 28:41.

The two-looped button PI. 28: 39 has a parallel in Stein's collection (Stein 1928.
PI. X, Badr. 01 17, from Khotan), and there is also a specimen in The Hallwyl
Collection in Stockholm (I: C, z. 2) besides several in MFEA, especially K. 11003:
1406 which has been gilt. This button type seems to be Chinese.

Diminutive bells are well known from this region, but the specimen PL 28: n is
extra small.

It may appear a little risky to reconstruct such a fragment as PI. 28 : 38 but I am
convinced that it has been of about the same shape and had the same function as
those depicted in the publication of the Keishu Gold-crown Tomb (Hamada and
Umehara Fig. 33), i. e. a heart-shaped hinged girdle fitting. The Korean specimens
are not more precicely dated than within the Six dynasties (265 — 589). J They are
supposed to go back to nomad prototypes.

The two identical strap fittings PI. 28: 34 — 35 of thin bronze have been fitted on
a girdle or strap to suspend rings.

There are no complete belt buckles from the Lou-Ian station, only three possible
tongues of bronze buckles.

The leaf-shaped plate PI. 29: 5 has iron rust at the broad end. In shape it coin-
cides with PI. 29 : 7 but its use is unknown.

As there is some refuse from bronze casting here as well as in many other places

in the surroundings, the manufacture of various bronze articles must have taken
place locally.

1 Hentze's opinion that the gold crown tombs are of ihe Han dynasty as stated in his paper in OZ 19 is
difficult to understand.

ISO

Other metal objects.

The lead hook PI. 28: 48 has possibly been used as a weight in some way or other.
Of such small sinkers as PL 28 : 44, 46 there are eight specimens. They are all of
lead and are quite common in the Lop desert.

The thin small lead disc PL 28: 33 with its irregular hole may be a coin, but it is
very uncertain. For lead coins cf. Bergman 1935c p. 100.

One iron point has already been mentioned. In the list I have labelled PL 29: 20
as a hammer but this designation may be questionable because of the small hole.

Several more fragments are of iron; some of them being from nails.

Wooden objects.

The comb PL 29: 1 is of a typical Chinese shape used in the Han period. It has
many parallels from the grave finds described in this volume, in my Han dynasty
finds from Edsen-gol (still unpublished), the Chinese tombs from Korea, and so
forth.

A crescent-shaped small object PL 29: 6 has possibly served as the top ornament
on a miniature stupa from some Buddhistic altar.

Pottery and stone articles.

From the Lou-Ian station very few potsherds have been collected. No. 32: 174
is a shard from the flat bottom of a larger vessel which has had five steam holes.
Horner brought back a small pottery lamp, PL 28:45 in the shape of a low, flat
bowl.

Five spindle whorls are made of potsherds, PL 29: 14, two of bitumen. There are
seven specimens of more or less regular whorls of blue limestone, some of which
may have been used in spinning, others as net sinkers, PL 29: 8.

Four more or less complete whetstones come from here, PL 29: 19, made of slate.
The smaller specimens have apparently been carried hanging at the girdle.

Of stone objects there is also a marble mace-head (broken in three) PL 29:9,
which may be compared with the more spherical specimen PL 29: 12 from the neigh-
bourhood of Lou-Ian. Stein found a mace-head at Fort L. K. (Stein 1928, L. K.
0130) and a stone sphere of lamellar structure with a large hole at the Lou-Ian sta-
tion (Stein 1928, L. A. 093). From Vash-shahri there is another fragment depicted
on our PL 37: 10. Such stone weapons were apparently in use during a long period
of time.

On his last visit Mr. Chen collected several small limestone and marble pebbles
which must have been carried thither by man, as no stones exist in the clay desert
around Lou-Ian. Some of them seem to have been polished by art, and they may have
been used in some kind of game.

151

I B

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM THE LOU-LAN STATION

K- 13378: 5-

K. 13378 : 6.
K. 13378 : 7-
K. 13378:8.

K. 13378:9.
K. 13378: 10.

Objects collected by Horner and Chen, in 1931.
K. 13378:1. Low, round earthenware cup,

brick-red. Apparently a lamp as
the rim has a small lip. Diam. 79 mm. H. 25 mm.
PI. 28 : 45-

K. 13378:2-4. Three spindle whorls made of

grey potsherds. Diam. 40—26 mm.
— :2. PI. 29:14, — :4. PI. 29:4.

About half of a large spindle
whorl of blue limestone. Diam. 62
mm. Th. 15 mm.

Irregular sinker of blue lime-
stone. PI. 29:8.

Disc of blue limestone, unfinished
whorl. Diam. 4 cm.

Mace-head of white marble (in
three parts), spheroid. Diam. 65
mm. Th. 31 mm. PI. 29:9.

Fragm. of much used whetstone
of slate with suspension hole. L.
85 mm.

Eye-bead of blue glass. Two
"eyes" empty, the other two filled
with black, brown and white giass.
Diam. 8 mm. PI. 28 : 6.

K. 13378:11-13. Three fragm. of carnelian beads.

K. 13378:14. Small piece of turquoise.

K- 13378: I5 _I 8. Four Wu-ch'u coins, two of them

fragmentary. Diam. 27 — 24 mm.

K - 1 33/8: 19-20. Two fragm. of Chinese copper

coins without legend.

K. 13378 = 21-24. Four Wu-ch'u coins (three of
them fragm.) without outer rim
and with incomplete characters. Not clipped but
cast in this way. — :2i diam. 17 mm. PI. 28: 28.

K. 13378:25. Fragm. of Chinese copper coin

with thick verdigris. Diam. 21 mm.

K. 13378 : 26-32. Seven coins without legend,

partly "Goose-eyes". Diam. 20 —
10 mm. — :26 PI. 28:31, — 127
PI. 28:30.

Leaf-shaped bronze plate. At the

broader end traces of iron rust.

55X33 mm. PI. 29:5.

Fragm. of rather small thin

bronze mirror with floral pattern

executed in low relief in the middle part. The rim

is slightly ridged, 2.4 mm. thick. Diam. has been

about 86 mm. PI. 28 : 4.

K- 1 3378: 33-

K. 13378 : 34-

K. 13378 : 35-

K. 13378:36.
K. 133/8:37.

Small fragm. of bronze plate with
relief design on one side. From a
mirror?

Small semicircular bronze fitting
with a rivet. 15X10 mm.

K. 13378:38

K- 13378:39
K. 13378:40

K. 13378:41
K. 13378:42

Fragm. of small bronze fitting
with a rivet hole. Cf. No. 32:90.
16X18 mm. PI. 28:34.

Tongue-bar of bronze, from
buckle, slightly curved.

Part of bronze pin.

Twelve bronze fragm. and refuse
from casting.

Small piece of slag.

Oblong bar of lead, the pointed
end terminates in a semicircular

hook. Used as some kind of weight ? 65X14 mm.

PI. 28:48.

K. 13378:43. Small iron arrow-point? square

section on pointed part, otherwise
circular. Portion of tang remaining. Might pos-
sibly have been an awl. L. 55 mm. PI. 28:42.

K. 13378 : 44- Wooden comb with rather coarse

teeth and parabolic back. 65X40
X6 mm, PI. 29; 1,

K. 13378:45. Small crescent-shaped wooden

object with a round central hole.
Probably from top of miniature stupa. W. between
points 41 mm. PI. 29:6.

K. 13378:46. Portion of a shell of an Anodonta.

K. 13378:47- Piece of sulphur.

Objects collected by Mr. Chen in 1934.

32:1-2. Two fragm. of Chinese coins, Huo-
ch'iian (Wang Mang issue). Diam. 21
mm.

Fragm. of Chinese coin, Ta-(ch'iian-
wu-shih). Wang Mang issue.

Fragm. of Chinese coin, possibly =
— : I. Diam. 22 mm.

Three Chinese coins, Wu-ch'u. Diam.
26 mm.

Wu-ch'u coin with partly clipped rim.
Diam. 24 mm. PI. 28:3.

Fourteen fragm. of Wu-ch'u coins.

Seventeen coin fragm. without visible
legend, probably Wu-ch'u.

= 3-

: +

32:

S-7-

32;

32:

9-22.

32:

23.

152

32: 24-27. Four Wu-ch'u coins with insignificant,
or entirely missing outer rim. Diam.
24 — 21 mm.

32:28-39. Twelve Wu-ch'u coins, three of them
fragmentary, the outer rim missing,
and cast so small that the legend is only partly
visible. Diam. 20 — 14 mm. — =36 PI. 28:29.

32 : 40-53. Fourteen "Goose-eye" coins. Diam.
14 — 8 mm. — : 49 PI. 28:32.

32 : 54. Small coin, possibly a late Wu-ch'u.

The size is that of a "Goose-eye" but
the shape is more regular. Diam. 11 mm.

32:55-56. Two fragm. of "Goose-eyes".

32:57. Non-Chinese copper coin? covered

with thick verdigris. Diam. about 16
mm.

32 : 58. Triangular bronze arrow-head with

short, circular shank. The sides are
slightly convex, each having a small triangular
depression. 29X11 mm. PI. 28:43.

32 : 59. Triangular bronze arrow-head with

flat sides. The edges slightly rounded
towards the base. 23X9 mm.

32:60. Fragm. of fairly large bronze mirror.

The thickened rim, 23 mm. wide, has
a "double-wave" band and a "saw tooth" pattern.
Inside this runs a zone with "oblique comb tooth"
pattern. Diam. has been about 14.5 cm. Th. of rim
3.5 mm. PI. 28: 1.

32 : 61. Fragm. of the rim of a bronze mirror.

The rim, 13 mm. wide, is slightly
thickened. Inside it are traces of a distinct star
pattern. Diam. has been near 9 cm. Th. of rim 2.5
mm. PI. 28 : 2.

32 : 62.
32 : 63.

32 : 64.
32 : 65.

Small fragm. of bronze mirror, possibly
belonging to — :6i.

Front part of bronze finger ring
(broken in two) with an oval ruby as
bezel. PI. 28:37.

Small fragm. of bronze finger ring,
hatched.

Sewing ring of bronze. Diam. 19 mm.
Br. 8 mm. PI. 28:36.

32:66. Fragm. of sewing ring of bronze. Br.

5 mm.

32 : 67. Bronze ring, made of a bent rod.

Diam. 19 mm. PI. 28:40.

32:68. Square bronze ring. 18X18X8 mm. PI.

28:41.
32:69-71. Three fragm. of small round bronze

plates with central hole.

32 : -j2. Round bronze button with two big

loops on the reverse side. The front
part is slightly vaulted and has two steps. Diam.
21 mm. PI. 28:39.

32:73. Small bronze button with a loop.

Diam. 1 cm.

32 : 74" 75- Two small bronze buttons with a pin
on the reverse side. Diam. 14 and 12
mm.

32:76-78. Three small bronze rivets with vault-
ed heads and a small plate at the other
end. Diam. 8 mm. L. 10 mm. — : yy PI. 28: 10.

32 : 79. Small bronze pendant shaped as a

hollow pyramid. 12X11 mm. PI. 28:9.

32 : 80. Small globular bronze bell. Diam. 9

mm. PI. 28: 11.

32:81-85. Five fragm. of bronze pins; at least
two are from hair pins. — :8l is 65
mm. long.

32:86. Half of a heart-shaped bronze fitting,

hollow; for the belt. PI. 28:38.

32 : 87. Fragm. of bronze buckle ?

32:88-89. One complete and one fragmentary
tongue-bar of bronze from buckles. L.
24 mm.

32 : 90. Small double bronze mounting for

strap, kept together by a rivet (broken
in two). One end has a square part. 26X18 mm.
Cf. K. 13378:37. PI. 28:35.

32:91. Fragm. of double bronze mounting,

possibly of the same kind as — :oo.

32 : 92. Rectangular, thin bronze mounting

with two rivet holes. 21X11 mm.

32:93. Fragm. of narrow bronze mounting

with three rivet holes through slightly
vaulted parts. Br. 8 mm., present L. 35 mm. PI.
28 : 47-

32:94-96. Three fragm. of different bronze
mountings or rods.

32:97. Eight small indeterminable bronze

pieces.

32:98. Various bronze pieces, fragm. and

refuse from casting.

32:99. Small lead disc with irregular hole,

possibly a coin. Diam. 13 mm. PI.

28 : 33-
32: 100-107. Eight small lead discs with central

hole, probably sinkers; oval or semi-
circular in section. Diam. 16 — 12 mm. — : 100 PI.
28 : 46, — : 106 PI. 28 : 44.

153

32: 108-109. Two f^t lead pieces, one of which has
two deep grooves.

32:110. Iron hammer (?) with rectangular
hole near centre. 77X21 mm. PI. 29: 20.

32:111. Twenty- four small iron fragm. Some
of them nails.

32:112. Semicircular ornament of yellowish-
brown glass. The straight part is
grooved. 12X8X6 mm. PI. 28:5.

32:113. Barrel-shaped bead of white, striated
chalcedony with crystals at one end.
L. 14 mm. PI. 28 : 12.

32 : 1 14. Fragm. of light-blue glass bead with
three longitudinal grooves. PI. 28: 13.

32:115. Oblong yellow glass bead with three
irregular ridges. L. 12 mm. PI. 28:14.

32: 116-117. Two double-beads of honey-coloured
glass, once gilt. L. 10 mm. PI. 28: 15
—16.

32 : 1 18.

32:119.

32 : 120.

■

Double-bead of blue glass. L. 6 mm.
PI. 28:17.

Polygonal bead of dark-blue glass. L.
5 mm. PI. 28: 18.

Small dark-brown glass bead. Diam.
4 mm. PI. 28: 19.

32: 121-124. Four blue glass beads, nearly spherical.
Diam. 6—8 mm. PI. 28 : 20-23.

32:125. Flat dark-blue glass bead. Diam. 12
mm. PI. 28:24.

32: 126-127. Two spherical beads made from the
shell of a Turbo. Diam. 6 mm. PI.
28 : 25—26.

32:128. Barrel-shaped bead of striated brown
and white agate. L. 11 mm. Diam. 8
mm. PI. 28: 27.

32: 129-133. Five fragm. of blue glass beads, two
of which are from double-beads.
— : 129 from an eye-bead (?) PI. 28:7.

32:134. Fragm. of polygonal bead of rock-
crystal.

3 2:I 35- Half of spherical bead of yellowish-
brown glass. Diam. 8 mm.

32:136. Half of spherical bead of carnelian.
Diam. 1 1 mm.

32:137. Fragm. of pierced turquoise.

32:138. Small fragm. of yellowish-white,
translucent glass, probably from a
vessel, with large, ground ovals.

32: 139-140. Two fragm. of light-green and white
glass, probably from vessels.

^2 : 141. Small piece of turquoise.

^2: 142. Fragm. of small shell ring (made from
a Turbo) with grooved surface. PI.
28:8.

32 : 143. Piece of light-green, semi-translucent
jade.

32: 144-164. Twenty-one small pebbles of white or
blue limestone. Some of them appar-
ently polished by man.

32:165. Spindle whorl of bitumen, one side
convex, the other flat and having four
small impressions. Diam. 42 mm.

32:166. Spindle whorl of bitumen, the rim
damaged? Diam. 29 mm. Th. 14 mm.

32: 167-171.FWC spindle whorls or sinkers of blue
limestone, partly irregular in shape.
Diam. 37-15 mm.

32:172. Spindle whorl or sinker, of thick,
brown potsherd.

32:173. Spindle whorl of light-grey potsherd,
one side flat, the other convex. Diam.
3 cm.

32: 174. Potsherd from the bottom of a largish
vessel with traces of five steam holes.
Reddish-brown, hard earthenware with darker
surface.

32:175. Whetstone of slate with suspension
hole. 86X23 mm. PI. 29: 19.

32: 176-177. Two fragm. of whetstones with
suspension hole.

32: 178. Small flake of brown jasper. Neolithic?

32:179. Some small pieces of sulphur or
sulphur-ore.

32: 180. Some small pieces of slag.

154

G RUINS DISCOVERED IN 1931 AND 1934.

In 1931 Mr. Chen found two ruined houses near to the north of the present head
of Qum-darya's delta. The western one was a house of the same construction as Dr.
Hedin's Ruin I (cf. Fig. 34) but smaller. On the map Fig. 37 it is marked 401.
Mr. Chen made a trial excavation there and found the wooden object PI. 31:8,
which is no doubt a die. It can be compared with Stein 1928 PL XXVI, L. M. I. 012
though the marks are not identical. This is an uncommon shape of die and unusu-
ally large. The following articles were also recovered from here: a small piece of a
fish-net with thin threads, a fragment from the sole of a shoe woven of hair, and a
bunch of black feathers.

The eastern ruin, about 3 km. to the ENE of the other is described by Mr. Chen
as a site where a house was going to be built, there being about ten worked timber
— like beams or posts — lying around. It is marked with the number 404 on the
map Fig. 37. The bronze dress-hook PI. 30: 7 was found here. It is clumsy and of
inferior workmanship, the "seams" from the casting are not removed, which makes
it likely that the hook is of local make. It might very well be of the Han period when
such long hooks came into general use. A very similar specimen was found in the
tomb of Wang Kuang in Korea (Oba and Kayamoto PI. 33: 1).

8 km. NE of the Lou-Ian station Horner discovered the ruins of a pottery kiln
close to 384 on the map Fig. 37 on the shore of a freshwater lake. The ground
was quite strewn with potsherds at this site.

A few logs shaped by man were observed by Horner in the desert about 13 km.
east of the Lou-Ian station, where they had formed part of a house not very far
from the edge of the salt crust.

On the big mesa LM3 about 2 km. to the west of Stein's castrum L. E. Horner
noticed the remnants of a cave. On the map Fig. 37 only the adjacent cemetery has
been marked (No. 390). The inner wall was formed by the mesa clay in situ, the
outer wall was built of blocks of salt-encrusted clay. The interior of the vaulted
structure was plastered with clay containing straw. The cave was 1.5 m. wide, 1.3
m. high and had been more than 2 m. long. The only "finds" made here was a lot of
bones of rodents. Horner suggests that the cave had been used as a granary, where
rats had feasted on the stores left, and been killed when part of the roofing crashed
down on them.

This structure is of special interest as it is unique in the Lop-nor region.

In 1934, finally, Hedin and Chen found a hitherto unnoticed house to be treated
here. In the same season Mr. Huang Wen-pi revisited his ruin T'u-ken, but it is
unknown to me if he made any discoveries at other places in the Lop-nor region.
During this visit in 1934 Mr. Huang found two wooden records on which are
mentioned the granaries of Chii-lu-tzu and Chiao-ho-ch'ii. (Huang 1935). The first
place is called Chii-lu in the Han annals and Stein has placed it at Besh-toghraq.

*55

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM VARIOUS RUINS

Find made inside the walls of Stein's
Fort L. K. 6/i— 31.

K. 13369. Polished miniature axe or chisel of
green chert. Thin and neatly made.
The sharp cutting edge has rounded corners. 50X
34X8 mm, PI. 5:11.

Finds from a ruin, probably Stein's
L. B. II. 14/1— 31.

K. 13377:1. Spindle whorl of dark-blue lime-
stone, wind-eroded on one side.
Diam. 3 cm. PI. 29: 13.

K. 13377:2.
K. 13377:3-5.

Thin bronze fitting or suchlike
with two holes.

Three small bronze fragments.

Ruined house 401 on N side of Qum-
darya near the head of the delta.

K. 13401 : 1. Oblong wooden die, square section.
One side blank, the second has three
carved lines perpendicular to the length of the peg,
the third side is covered with six crosses, the
fourth side has a figure shaped like an hour-glass
or the Chinese seal-character "Wu" carved on
the middle. The ends are blank. 140X15X16 mm.
PI. 31:8.

K. 13401 : 2. Fragmentary net-work of twisted
hemp(?)thread, 0.9 — 1.2 mm. thick.
Side of mesh 4.5 cm. Ordinary knot.

K. 13401 : 3. Fragm. of woven shoe, torn all
round. Coarse weave of hair, brown
and grey, brittle. Warp: th. 1.5—2 mm., 6 threads
to 2 cm. Weft: th. 1 — 1.5 mm. 20 threads to 2 cm.
L. about 16 cm. W. about 7 cm.

K. 13401 : 4. Bunch of black feathers with the butts
cut off.

Ruined house 3 km. ENE of the ruin
that contained the finds K. 13401.

K. 13404. Bronze dress-hook of uniform thick-
ness, clumsy. Nearly round section. L.
118 mm. PI. 30:7.

The ruined fort T'u-ken. 26/2 — 31.

K. 1343° • *• Fragm. of bronze tube with glob-

ular knob ; mounting for the end
of a canopy rib of wood. Below the knob a raised
ribbon with elevated middle line. Present L. 37
mm. PI. 30: 5.

K. 13430:2. Fragm. of iron knife. The upper

part of the handle shaped into an
oval ring. Very rusty. Present L. 121 mm. PL
30 : 10.

Ruin I. (No. 33).

Very near the«head of Qum-darya's delta Sven Hedin's party discovered a ruin-
ed house on May 5th 1934. It was situated on the left side of the river, 210 m. from
the shore on a 2 m. high terrace. 1 The ground plan shows a rectangle lying ENE —
WSW about 12.5x7 m., containing four rooms, and with an enclosure or yard
about 13 x 15 m. at the south-western end.

The walls of the house were marked by eighteen standing posts, among these the
jambs of two doors. Between there had been a wattle of tamarisk branches and
reeds filled out with plastered-on clay. The lowest part of this wattle was preserv-
ed, showing that the tamarisk branches were arranged vertically. In a corner there
was a fireplace with traces of charcoal. In the NW room there were some sheep
droppings, probably from a time when the house had been abandoned by the last
proper occupants. Stein has also observed that one of the Lou-Ian ruins (the once
beautifully decorated residence L. B. IV) had served as shelter for the flocks of
shepherds for a considerable number of years.

1 It is not marked on the map Fig. 37 but it must be situated in the neighbourhood of 40J.

156

Fig. 34. Ruined house on N. shore of Qum-darya, from WSW. Drawing from a photo by Mr. Chen.

Besides the drawing Fig. 34, made after a photograph by Mr. Chen, I refer to
the drawings by Dr. Hedin in his popular narrative "Den vandrande sjon" pp. 95

—97-

As is the case with most ruins in Central Asia the surroundings of this one was

also strewn with potsherds. They were of a well-burnt thick ware, in colour rang-
ing from red-brown to blue-grey and grey. The sherds brought home come from
rather large jars, most of them with a marked rim, Fig. 35: 1, 3, 6 — 8 and 10.

The iron knife PI. 25: 12 was found in the house as well as the fragmentary
signet ring PI. 27:9 (of bitumen?), two fragments of an iron cauldron, a rectang-
ular piece of red-brown woollen material, the flat bottom of a large oval basket, and
the rim of another basket, PI. 18:7, probably of the same type as No. 37:2. The
heavy wooden "comb" PI. 27: 12 is a weaving instrument, used to press down the
threads. Stein has found two similar specimens at Niya (Stein 1907, PI. LXXIII
and 1921, PI. XXVIII), and he also refers to the fact that such an implement is seen
in the hand of a weaving lady on a painting from Dandan-oilik (Stein 1907, PI.
LXIII). In Egypt they are said to appear from late Roman time and onwards
(Petrie, LXV: 148). The bone comb with long curved handle from the Minusinsk
region (Teploukhov, PI. 1 : 71) 1 might possibly be an instrument for the same pur-

1 A larger picture in L'Antropologie 39 (1929) p. 422.

157

Fig. 35- Sections of rims of vessels from the I -op desert I— to earthenware, n bronze, i) 33: t. 2) 9: 7. 3) 33: 4.
4) 16: 1. 5) 18:1. 6) 33:9. 7) 33:7. 8) 33:13. 9) 7.C:i. 10) 33:15. n) K.13382. All 1/3.

i'''

1 1 1

pose. It is grouped together with the Kurghan I culture, dated somewhat previous
to B. C. 500.

All the objects enumerated were collected from the surface of the ground in and
around the ruined house. Like the two ruined houses found by Mr. Chen in this
same region it awaits future excavation.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM RUIN I.

33:1-15. Fifteen potsherds from the rim of
thirteen or fourteen vessels, mainly
large ones, with rather short neck and projecting
rim. Hard-burnt ware, the colours ranging from
reddish-brown to grey. — : 1 Fig. 35: 1, — 14 Fig.
35:3. — -7 Fig. 35:7, — ;g Fig. 35:6, —113 Fig.
35:8, — :I5 Fig. 35:10.

33= '6. Potsherd from the rim of a vessel with

slightly marked neck and decorated
with a coarse incised zig-zag line on the shoulder.
Reddish-brown ware like the preceding ones.

33:17. Lug from big earthenware vessel, 62

mm. broad, projecting 40 mm. from
wall of vessel.

33:18. Potsherd from the flat bottom of a

large bulky vessel. The ware is blue-
grey on the outer surface, reddish-brown within.

33:i9- Iron knife with slightly convex back.

L. 15 cm. PI. 25: 12.

33:20-21. Two fragm. of an iron cauldron, one
of which has two raised mouldings.

33 : 22. Heavy wooden comb for pressing

down threads in weaving. The lower
edge wedge-shaped, the short blunt teeth being at
the thin end. The upper part rounded to a shape
to fit into the palm of the hand, and furnished
with a projecting knob. The edges slightly frag-
mentary. L. 155 mm. Br. 77 mm. Th. 35 mm. PI.
27: 12.

33 :2 3- Fragm. of signet ring of black mate-

rial, resembling bitumen. Very little
remains of the impressed bezel. PI. 27:9.

33:24. Rectangular piece of dark reddish-

brown, tight warp rep of fine wool.
The yarn firmly spun, similar in warp and weft,
th. 0.6 mm. The warp 250 threads to 10 cm., the
weft 90 to 10 cm. Selvages at the short sides, folds-
at the long sides. Full width of fabric = L. of
piece, 20 cm. W. 8.7 cm. Stitches of bright rose-

158

coloured wool in the folds show that the piece has coarse single-rod foundation. 74X36 cm.

been joined to some other material. 33 = 26- Fragm. of rim of large basket, prob-

33 :2 5- Flat bottom of large oval basket, coil- ably a tray-basket of the same kind as

ed with interlocking stitches on a No. 37:2. (PI. 18:7).

D. DISCUSSION.

The distribution of ruins, cemeteries and stray finds clearly shows that the settle-
ments have been limited to the western side of the large salt crust between the
glacis of the foot hills of Quruq-tagh and the northern marshes of Qara-qoshun.
We have thus to deal with a delta-settlement. If we take into account only the re-
mains of buildings and graves we can distinguish three groups. The first one is
centred around the present complicated delta of Qum-darya, and is no doubt the
most important of the groups, containing many ruins and the main part of the
graves.

The second group consists of Stein's ruins L. K., L. L., L. M. and L. R., situated
to the south and near the northern shore of the Qara-qoshun. These settlements
have probably drawn their water supply from one and the same river branch,
apparently the southernmost delta branch in the time of Lou-Ian. Prof. Herr-
mann's construction of a "River of the South", passing through the middle of
the Takiamakan, the fortress of Merdek and the ruins just mentioned, seems too
much out of touch with realities. In his last work he has also queried it on on the
map. (Herrmann 1938, Taf. VIII).

So far, no graves have been discovered belonging to this second group of ruins.

The third group is formed by the graves discovered in the western part of the Lop
desert along The Small River. There the water has returned and is now following
a single bed, which must be practically identical with the old course. This region is
more protected against wind erosion than the more easterly parts of the desert,
thanks to its cover of sand dunes. At the time of Lou-Ian this region was covered by
less sand, but with the passing of the centuries more and more drift sand has ac-
cumulated.

Future researches will of course increase the number of ancient remains — even
in the areas between these three groups — and quite new centres may come to
light. In the main, however, I believe that the differentiation as given above will re-
main.

The first group forms the centre of the whole Lou-Ian settlement, and this fact
alone makes it evident that the then delta must have watered this region. It is re-
markable, though, that the Lou-Ian station, which during at least the latter part of
the occupation was the centre, is the southernmost ruin so far known in this group.

The total absence of structural remains between the Lou-Ian station and the
southern group of ruins is worthy of special attention. On this stretch of 45 km.

159

separating the Lou-Ian station and the fort L. K. one would expect some sort of
signal-towers as the important road to Miran must have run here. The region is not
untouched by man, because stray finds both of stones and metal do occur here, but
the water supply was most likely insufficient to sustain any permanent settlements
or allow any construction of watch-towers.

A little to the east of this line lies the route along which Dr. Hedin carried out
his levelling from the Lou-Ian station to Qara-qoshun, and where he discovered a
flat depression, which he identified with the bottom of the lake Lop-nor of Lou-
lan's time. The extension of this basin is too limited to have been the only lake, and
it was hardly inundated at the time of Lou-Ian as Horner's finds K. 13356—8
are made in the deepest part of it. We oan therefore hardly count with the presence
of a lake here as an explanation of the absence of ruins.

As seen from the above the ancient settlements in the Lop desert are not limited
to any special still traceable shore-line but have been grouped along the river
branches of a delta. This kind of settlement has many parallels among the present-
day oases of Eastern Turkistan. The same kind of settlement existed in the Han and
the Sung- Yuan periods at lower Edsen-gol.

Taking the known ruins as a starting point one can thus, to a certain degree, re-
construct some features of the configuration of the Tarim delta at the time of Lou-
Ian. Thanks to the surveys carried out by Stein and Horner certain parts of an-
cient river beds have been put on record. In many cases it is very hard to determine
the location of the old river courses as the ground is so strongly wind-eroded. Only
some trifling spots of the actual land surface of the Lou-Ian time now remain. All
the rest has been ground off by the violent force of the north-eastern winds. Stein's
criteria of ancient river beds, i. e. long depressions lined by rows of trees, are not
conclusive in all instances. Some of his river beds as shown on his map (Sheet B)
can hardly be proved until more extensive surveys have been made.

When surveying the area immediately to the south of Qum-darya, between the
height of Yardang-bulaq and The Small River, I encountered several features,
which at first sight seemed to be old river beds. They consisted of river-like depress-
ions, 8—10 m. deep and 50—100 m. wide, and the edges were bordered by groves
of dead poplars and tamarisks. But they were anything but old river courses. Clo-
ser study proved them to be oblong, but closed, depressions, i. e. wind-hollows of
very considerable dimensions.

In some instances the bottom contained moist, black clay and even water of the
utmost salinity, PI. V b.

If I had only crossed these depressions at right angles, without studying their
extensions, the river-like appearance would certainly have led me to mark them on
my map as old river beds.

I The distribution of ruined dwelling sites does not necessarily mean that all of them

were within reach of water at one and the same time. It is very probable that they

160

are not quite contemporaneous. The houses along one delta arm might have been
deserted because of insufficient water supply at a time when houses along another
delta arm were inhabited. Such minor changes inside the delta are impossible to
prove with naked facts just now, but they certainly took place. Around 260 A. D.,
for instance, the region around the Lou-Ian station was apparently best suited to
the requirements of an agricultural military station, and thus selected for the found-
ation of the base camp. It may have been the administrative centre even before that
time.

6. STRAY FINDS FROM THE LOP DESERT.

The most interesting Lop-nor finds are those recovered from the tombs, but also
the small finds picked up from the ground in many different parts of the region are
important inasmuch as they furnish valuable information about the distribution of
land and water, settlements, roads and so forth in ancient days. As to the origin of
the stray finds we are left in uncertainty. In some cases they probably come from
destroyed tombs, in others they may have been picked up from dwelling sites where
the structural remains are not to be recognized (i. e. 'tati'-finds) and finally, they
may have been dropped by travellers in ancient time.

Evidently the stray finds cannot all be contemporaneous but none of those which
can be dated is younger than the known end of the Lou-Ian occupation.

When Horner and Chen, in the winter season 1930 — 31, made their survey of
the new lake Lop-nor and the delta of Qum-darya, they also found time to collect
archaeological objects as already mentioned. The major part of these consists of
loose finds from the eroded clay surface of the ground. In the descriptive list all
the articles are mentioned; here only the more important will be treated. On the
map Fig. 37 only those finds have been plotted which can be localized to a fixed
spot. The inventory numbers of the objects are used also on the maps, though long
numbers, e. g. K. 13396 have been shortened to the three last numerals: 396.

In the summer of 1934, Mr. Chen also collected a certain number of small ob-
jects in the delta region. They will be treated in this chapter as well as a few articles
found by Norin. The small finds collected by me and my men in 1934, in a more
westerly region than the above (south of Yardang-bulaq and along The Small
River) will also be mentioned here.

Coins.

The Wu-ch'u is the most predominating issue. Of the normal type there are 89
pieces, many of them having a small elevation on the middle of the inner rim at its
lowest part, PI. 30:8.

■ 1

161

Two samples, not illustrated here, have special marks : short ridges radiating from

the corners of the hole on the reverse K. 13379: 11, and a "nailmark" on the ob-
verse K. 1 3421: 1.

The cash strings PI. 31 : 1 consist, as far as can be judged, of the ordinary Wu-
ch'u coin. Nos. 26: 1 — 5 are covered with thick incrustations, but the size is that of
the normal Wu-ch'u.

There are two samples of a coin of Wu-ch'u type lacking the outer rim, and five
debased Wu-ch'u such as PI. 28:28 — 29, and one clipped PI. 30:9, making in all
245 Wu-ch'u coins.

Besides these there are only two "Goose-eyes" and some trifling fragments.

We may be quite sure that what I have called the normal Wu-ch'u is a true Han
issue. The chronological limits for Wu-ch'u given in numismatic works are 118 B. C
— 581 A. D., but at the end of the Han dynasty the Wu-ch'u currency was rapid-
ly debased, as is clearly visible on the specimens from here. They became smaller
and of much inferior make. If the Wu-ch'u were revived again it is hardly likely
that they were minted exactly after the same pattern as in the beginning of their
use. Both through Stein's finds and my own from well dated strata we have now
a fair number of undeniable Han Wu-ch'u, and the Lop-nor specimens referred to
as normal Wu-ch'u are of exactly the same shape and size.

Among these finds of the then current money there are especially two which are
worth consideration; they were made very near each other at the northernmost part
of the delta, at Horner's camp 106 (marked 420 on the map Fig. 37). The first
find bears the number K. 13421 and consists of 63 Wu-ch'u coins which were lying
scattered along an area of 30 m. in length and 1 m. in breadth. Some of them are
very thin from wind erosion.

On the occasion of Mr. Chen's second visit to this spot three years later still an-
other heap of coins was found there, No. 41 : 1 — 13.

The other find, K. 13423, depicted on PI. 31 : 1, is a partly preserved cash string
consisting of single coins or lumps of up to twenty coins adhering to one another
through the thick, hard incrustations. The latter arc caused by moisture. The most
predominating colour is not, however, green but the dark brown of the desert patina.

These two finds of money current during the Lou-Ian occupation in nearly the
same place show that this region immediately to the north of the present delta was
of special importance, and probably saw much traffic. Other bronze objects, too,
that have been found there point in the same direction.

The Chinese coins have certainly been minted in China proper, possibly with the
exception of some simple types such as the "Goose-eyes". It is impossible to give true
statistics of the coins from the Lop-nor region, only that more than one thousand
have been found, and that the majority consists of Wu-ch'u.

162

tbtig

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iftocM+cerv/rg

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War-

^■ < -°B-,.^b-

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A'BB c^tt*; 4< f*jp

oi^

£5 £"

^Merdek

• Cemetery

.Gr. Single grave

- Other finds

Camp

Zjp^L 1 Herd $3/t crust

Recently dr/ed-up
lake bed

E*F"

"A/tmisA-buJey

J ./

5\ 3

H
F

i^bjLfea

V J

tort

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iiv.

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-S9V

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9 J

Fig. 36. The Lop-nor region. Preliminary map compiled from the surveys of Hedin, Horner, Chen, Norin and

Bergman. (The two special maps referred to are Figs. 18 and 37).

Weapons.

Of true weapons very little is found in the Central Asian fortifications of anci-
ent times. When the garrisons left they took their weapons along with them, or
when an aggressor was successful he took possession of the weapons of the conquer-
ed and carried them away with him. What is left to us are only broken fragments or
accidentally lost objects, and some arrow-heads, the latter corresponding to spent
"ammunition".

The best object found by Horner and Chen is the cross-bow mechanism PI.
29: 18. It is of the ordinary type used in the Han period, quite plain, but in good
order. Hedin found the trigger of a similar mechanism, PI. 31:7, and Stein has
a bolt with square head from the Lou-Ian station (Stein 1921, PI. XXXVI, L. A.
II. v. 002), though he did not recognize its use as a bolt of a cross-bow mechanism.

The cross-bow is an infantry weapon of defensive nature, and was apparently in-
vented by the Chinese. It was in use as early as B. C. 228 as a cross-bow lock was

163

;

found in the tomb of Yu Wang at Shouchou dating from that year (Karlbeck
1938, p. 36). It probably existed long before that, though we lack definite proofs
(Wilbur, p. 428 f.).

The four bronze arrow-heads PL 30: 12 — 15, all with triangular section and of
well-known Han types, are cross-bow points. The two larger specimens, PL 30: 12
and 15, have unusually blunt tips.

The iron arrow-point PL 30: 16, of the three-winged tanged type, has been used
with an ordinary bow, and so has the three- winged, socketed bronze point No.
44:2, which is of the same type as Bergman 1935c PL X:2. It was found some-
where along the northern side of the delta.

The bow is an offensive weapon, and especially the composite bow invented by
the Central Asian horse nomads was highly effective.

Of the cross-bows we know only the mechanism and the stock (a complete Han
specimen excavated at Lo-lang in Korea, Oba and Kayamoto 1935, PL 82) but we
are still ignorant as to the appearance of the cross-bow bow, which must have been
of the composite type.

K. 13368:33 is a fragmentary and much corroded dagger blade (or spear head)
of iron, about 15 cm. long.

It is possible that the bronze tube PL 31 : 10 has served as the socket of the lower
end of a /Co-handle. I found it together with five coins of Wu-ch'u type to the south
of Qum-darya a little above Yardang-bulaq (at point 26 on the map Fig. 36). I
found a quite similar socket together with Han objects at Edsen-gol in Mongolia.

The leaf-shaped bronze plate PL 29: 7 is of unknown use. It is not absolutely out
of the question, though, that it has been riveted to a coat of mail. Laufer depicts
similarly shaped armour plates (Laufer 1914, Fig. 34), but they appear to have
several perforations and ours has only one.

Knives.

The three bronze knives PL 30: 22, PI. 31 : 2 and 12 may be of non-Chinese origin,
as they closely correspond to the nomad style knives (Ordos and Siberia). The long
one, of uniform breadth, PL 31:2, has close parallels among the Minusinsk
knives (Martin 1893, PL 20:28 and Merhart 1926, Taf. IV/V:2), and in MFEA
there are three iron knives of this primitive shape which were found in graves at
Belotsarsk on the Yenisei (K. 4089:3).

The blade of PL 31: 12 is slightly curved and only 7.5 cm. long. This knife
could as well have been found in the Minusinsk region or in the Sino-Mongolian
border land.

PL 30: 22, only the blade, is of the slightly curved type with concave cutting edge.

164

Mirrors.

Three fragments from one and the same bronze mirror are seen on PI. 30: 20.
This mirror is of "the hundred nipples, stars and clouds" type, which first appears
in the earlier Han dynasty.

Two small fragments from the thickened rim of mirrors (K. 13379: 14 and
K. 13409) may be of about the same date as the one first mentioned — at least they
cannot be older. One has the border decorated with a double "saw tooth" pattern
like PI. 28: 1, though smaller.

Stein collected three complete and twenty-six fragmentary bronze mirrors in
the Lop-nor region. Eleven of the total number come from the Lou-Ian station.
Among his reproductions there are for instance three TLV-mirrors, one with
"four animal design", two or three of the same type as our PL 28: 2 and one with a
lapidary inscription with eight characters reading: "When you see the light of the
sun the world is very bright" quite a common sentence on inscribed mirrors. 1 A
study of the originals might reveal more types. Those mentioned above were com-
mon in the Han dynasty. Most of them seem to be small, and as far as can be judged
from the illustrations they are of about the same quality as ours. These relics ac-
quire antiquarian interest from the fact that they are no doubt importations from
China proper. The fragment No. 8: 3 seems to be from a small, plain mirror, which
may be of local make.

Girdle and strap fittings.

The bronze buckle PI. 30: 1 was found by Horner in the southern part of the
Lop desert. I have reproduced it once before (BMFEA 7 Fig. 7) and labelled it as
belonging to the nomad style bronzes. The hook projecting from the front part of
the rim is large, but curiously enough turned "inwards" instead of "outwards" as
in ordinary cases. This shape might be partly due to wear; because of the thick ver-
digris it is impossible to get any definite impression of possible damage. There are

1 It is ralhcr interesting to find that a small Chinese bronze mirror which has been excavated from a South
Russian barrow is of the same type as this Lou-Ian mirror and carries the same inscription (Ebert's Real-
lexikon 13, Taf. 40 C, and Stein 1928, PI. XXIV, L. C 013). A certain number of Chinese jade objects (fittings
for sword sheaths) also readied Sarmatian South Russia (Ebert's Reallex. 13, Taf. 40 Df). Besides Chinese silk
stuffs found in a Crimean tomb not posterior to the first century A. D. and the Chinese silks excavated in Palmyra
from tombs not posterior to the third century wc know of a couple of most interesting cases of Chinese exports
from the time of the existence of Lou-Ian. In the Dane John at Canterbury. England, a bronze vessel of the
type Hu with Huai style decoration has been dug up (Ashton & Gray, PI. 14) and another Huai style Hu was
found in Rome (Vessberg in BMFEA 9). Both are good specimens and real pieces of art, and their presence in
Europe at the beginning of our era goes to prove that the Chinese exported not only silk stuffs but also other art
products, such as were in demand e. g. by the Romans. Some finds of Chinese wares in graves dating from the
Roman time are said to have been made long ago in the region of the Rhine. None of the objects is preserved,
and it is doubtful if we have here to deal with an ancient import of Chinese goods. A pottery vase depicted
in Bonner Jahrbiicher XV (1850) Taf. Ill: 1 cannot be of such a great age. Laufer has drawn attention to
several of these ancient but uncertain finds (Globus July 20th 1905; reviewed in TP 1905, pp. 511 f).

165

close parallels to this buckle, except the wrongly turned hook, from Minusinsk
(Martin 1893, PI. 31 : 20 and Tallgren 1917, PI. XI : 43, especially the former one).
A true representative of the Ordos and kindred bronze cultures is the fragment-
ary plaque or buckle PL 30: 4, which was found by Norin at point 416 on the map
Fig. 37f v * z - not ver y f ar to the north of the northernmost branch of the present
delta. Unfortunately only the front part is preserved and only the rim of the central
part where the main decorative element must have been placed. The nippled buttons
in the corners are, however, typical of the Ordos bronze art, and so is the projecting
hook for fastening the strap end.

The occurrence here of objects showing affinities with the Ordos bronzes might
possibly be regarded as a proof of intercourse between the Lou-Ian people and the
Huns, as the Huns are said by several authorities to have been the carriers of the
Ordos bronze art and we have, moreover, literary evidences of connections between
these two peoples. It is, however, by no means certain that the Huns were the sole
carriers of this art.

PL 30: 2 — 3 are two identical buckles of the "ordinary" construction with a
tongue, in these cases hinged to the central bar running across the oval frame. Be-
sides the two specimens in this collection I know of six others of exactly the same
shape: Stein 1921, PL XXXVI, L. A. 0013, and Pl.LIII, T. VII. 001 ; K. 13470:165
—166 and K. 11003: 1565 of the MFEA in Stockholm, and finally one specimen
found by me at Edsen-gol. Five of these have been recovered scientifically and can
be proved to be af Han date. A slightly different variation of this type has one
edge straight. I know of three specimens in the MFEA: K. 13483: 9 (from Stein's
tower X LI Ie in the Tun-huang limes), and K. noo3:732A and 1566 (both
bought in Kuei-hua). Both of these two variations seem to be of the Han and
immediate post-Han periods, and they probably formed part of the soldier's outfits.

The strap end of bronze PL 30: 23 has close parallels among the early migration
age types. The same construction with a freely hanging tongue is found on a silver
fitting from a grave near Stalingrad on the Volga from about the fourth century,
probably Sarmatian-Gothic (ESA 1, p. 37). A similar ornamentation is seen on a
girdle fitting on a painted figure from Kucha (Grunwedel 1912, Fig. 56).- The bev-
elling somewhat recalls the treatment of associated strap ends from the Isle of
Gotland (4th — 7th century).

Various metal objects.

Norin found a complete armlet, PL 30: 24, the flattened ends of which are de-
corated with some coarse lines, probably meant to represent snake heads.

A fragmentary finger ring PL 31:6 may come from the Lou-Ian station, but the
place of finding has not been definitely verified. In Dr. Hedin's old collection
there is a similar one (Bergman 1935c, PL XI: 12) and Stein has found several

166

Fig. 37. The present delta of Qum-darya and the western part of Lop-nor, with archaeological re-
mains. (Ruins and cemeteries found by Stein are also plotted). From the surveys of Horner and
Chen. One or two-figure numbers correspond to the inventory numbers in the lists. To three-figure

numbers K. 13 must be added to get the inventory number,

167

* ,

of this sort of rings with incised linear designs on the oval bezel, probably used as
signets, both at the Lou-Ian station and at Niya. Their appearance is non-Chinese.
Finger rings in general are rare in China until much later periods.

Other round or square "rings" such as PI. 30: 21 and 30:26 have probably been
fastened to straps or ropes. The square specimen may have been a buckle.

A hemispherical boss with a central pin, PL 30: 25, is one of the supports of some
case or vessel, probably of wood. Many objects of this kind are known from the
Lop-nor region, but this one is pretty large. Stein found a rectangular basket with
such bosses as supports (Stein 1928, PI. XXV, L. M. 1.01— 4). On lacquer boxes
from tombs at Lo-lang in Korea there are in some cases similar bosses on the lids.

Four identical specimens of the hooked tube PL 30:6 were found together with
the fine arrow-head PL 30: 15 above the high shore cliff to the east of the ancient
lake Lop-nor; the spot is marked 434 on the map Fig. 36. They are in fact the only
objects in this collection that have been found in this region, and they have most
likely been lost there by travellers. The four bronze tubes or sockets are of special
interest. The function of these hooked tubes has until recently been obscure — as a
rule they have been associated with arrows — which of course is absurd, as they
are unsymmetrical. Finds in the tombs at Noyan-ola show that they have been fixed
to the ends of wooden canopy ribs, the hooks having served to fasten the cover of
cloth or hide. In the case of Noyan-ola it has apparently been an umbrella or
canopy of such chariots as are depicted on the famous Shantung tomb reliefs. We
cannot be absolutely sure that all tubes of this kind were used on chariot canopies
or "umbrellas" — there were probably other kinds of "umbrellas" with such
fittings — but if our tubes belonged to a chariot it is not unlikely that this had to
be abandoned at the place where the bronze tubes were found. In any case the finding
place of these objects is worth particular consideration. It lies about 40 km.
from the present shore of the lake, and about 83 km. due east of the Lou-Ian stat-
ion. The position becomes of the utmost importance when we find that it lies in a
straight line from the south-western promontory of the Pei-shan ridges and the
easternmost outpost of the Lou-Ian ruins, i. e. that of Stein's tower L. J. It there-
fore seems likely that a direct road existed straight across the salt-crust, which ac-
cording to Horner's surveys seems to have a much more limited expanse here than
is shown on Stein's maps, and there were apparently several "islands" of better
ground in the salt-crust. It is doubtful whether the more northerly route found by
Stein was easier to negotiate than this direct one, and it was at least 30 km.
longer; but it was less liable to inundation.

Another fragmentary tube with lost hook, PL 30: 5, has been mentioned already
in connection with the ruins of T'u-ken.

A small bronze scoop PL 30: 18 has an exact parallel in Dr. Hedin's old collect-
ion from Khotan. It has just been published by Montell (1938, PL IV: 13), and
he supposes that it has had some function in Buddhist ritual. Otherwise there are no

168

Buddhistic objects in our collection, with the exception of the stupa ornament PI.
29:6 from Lou-Ian. Similarly shaped scoops, though probably larger, are known
inter alia from the Scythian royal tomb of Solokha in South Russia (about 300
B. C.) Ebert's Reallexikon 12, PL 85 a.

Some of the small bronze fragments come from vessels, but only one is from the
rim of a basin (K. 13382) Fig. 35:11, which can be compared with one of
Hedin's old finds from the region immediately to the north of the present delta
(Hedin 1905, p. 64).

There are several small perforated discs of lead, which have probably served as
net sinkers, PI. 30: 19 and 31 : 3. They are well-known from earlier collections from
Lop-nor. A larger piece is shown on PL 29: 17.

Stone objects, etc.

The whetstones are more or less rectangular and have usually a suspension hole at
one end; at least such small specimens as PL 29: 16 and 19 and PL 31 : 11 have been
carried at the girdle.

Spindle whorls are quite common, as already stated, and made of stone, pot-
sherds or bitumen, PL 29:3 and 31:4- From the graves we know of wooden ones.

A flat ring of white marble, PL 29: 10, is of the type Pi, the Chinese symbol of
heaven. This type existed in China proper as early as in late neolithic times, but this
specimen is more likely from the Lou-Ian period when Chinese influence was strong
in this region. It is strongly worn by sand on one side, and the outer rim has been
ground off on about one half of the circumference so that the diam. varies from
84 to 81 mm. The rim of the hole is also worn mostly on the half opposite to the
worn portion of the outer rim. The ring must thus have been lying exposed to
pretty constant winds for a considerable time.

Another marble object is the cylindrical bead PL 29: 11. Similar beads were found
in the Sha-kou-t'un cave (Andersson 1923, PL VIII: 13). There is thus a possibility
that our bead dates from prehistoric time. The two fragmentary mace-heads PL
29: 9 and 12 have already been treated.

Pottery.

Among the stray finds there are only few potsherds, not that they are uncom-
mon in the field — on the contrary — but as they are often plain and undecorated
they have not been collected so eagerly as stone and metal objects.

Most if not all of the Lou-Ian pottery was manufactured locally. Both Stein
and Horner have found pottery kilns.

The ware is hard-burnt and of dark-brown, red and greyish colour. The most
common shape is the bulky jar. The rim is more or less strongly moulded (cf. Fig.

169

35 : 4 — 5) ana " the bottom is flat. As there are only fragments the size of the vessels
cannot be determined, but most of them were middle-sized, only a few of them were
large. No. 17: 1 is a fragment from a wide pot with a stout, tubular spout near the

rim.

In addition to the places which have been marked on the map Horner noticed
potsherds in many places: 3 km. SE of 400; 2 km. S of 404; 1 km. SE of 404; around
L. A.; between L. A. and 365 in three places; around 387 and the kiln site 384;
between 384 and L. C; between 363 and 361 in four places, one of which lies close
to 361 and also had some flints; between 360 and 359 pottery and worked flints in
three localities; between 359 and 358 flints or pottery in six places; between 358 and
356 coarse potsherds; in the delta about 5 km. NE of 392 and 2.5 km -WNW of 390.

Concl

uswn.

It is a matter of course that the stray finds are distributed over a larger area
than are the ruins and the tombs. Attention has already been drawn to the bronze
objects found together on the eastern side of the salt crust above the shore cliff of
the prehistoric Lop-nor (434 on the map Fig. 36). There are also some finds on
the western border of the salt crust quite close to it. The existence of Horner's
ruined house due east of Lou-Ian station is a proof that it was possible to live quite
near the edge of the salt in the time of Lou-Ian.

The finds 35°— 8 on the map Fig. 37 are worthy of attention as they are situ-
ated in the middle of the depression which Hedin found to the south of Lou-Ian
station, and which he supposed to mark the site of the Lop lake at the time of Lou-
Ian. These finds indicate that a lake could hardly have existed here at the time in
question.

The concentration of finds around Horner's camp 106 at the northernmost
part of the present delta, marked 420 on the map Fig. 37, is so obvious that we
may suppose an important centre here. Nos. 41 and K. 13419—27 originate from
here, altogether more than one hundred objects, mostly of bronze and of a good
quality (i. e. good for the Lop-nor region). As suggested in the section on the roads,
the Silk Road must have passed here, and the many coins may have been dropped by
travellers on the road. The possibility of an undiscovered or totally decayed ruin
here must also be reckoned with. The neighbourhood of T'u-ken deserves attention.

DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF SCATTERED FINDS

Yaqinliq-kol.

1 : 1. Potsherd from rim of vessel with wide

mouth, brownish to grey ware.

1:2-3. Two small potsherds, red-brown and

grey ware.

1 : 4- Fragm. of small oval iron ring, prob-

ably from a buckle.

1:5. Small bronze knife of nearly uniform

breadth. 70X13 mm. PI. 30:11.

Qum-kol.

2: 1. Polished axe of light-green jade, un-

usually large. The cutting edge some-
what convex. Only part of one narrow-side is
polished. 185X95X24 mm. PI. 5 : 16.

170

About 700 m. NNE of Cemetery 4.

3:1. Four fragm. of a bronze hair-pin. U-

bent wire thickened at bend.

Scattered finds collected by Ordek S of
Qum-darya, probably along "The Small
River".

8:1. Nearly spherical bead of light-red

carnelian. Diam. 12 mm. PI. 15: 11.

8:2. Drop-shaped carnelian bead. L. 16 mm.

Diam. 8—6 mm. PL 15: 10.

8:3. Nearly half of a small bronze mirror

covered with thick verdigris. Rather
thin. The edge slightly thickened. Diam. about
6 cm.

About 35 — 40 li S of camp B 64 at
Pataliq-kol, a lake on the right shore of
Qum-darya.

11 : 1. Two joined potsherds from the rim of

a large vessel of rather thin red ware,
grey inside. The slightly concave collar is decor-
ated with slanting lines arranged in alternating
rows, thus forming a kind of zig-zag pattern. PI.
29:2.

11:2-8. Seven potsherds, apparently of the

same vessel as — : I. Two of them
decorated in the same way.

About 40 li S of camp B 64.

12:1. Three joined potsherds from the rim

of a vessel with slightly projecting
rim. Brownish ware intermixed with coarse-grain-
ed sand.

12:2.

Potsherd of the same vessel as — : 1.

Unspecified locality amongst the sand
dunes S of Qum-darya, SE or E of camp
B64.

13: 1. Three joined potsherds from the lower

part of a very large vessel of thick,
reddish-brown ware, hard-burnt and intermixed
with sand. The bottom has been flat.

13:2.

Sherd, probably from the same vessel
as — : 1.

Unspecified localities amongst the sand
dunes S of Qum-darya, probably S or
SE of camp B 64.

14:1. Flat spindle whorl of bitumen. Diam.

43 mm. Th. 7 mm. PI. 31 : 4.

15: 1. Flake of grey flintlike stone with worn

edges. 55X12 mm.

16:1. Three joined potsherds from the rim

of a bulky vessel with short neck.
Hard-burnt ware, brownish-red to blue-black in-
termixed with grains of sand. Fig. 35:4.

16:2. Two joined sherds from lower part of

the same vessel as — : I.

16:3. Sherd from the same vessel as — : 1.

17: 1. Potsherd from the rim of a squat pot

with a short, thick tubular spout. Red,

hard-burnt ware intermixed with grains of sand.

18: 1-6. Six potsherds, most likely all from one

vessel, rather large with slightly mark-
ed neck. Reddish-brown brick-like ware, slightly
weathered. — :i Fig. 35:5.

19:1. Small potsherd from the flat bottom

of a smaller vessel. Reddish-brown
ware.

19:2. Small potsherd from the rim of a

vessel of blue-black ware.

19:3*4- Two handles of earthenware vessels.

19:5-12. Eight potsherds, probably from four
different vessels of reddish-brown and
greyish ware.

20: r. Thin whetstone of green slate with a

suspension hole near the broader end.
98X32 mm. PL 31: 11.

20:2. Bronze knife, nearly straight. The

handle terminates in a ring with a
small knob on top. Back of blade slightly convex.
On one side a neat brown "desert patina" green
on the other side. L. 17 cm. Br. across ring 1.8
cm., handle 1.2 cm. PL 31:12.

21:1. Bronze knife, practically straight and

of uniform breadth and thickness.
Broken in early times across a small suspension
hole. Later on the blade was broken in two. Both
handle and blade have triangular section and are
not clearly separated from each other. Green ver-
digris, especially on one side. L. of blade about
9.5 cm. L. 18.6 cm. Br. 1.3— 1.4 cm. PL 31:2.

About 2 km. above camp B 62, S of
Qum-darya.

22:1. Two joined potsherds of thin reddish

ware intermixed with grains of sand.

22:2-4. Three fragm. of small flint flakes.

22 : 5. Fragm. of small flint flake with the

median ridge chipped on both sides.

22:6-9. Four small flint chips.

171

Near to the W of camp B 62, S of
Qum-darya.

23:1-3. Three potsherds of hard-burnt ware,
blue-grey or reddish. Recalling Han
ware.

23 : 4-5. Two small flint flakes.

23:6. Chip of light-green flint.

23 : 7. Small piece of lead.

23:8. Small piece of iron.

Scattered finds between camp B 62 and
a point 4.5 km. W of it, near the right
shore of Qum-darya.

24:1-21. Twenty-one potsherds of fairly uni-
form ware, hard-burnt, reddish-brown
to blue-grey.

24:22-23. Two small iron fragm.

1600 m. SW of camp B 62, S of
Qum-darya.

25:1. Potsherd of brownish and blue-grey

ware, intermixed with sand.

25:2. Irregular core of light-brown flint or

agate.

Two small flint flakes.

Small flint scraper; indistinct type.

Small flint chip.

Bifacial implement of light-green flint.
Coarse knife, unfinished? L. 55 mm.
Br. 29 mm. PI. 5: 10.

Chip of green flint.

Flat piece of light-red chert with green
striation. A little chipped along two
edges. L. 105 mm.

25:10. Pebble of grey flint, one side struck

off by man.

S of Qum-darya, between finds Nos. 25
and 27.

26:1-5. Pour complete and one fragmentary

coins with thick verdigris. The shape
recalls that of Wu-ch'u.

26:6. Bronze socket, cylindrical with a small

perforation 1 cm. below the rim. Prob-
ably a mounting for the lower end of the handle
of a /Co-weapon. L. 57 mm. Diam. 33 mm. PI.
31: 10.

:3-4

= 5-

16.

25'

25:

Between camp B6i and B62, about 4
km, S of the latter.

27: 1-5. Five potsherds of a thin-wallcd, light-
red vessel with slightly projecting rim-

About 2 km. SSW of camp B6i, S of
Qum-darya.

28: 1. Potsherd from the rim of a vessel with

straight neck and a plain moulding i
cm. below the rim. Red, rather thin ware inter-
mixed with coarse sand.

28:2. Small potsherd with traces of applied

decoration. Thin, brownish-red ware.

28:3-10. Eight potsherds of the same ware as
— : 1.

28: 11. Part of small core of grey flint.

28:12-14. Three flint flakes.

28:15. Fragm. of arrow-point of green flint.

The base shaped into a short tang. Br.
14 mm. PI. 4: 14.

28:16. Arrow-point, willowleaf-shaped, of

translucent agate. L. 29 mm. Br. 10
mm. PI. 4: 13.

28:17. Flint scraper?, irregular.

28:18. Small knife of green flint, nearly

crescent-shaped. 36X19 mm. PI. 4:6.

28: 19. Bifacial implement of dark-green

chert, one end straight and unworked,
the other end convex. 29X31 mm. Pi. 4:17.

28:20. Oval chip from a flint pebble, worked

on one side.

28:21. Oval knife of grey flint, worked on

one side. 58X29 mm. PI. 5:9.

Small knife of brown flint. 45X19
mm. PI. 4:9.

28 : 22.
28 : 23-24.
28 : 25.
28 ; 26.

Two chips of green flint, slightly
worked.

Roughly worked piece of greenish-
grey flint. Unfinished axe?

Fragm. of a flat piece of quartzitc
with one edge worked.

Various flint chips.

28 : 27.

Qum-darya, near camp B 61 about 2 km.
below Yardang-bulaq.

29: 1-4. Four potsherds of uniform reddish-

brown ware, rather thin and inter-
mixed with coarse sand. Wind-eroded.

172

About 10 km. W of Hedin's camp 74 on
S shore of Qum-darya, and about 44 km.
WNW of Lou-Ian station.

30:1-4. Four cores of yellowish-brown agate
and grey flint

30 : 5-8. Four flakes of agate and flint, two
of them having retouched edges.

30:9. Flat, oval stone, probably shaped by

nature though very symmetrically.

Hedin's camp 75 on an island in the
westernmost part of the delta of Qum-
darya.

31: r. Bronze trigger from a cross-bow

mechanism. 115X18X11 mm. PI. 31:7.

31:2. Fragm. of a circular bolt of bronze

from a cross-bow mechanism. Diam.
1 cm.

31 : 3. Sheep's tooth.

Finds collected by Mr. Chen 1.5 — 2 km.
N of the Qum-darya delta between 417
and 420 on the map Fig. 37.

40: 1. Two pieces of a corroded coin of Wu-

ch'u type, without legend. Diam. 21

mm.

40:2. Three fragm. of a corroded coin of

degenerated Wu-ch'u type. Nearly
square. Diam. about 18 mm.

40:3. Strap-end of bronze in two parts. A

rectangular part with a lower narrow
end turned backwards (around strap) and fastened
to the wider part with a rivet. In the loop thus
formed hangs the second part, rectangular, the
lower end with an obtuse point. Both parts have
chamfered edges at the outer ends and two crossed
lines. 83X12 mm. PI. 30:23.

40:4. Rectangular bronze ring, possibly

from a buckle. 26X20 mm. PI. 30 : 26.

40:5-8. Four smallish flakes of grey-blue or
green flint.

40:9. Piece of flake of yellow-brown flint,

one edge a little retouched.

Finds from the same place as K. 13421.

41:1-3. Three Wu-ch'u coins, diam. 22 and

20 mm.

41 : 4- Coin of Wu-ch'u type but without

visible legend. Diam. 26 mm.

41 : 5. Wu-ch'u coin, diam. 23 mm.

41:6. Wu-ch'u coin, with clipped rim. PI.

30:9.

41 : /. Coin of Wu-ch'u type but without

visible legend, possibly clipped.

41:8-11. Four Wu-ch'u coins without outer rim
and cast in such a way that the legend
has become incomplete. Diam. 18 — 16 mm.

41:12-13. Two "goose-eye" coins, diam. 13 mm.

Finds either from a place in the Qum-
darya delta, or from Lou-Ian station.

42: 1. Small coin fragm. with a Wu.

42:2. "Goose-eye" coin? PI. 31:5.

42:3. Bronze boss, nearly hemispherical,

hollow, with a straight central pin.
Slightly projecting flange at the base of the boss.
The top is a little flattened. Diam. 35 mm. H. 16
mm. PI. 30:25.

42:4. Front part of a bronze finger-ring

with flat elliptical bezel with linear
design. Diam. has been 22 mm. PL 31:6.

42 : 5. Small bronze pendant, a flat oblong

piece with ring-shaped loop at one
end; worn out. L. 32 mm. PI. 31 :g.

42:6. Bronze bead of wire laid spirally.

Diam. 8 mm.

42:7-8. Two fragm. of bronze pins.

42:9. Flat oblong bronze object with a

broader, oval part at one end. The
broader part has two perforations and a longi-
tudinal groove. The other end probably broken
off. L. 85 mm. Br. 22 — 6 mm. PI. 30: 17.

42:10. Various bronze fragm., mostly refuse

from casting.

42:11. Small lead sinker, disc with central

hole. Diam. 15 mm.

Finds from a place in the Qum-darya
delta, or from Lou-Ian station.

43:1-2. Two iron fragm., one bent to form
an angle, one straight.

43 : 3- Iron arrow-head, three-winged with 4

cm. long tang. Damaged. L. 7.8 cm.
PI. 30:16.

43:4-5. Two iron fragm., one of which is
from a nail or pin.

43 : 6-8. Three small coin fragm., bronze.

43 : 9. Various bronze fragm., partly refuse

from casting.

173

43:10-11.

43 : is-

43=13-

Two small fragm., probably
bronze vessels with fluted wall.

from 44 : 2.

Spindle whorl made of grey potsherd.
Diam. $2 mm.

Small piece of turquoise.

Finds collected by servants on N side of
the Qum-darya delta at an unknown
locality, or localities.

44:1. Wu-ch'u coin, broken in two. Diam.

25 mm.

Bronze arrow-head, three-winged with

socket. The bases of the wings form

barbs. The socket has three small slit-like openings

between the wings. L. 35 mm. W. between the

points of the barbs 15 mm.

44:3. One end of a wooden slip with eight

indistinct Chinese characters careless-
ly written in black. L. 106 mm. Br. 11 mm. PI.
29:15.

44:4-5. Two small fragm- of much decayed
wooden records with nearly effaced
writing. Br. 8 mm.

Horner's and Chen's Lop-nor collection, (except the finds from ruins).

.i, '

C*V

Find made about 9 km. to the W of the
salt crust at the southern end of the new
lake Lop-nor and 8 km. SSE of Stein's
Fort L. K. 5/1— 31.

K. 13352. Small flake of yellow flint, finely
retouched edges. L. 42 mm.

About 3 km. to the east of K. 13352.
5/1— 3i-

K. 13353 : *• Core of green flint. Flakes chipped off
from one side only. L. 51 mm. PI.
4: 16.

K. 13353:2. Chip from top of grey flintcore. The
straight edge retouched as a scraper.
PI. 4:15.

About 4 km. to the east of K. 13353.
5/1— 3i-

K. 13354- Core of dark-grey flint. Oval section.
L. 26 mm.

Find made in a wind-eroded hollow some
km. W of the large salt crust and a few
hundred m. E of K. 13354. 5/1 — 31.

K- '3355- Bronze buckle with a strong button-
shaped hook on the middle of the front
part. The rear part has an oval hole for attaching
the strap. Thick verdigris. 55X40 mm. PI. 30:1.

About 26 km. due S of Lou-Ian station

near the W border of the large salt crust.
1/2— 31.

K. 13356: 1-5. Five small flakes of yellow-brown
and grey flint.

About 500 m. S 75° E of K. 13356.
1/2— 31.

K- x 3357- Core of brown flint made of a flat
stone 9 mm. thick.

About 4 km. almost due N of K. 13357.
1/2— 31.

K. 13358: 1. Part of an oblong whetstone of grey
slate with a suspension-hole near one
end. L. 75 mm.

K. 13358:2. Small chip of striated opal or jasper.

12.5 km. SSE of Lou-Ian station near
the W border of the large salt crust. The
pick from a rich site. 2/2 — 31.

Core of brown quartzitic stone.
Cylindrical. L. 45 mm. PI. 4: 18.

K- 13359 : 1-
K. 13359:2.

K. 13359: 3-

Core of dark grey flint or agate.
L. 38 mm.

Roughed-out core of dark grey
flint.

K. 13359:4-22. Nineteen small fine flint flakes

with one or both edges retouched.
The longest is 55 mm.

K- 13359:23-32. Ten small fine flint flakes.

K. 13359:33-36. Four flint chips.

About 4 km. NE of K. 13359. 2 / 2 — 3 1 -

K. 13360. Polished axe of green chert with
brown flames. The polishing is con-
centrated on the broad sides and especially on the
cutting edge, which is almost straight but slants
slightly, not being parallel to the median line. The
narrow sides are not worked. 53X35X12 mm.

PL 5:13-

174

400 m. nearly NNE of K. 13360.
2/2—31.

K. 13361. Thick lead ring, irregularly shaped.
Probably a sinker. Diam. 33 mm. Th.
19 mm. PI. 29: 17.

About 4.5 km. NE of K. 13361. 2/2 — 31.

K. 13362. Core of grey flint, regular, slightly
pointed. L. 30 mm.

500 m. NE of K. 13362. 2/2 — 31.

K. 13363: I. Small potsherd of rather thin, sandy
ware, grey and reddish.

K. 13363:2-5. Four small flint flakes.

600 m. NE of K. 13363. 2/2 — 31.

K. 13364. Small fine flake of light-grey flint.
L. 41 mm.

About 200 m. NE of K. 13364. 2/2 — 31.

K- 133^5- Polished axe of brown chert, very well
made throughout. The cutting edge is
nearly straight (damaged in one place). 63X46X13
mm. PI. 5:21.

Scattered finds in the region somewhat
to the W of K. 13363, about 11 km. ESE
of Lou-Ian station. 20/2 — 31.

K. 13366: 1. Piece of bronze sheet, possibly from
a vessel.

K. 13366:2. Small roughed-out core of grey
flint. One end battered.

K. 13366:3-5. Three flint flakes with retouched
edges.

K. 13366:6-7. Two small flint flakes.

Between K. 13361 and K. 13365.
2/2—31.

K. 13367. Polished axe of dark-grccn chert.
Short and broad. The cutting edge is
quite straight. The butt left unworked. 50X41X13
mm. PI. 5:20.

Scattered finds between K. 13359 an d a
spot 5 km. NE of K. 13364. 2/2 — 31.

K. 13368: 1-4. Four small cores of grey flint

and Hght-green agate.

K. 13368:5-15. Eleven small flakes of grey, green

and yellow flint and agate.

K. 13368: 16-24. Nine small flakes with retouched

edges. — : 18 PI. 4: 11.

K. 13368:25. Flake of yellowish-brown agate

with retouched edges. The some-
what broader point forms a good scraper. PI. 5 : 6.

K. 13368 : 26. Flake of yellow agate with re-
touched edges. The median ridge
is partly chipped on both sides. L. 6 cm. PI. 5:7.

K. 13368:27. Large pointed scraper made of a

triangular sherd of green flint.
One straight edge retouched. 75X48 mm.

K. 13368:28. Polished axe of black-green chert,

very thin. The butt left unworked.
The cutting edge slightly convex. 60X44X9 mm.
PI. 5:18.

K. 13368:29. Polished axe of green chert, short

and broad. Only the lowest part
of one of the narrow sides is polished, the rest and
the butt being left unworked. The cutting edge
nearly straight. 54X47X15 mm. PI. 5: 19.

K. 13368:30. Polished miniature axe or chisel

of green chert. The cutting edge
is slightly convex. The butt left unworked. 42X
32X7 mm. PL 5: 12.

K. 13368:31-32. Two chips of flint and chert.

K. 13368: 33. Iron dagger blade or javelin. Much

corroded and broken in several
pieces. L. about 145 mm.

K. 13368:34. Fragm. of a bronze ring made of

wire.

About 9 km. nearly N of Stein's Fort
L.K.6/1— 31.

K. 13370: 1-2- Two small flakes of yellow flint.

About 12 km. N of K. 13370. 7/1 — 31.

K- I 337 I : I_2 - Two flint cores.

K. I337i:3' Small flint flake, weathered.

11 km. nearly N of K. 13371- 7/1 — 31.

K. 13372. Fine flake of yellow flint. 48X11 mm.

About 300 m. NE of K. 13372. 7/1 — 31.

K- 13373. Small oval bronze ring made of wire.
Diam. 19 — 15 mm.

17s

K. 13375 = 3-5-
K- 13375:6-7.

Scattered finds along the route between
the finds K. 13371 and K. 13376.

7/1— 31-

K. i3374:i-3- Three small fine flakes of green

and brown flint with well re-
touched edges.

K- 13374:4-5- Two small flint flakes.

K. i3374:6-7- Two chips of light-green flint.

Sandy depression in wind-eroded clay
14 km. WSW of Lou-Ian station. The
pick from a rich site. 7/1 — 31.

K- *3375 : *• Fragm. of brown flint core.

K- 13375:2. Small flake of brown flint or

agate with partly retouched edges
and the median ridge chipped on both sides. L.
47 mm.

Three small flint flakes with re-
touched edges.

Two piercers or awls made of
small flint flakes. L. 34 and 27
mm.

K. 13375 = 8-46. Thirty-nine small flint flakes with

one or both edges retouched. The
largest, — :8, is 62X11 mm. PI. 5:3. — : 12 PI.
5:4.

K. 13375 : 47-68. Twenty-two small flint flakes,

several with worn edges.

K- 13375:69-72. Four flint chips (refuse).

Scattered finds between K. 13375 and a
point 2 km. N of it. 7/1 — 31.

K - J 3376: 1. Tubular bead of white-blue marble, L.
21 mm. Diam. 11 mm. PI. 29:11.

K. 13376:2. Half mace-head of white marble,
nearly globular. Diam. along hole 61
mm. perpendicularly to the hole about 70 mm. PI.
29: 12.

K - 13376: 3- Oblong whetstone of grey slate. 155X
22X29 mm.

K. 13376 : 4- Lump of metal from bronze smelting.

K. 13376: 5- Small bronze piece with fine verdigris.

Scattered finds along a line 1.5 km.

towards NNE from the Lou-Ian station.
20/1 and 18/2 — 31.

K - T 3379:*-5. Five smallish cores of grey flint.

— :i PI. 5:14.

K. 13379:6-9. Four small fine flint flakes, two

of them having one edge slightly
retouched.

K. 13379: 10. Small eye-bead of dark blue-green

glass. Only the hollows remain of
the four "eyes". Diam. 8 mm.

K- 13379: "• Wu-ch'u coin. On the reverse is a

diagonal rib from each of the two
upper corners of the hole. Diam. 25 mm.

K. 13379: ' 2 - Small open ring made of thin

bronze wire.

£.13379:13. Fragm. of long bronze pin, prob-
ably a hair-pin.

K. i3379 : *4- Small bronze fragm. possibly from

rim of mirror.

K- 13379:15- One end of a rectangular iron

fitting or suchlike with a big rivet
hole. Br. 3 cm.

Scattered finds within a distance of 6 km.
towards ESE from the Lou-Ian station.
'9/2— 31.

K. 13380: 1. Core of grey flint, flaked off on

one side only. L. 4 cm

K. 13380:2-3. Two small flakes of grey flint.

K. 13380:4. Broad irregular flake of yellow

flint or agate. Probably an un-
finished scraper. L. 43 mm.

K. 13380:5. Bronze lamina, leaf-shaped, with

small hole through the widest part.
Broken in two in ancient times. 67X43 mm. PI.
29:7.

About 6 km. NNE of K. 13365, near old
river bed. 3/2 — 31.

K. 13381. Bronze ring, circular with oval sec-
tion. Thick verdigris. Diam. 36 mm.
PI. 30:21.

About 4 km. N of K. 13381. 4/2 — 31.

K. 13382. Fragm. of the rim of a large bronze
basin or cauldron. Thin ware. Fig.

35: "•

About 2 km. NE of K. 13382. 4/2 — 31.

K- 1 33^Z- Lump of bronze, refuse from smelting.

176

Near the pottery kiln 8 km. NE of the
Lou-Ian station. 21/2 — 31.

K. 13384:1. Core of brown flint. L. 37 mm.
K. 13384:2. Small bronze fragm.

About i km. ENE of K. 13384. 5/2 — 31.

K. 13385 : 1-4. Four small flint flakes, three of

them having retouched edges.

Finds made quite near to K. 13385.
17/2— 31.

K. 13386:1-5. Five small flint flakes, some with

worn edges.

K. 13386:6. Piercer made of a small flint

flake. L. 32 mm.

K. 13386:7- Knife made of a naturally thin

piece of green flint. Equally
worked on both sides. One straight edge, the other
worked only to half its length. Unfinished? L. 7
cm. PI. 5:8.

K. 13386:8. Fragm. of whetstone of slate with

a large suspension hole. Br. 28
mm. PI. 29: 16.

K. 13386:9. Small piece of bronze.

K. 13386: 10. Small piece of iron.

I km. N of K. 13386. 5/2 — 31.

K. 13387. Wu-ch'u coin. Diam. 25 mm.

Finds from two places between K. 13385
and a place 6 km. N of it. 5/2 — 31.

K. 13388. Spindle whorl of a brown-red pot-
sherd. Diam. 5 cm.

K« r 3389: 1. Core of grey flint, cylindrical. L.

3 cm.

K. 13389:2-3. Two small flakes of grey and

yellow flint.

Below mesa LM 3 about 2.3 km. WSW
of L. E. 25/1— 31.

K. 13391: 1-2. Two cores of dark grey flint. L.

35 and 19 mm. — : 1 PI. 4:20.

Mesa about 9 km. WNW of L. E. (On
the top of the mesa there is a cemetery).
23/1— 31.

K. I339 2 - Foot of a clay Ting tripod, much
weathered. Yellowish-red ware, the
surface has probably been dark blue or grey.

About 9 km. W of K. 13391. 23/1 — 31.

K. 13393- Axe? of light-green flamy chert or
jade. One side probably polished by
art, the other strongly wind eroded. L. 42 mm.

About 12 km. WSW of L. E. 19/2— 31.

K. 13394- Round flat piece of bronze. Diam. 32
mm.

500 m. SW of K. 13394. 19/2— 31.

K. i3395:i-9- Nine small flint flakes, one of

them with retouched edges.
K. 13395: JO- Six small flint chips.

About 500 m. SW of K. 13395. l 9/ 2 — 3 1 -

K. 13396. Wu-ch'u coin. Diam. 25 mm.

About 3 km. SW of K. 13396. 19/2 — 31.

K. 13397 : *■ Core of green-grey flint. L. 25 mm.

K. 13397:2. Fragm. of a Wu-(ch'u) coin.
K. 13397:3-4- Two pieces of bronze sheet.

About 800 m. SW of K. 13397 an ^ IO
km. nearly due N of Lou-Ian station.

19/2— 3 1 -

K. 13398:1. Small core of grey flint.

K. 13398:2-8. Seven small flint flakes, one of

them with a retouched edge.

Find from Mr. Chen's route along the S
border of the delta and almost due N of
Lou-Ian station. 19/2 — 31.

K. 13399:1-5. Five small flint flakes, two of

them with retouched edges.

Find on S side of Qum-darya near the
head of its delta, and about 16 km. NW
of Lou-Ian station. 8/1 — 3 1 -

K. 13400. Flat ring of white marble. One surface
well preserved, the other wind-eroded.
Diam. 81 — 84 mm. Th. 6 mm. PI. 29: 10.

Between 392 and 400 on the map Fig.
37. 7/2—31-

K. 13402:1. Flake of black flint, retouched

edges. L. 8 cm.

K. 13402:2. Flake of green flint.

177

Near the ruin that contained the find
K. 13404. 12/2— 31.

K. 13405:1-2. Two cores of grey flint, — :2

fragmentary. — : I PI. 4: 19.

K. 13405:3 — 5. Three small flint flakes, one with

retouched edges and one with
worn ones.

Scattered finds between Chen's camp
91b and 91 c. 13/2 — 31, either NE or
SW of 404.

K. 13406:1-4. Four small flint flakes, one of

them with a retouched edge.

Scattered finds between 400 and 41 1 on
the map Fig. 37. 20/2 — 31.

K. 13407 : 1. Irregular core of light-green flint.

K. 13407:2-12. Eleven small flakes of grey, green,

yellow and brown flint and agate,
three of them with retouched edges.

6 km. ENE of the ruin that contained the
finds K. 13401, and at the N shore of the
northernmost branch of the delta.
20 — 21/2 — 31.

K. 13408:1. Miniature bronze vessel, shaped

like a scoop. The bottom is flat-
tened, othenvise the shape is nearly semiglobular.
The 25 mm. long handle is hollow to receive a
wooden haft that has been kept in place by a rivet
through a hole in the socket. Two grooved lines
run round the widest part of the vessel; the handle
has some lines crossing one another. Diam. 44
mm. H. 25 mm. PI. 30: 18.

K. 13408:2-3. Two small pierced lead discs, prob-
ably sinkers. Diam. 18 and 10
mm. — .2 PI. 30:19, — :3 PI. 31: 3.

K. 13408:4. Fragm. of a whetstone of green

slate with suspension hole.

K. 13408:5. Spindle whorl of bitumen. One

side flat, the other vaulted. Diam.
45 mm. Th. 18 mm. PI. 29:5.

Find near camp 91 (though it might have
been found elsewhere and merely dropped
near the camp).

K. 13409. Small fragm. of the thickened rim of
a bronze mirror decorated with two
rows of small triangles, "saw tooth" pattern and
a zig-zag line. Br. 18 mm. Th. 4 mm.

Between Chen's camp 91 a and 91 b.
12/2 — 31, somewhere between 401 and
412 on map Fig. yj.

K. 13410: 1-4. Four small flint flakes, —14 with

retouched edges PI. 4:10.

K. 13410:5. Flake of yellow flint or agate.

Thick, and with retouched edges.
The median ridge is chipped on both sides. Prob-
ably used as a scraper. 47X11 mm. PI. 5:5.

5 km. NE of ruin 404. 22/2 — 31.

K. 13411:1. Fairly large core of green flint.

Flakes split off along half of the
circumference. PI. 4:22.

K. 1341 1 : 2. Axe made of a flat piece of brown

and red, flamy chert. The convex
cutting edge has probably been polished. The
whole object is much weathered. 67X35 mm. PI.

About 1 1 km. ENE of ruin 404; in the N
part of the Qum-darya delta. 11/2 — 31.

K. 13412. Small flake of grey flint with re-
touched edges. L. 43 mm.

Mesa somewhat to the north of the delta
and between 41 1 and 418 on the map Fig.
37. 22/2—31.

K. 13413. Blade of bronze knife (broken in two)
with convex back, which is thicker
than the rest of the blade. The edge is damaged.
L. 89 mm. PI. 30 : 22.

Along the route between 411 and 418
on the map Fig. 37. 22/2 — 31.

K. 13414: 1. Core of grey flint. L. 43 mm.

K. 13414:2-5. Four small flakes of flint, three

of them having retouched edges.

K. 13414:6. Irregular drill of red agate with

short point and one convex edge
retouched as a scraper. L. 35 mm. PI. 4:8.

Nearly 1 1 km. SSW of Astin-bulaq and
2 km. N of the northernmost branch of
the delta. 24/2 — 31.

K. 13415. Irregular axe of dark-green chert,
polished round the straight cutting
edge. 83X37X19 mm. PI. 5:15.

178

Between Astin-bulaq and the Qum-darya
delta, 29.5 km. N I9°E of Lou-Ian
station. (Norin).

K. 13416. Front part of a large bronze plaque
or buckle. The lost central part has
apparently been wider than the rectangular front
part. The strap has passed through a slitlike hole
and been fastened to a projecting hook. The up-
per and lower edges are bordered with a rope
pattern. In each corner a tumular knob with seven
elevated dots. Besides there are three raised circles
with a marked centre. A raised line has surround-
ed the lost central part. Br. 73 mm. PI. 30:4.

About 8 km. SE of Astin-bulaq. (Norin).

K. 13417. Bronze bracelet. The ends are flatten-
ed and decorated with three lines
crossing one another at one point, and at the sides
of these are some V-shaped lines. Probably meant
to represent a serpent's head, though very de-
generate. Diam. about 65 mm. PI. 30 : 24.

Near to the N rim of the delta, and due
S of Astin-bulaq. (Norin).

K. 13418:1. Small flake of grey flint.

K. 13418:2. Arrow-point of reddish-brown

flint, willowlcaf-shapcd. 28XTI
mm. PI. 4: 12.

K. 13418: 3-8. Six Wu-ch'u coins. Diam. 25 mm.

K. 13418:9-10. Two Wu-ch'u coins with a small

elevation in the middle of the
lower rim of the hole. Diam. 25 mm. — 19 PI.
30:8.

K. 13418: 11-12. Two broken Wu-ch'u coins.

K. 13418:13. Five fragm. of coins, with a

"-ch'u".

K. 13418:14. Five fragm. of coins, with a

"Wu-".

K. 13418:15. Ten small fragm. of coins, prob-
ably of Wu-ch'u.

On the W side of the northernmost fresh-
water bay of Lop-nor, between camp
H. 98 and H. 106. 16/3 — 31.

K. 13419. Small flake of grey flint. L. 63 mm.

Near camp H. 106 at point 420 on the
map Fig. 37. 8/3—31.

K. 13420. Bronze arrow-head, triangular with
hexagonal shank. The three edges arc

prolonged to form barbs. On each flat surface a
triangular depression. The tang has been iron.
26X12 mm. PI. 30: 13.

100 m. N of camp H. 106. Scattered
along a line of 30 m. 2/3 — 31.

K. 13421 : 1. Wu-ch'u coin with a raised

crescent-shaped line on the upper
part ("nail impression"). Diam. 24.5 mm.

K. 13421 :2-n. Ten Wu-ch'u coins with a small

elevation in the middle of the
lower rim of the hole. Diam. 25—24.5 mm.

K. 13421: 12-63. Fifty-two Wu-ch'u coins, some of

them very thin owing to wind
erosion. Diam. 25.5 — 24 mm.

(Cf. Nos. 41 m— 13 found at the same place).

Near camp H. 106. 13/3 — 31.

K. 13422. Core of green flint. Wind-eroded. L.
4 cm.

Near the shore at camp H. 106. 1 1/3 — 3 1

K. 13423: 1-13. Thirteen lumps of coins joined

together by corrosion, and con-
taining from twenty-seven to three coins, Wu-ch'u
as far as can be judged, about 120 coins in all.
They were stringed when lost.

K. 13423: 14-21. Eight Wu-ch'u coins with a small

elevation in the middle of the
lower rim of the hole. Diam. 25.5 — 24.5 mm.

K. 13423 : 22-31. Ten Wu-ch'u coins. Diam. 25—24.5

mm.

K. 13423: 32-36. Five fragmentary Wu-ch'u coins.

Diam. 25 mm. For the entire find
sec PI. 31: 1.

On the shore near camp H. 106.
u/3—31-

K. 13424: 1. Three fragm. of a bronze mirror.

The thickened rim forms arcs on
the inside. (Complete specimens have sixteen such
arcs). The central part has been decorated in high
relief; apparently a "hundred nipples" type. Diam.
has been 108 mm. Th. of rim 4.5 mm. PI. 30:20.

K. 13424:2. Short curved bronze wire.

Near the shore and near camp H. 106.
I5/3—3I-

K. 13425. Bronze arrow-head, triangular, with
hexagonal shank. Very blunt point.
35X12 mm. PI. 30: 12.

179

.'--.

Near the shore and near camp H. 106.
9/3—31-

K. 13426. Bronze buckle, oval with two sym-
metrically arranged openings for the
strap. The tongue is hinged to the strong middle
part. 50X45 mm. PI- 3° =2-

At the shore near camp H. 106. 9/3 — 31.

K. 13427. Crossbow mechanism of bronze. The
main body is 122X33X42 mm. The
straight trigger is 83 mm. long. The two bolts
have cubical heads. One side has green verdigris,
the other brown desert patina (just as is the case
with most of the Lop-nor bronzes found on the
surface of the ground). PI. 29: 18.

Find between the western and the middle
one of the three freshwater bays at N
Lop-nor. 12/3— 31.

K. 13428. Oblong rough knife or unfinished
point of green flint. 59X18 mm. PI.

5 = 2-

500 m. W of the ruin T'u-ken. 2/3 — 31.

K. 13429: 1-2. Two pieces of sheet bronze, from

a vessel?

Find on the E side of the easternmost of
the three freshwater bays in the Lop-nor.

17/3— 31.

K. 13431:1. Small flake of grey flint.

K. 13431 : 2.
K. 1343 J : 3-

Piercer made of a flake of yellow
flint or agate. L. 27 mm. PI. 4: 7.

Thin coup-de-poing or bifacial
blade of brown flint. 66X35X10
mm. PI. 5: 1.

Find about 3 km. SSE of T'u-ken.
(Marked 433 on the map Fig. 37).
2/3— 3 1 -

K. 13432. Bronze buckle identical with K. 13426.
48X43 mm. PI. 30:3.

150 — 200 m. W of K. 13432. 1/3 — 31.

K. 13433. Bronze arrow-head, triangular with
hexagonal shank. Much corroded. 28X
10 mm. PI. 30: 14.

Above shore cliff E of Great Lop-nor,
about 84 km. E of Lou-Ian station.

23/3—3I-

K. 13434: 1. Bronze arrow-head, three-winged

with round body. The wings arc
rather small, with blunt edges and ending in a
very blunt point. Between two of the wings the
body has a shallow, triangular depression. An iron
tang has been inserted in a hole in the base. L.
49 mm. Diam. 9 mm. PI. 30: 15.

K. 13434:2-5. Four bronze tubes with a strong

hook near the closed end. Mount-
ings for the ends of canopy ribs of wood. L. 42
mm. Diam. 7 mm. — :2 PI. 30:6.

7. YING-P'AN.

Ying-p'an is situated on the border between the Lop-nor and the Quruq-tagh

regions. On the way from Shindi to Tikenliq, in April 1928, one afternoon was spent

there, and the ruins of stupas as well as thecircumvallation were visited. Kozlov had

discovered them in 1893, and they had afterwards been searched by Stein. I did not

undertake any excavation. Near to the east of the circular fortress a few pottery

fragments were picked up from the ground together with the small bronze buckle
PI. 15:2.

Afterwards, when I had returned to Shindi, Abdurahim handed over a bronze
mirror to me as a present to Dr. Hedin, his old master. Abdurahim had found
this mirror (PI. 15:4), which is of a common type with dragon and tiger motif,
near the graves excavated by Stein. His statement as to its origin is completely
reliable.

180

The occurrence of this mirror of the later Han dynasty 1 in this place is of special
importance, as it is one of the few datable objects known from here. As well as the
coins and the silk found by Stein it was imported from China proper. Stein,
however, discovered four Kharoshthi documents among the stupa ruins, documents
written by some Indian, i. e. a foreigner. And in one of the graves he found a small
glass tumbler with cut ovals, undoubtedly an importation from far off Syria
(Ying III. 3. 06). This mixture of Chinese, Indian and Near Eastern objects makes
Ying-p'an a typical representative of the Lou-Ian culture.

The lacquered wooden vase Ying. III. 3. 07 (Stein 1928, PI. CX), is of the same
type as the one found by Hedin outside the coffin in Grave 35 (PL 27: 6).

The geographical position of Ying-p'an predestinates it to be a station on the part
of the Silk Road running between Lou-Ian and Korla. The part lying east of Ying-
p'an has been abandoned, most likely, for 1600 years, the western part from Ying-
p'an to Korla was still used in the Tang period. It is marked by a line of Han
dynasty watch-towers, ten in all, traced by Hedin in 1896 and 1900, and subse-
quently examined by Stein. I have visited a few of them; in PL XIV b-c are seen
Stein's towers Y. VI and Y. VII. 2 When they were constructed Konche-darya may
have followed a slightly more northerly bed, water thus having been nearer to the
towers than at present. On the other hand, some of the towers are situated so far
from any present or old water-course that the necessary water supply has had to be
drawn from wells in any case.

The present road from Turfan via Tikenliq to Charkhliq passes Ying-p'an. It may
very well have existed at the time of the early settlement, but the traffic between
North and South can hardly have been heavy at that time. In 1934 I discovered a
hitherto unknown line of communication between Ying-p'an and Charkhliq follow-
ing the Qum-kol and what I have called The Small River, and probably passing
Merdek, cf . p. 100. But if any traffic coming from Turfan followed The Small River
it did not touch Ying-p'an but followed a direct line between Toghraq-bulaq and
Qum-kol.

Stein has identified the Ying-p'an site with "the town of Chu-pin" of the Ch'ien
Han-shu. Herrmann has lately proposed its identity with I-wu, though earlier he
located I-wu, as do all other authorities, at Hami. Chu-pin he places at Merdek in-
stead. I have corresponded with Prof. Herrmann regarding this problem, and in
his last letter he informs me that he has now returned to his former standpoint
and again places I-wu at Hami.

Long after the abandoning of the old Chinese "town of Chu-pin" with its circular
fortress, its shrine and stupas, and its grave yards, the place was resettled by Mo-

1 Karlbeck, who is the last io have published a mirror chronology, places this type in the first century A. D.
(Karlbeck 1938, E. 22).

2 The first of these towers Stein calls Sanje. This is the Mongolian word for tower. It is generally
pronounced tsonch or tsonchi, and goes back to the Tibetan dzong, fortress, watch-tower, etc.

l8l

hammedans. We do not know the exact date of this settlement. Judging from the
rather well-preserved tomb structures of mud it existed a few centuries ago. Hedin
supposes 150 — 200 years. The age of this settlement has no direct bearing on
Quruq-darya and the hydrography of Tarim. As pointed out by Huntington it has
drawn the water supply necessary for the cultivation of its fields from the brook
Buyantu-bulaq. The irrigation was effected by means of a canal and a reservoir,
the remains of which are still to be seen. Nowadays the water of Buyantu-bulaq
reaches Ying-p'an only after heavy rainfall in Quruq-tagh, as we had an op-
portunity of witnessing in April 1928. But with the aid of a well constructed canal it
might reach as far as this more or less permanently. The quality of the water is, how-
ever, not the very best for the purpose. Immediately outside the mouth of Buyantu-
bulaq there are traces of ancient fields and canals on the left-hand side of the river
bed. Abdurahim of Shindi informed me that these fields were cultivated some
sixty years ago, but had to be abandoned after the lapse of a few years because of
the salinity of the water in the brook. The fields once watered by the same stream
further down, at Ying-p'an, must have suffered much more from this unsuitable
quality of the water.

When a postal service was inaugurated between Urumchi and the lower Tarim
region (i. e. the present-day district of Lop) a rest house was built at Ying-p'an
near the spring-fed pools in the ancient river bed. All that remains of this brick
house is the crumbled walls. Contemporaneous ruins of post stations are to be
found at the wells of Toghraq- and Azghan-bulaq along the road to Turfan.

DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF OBJECTS FROM YING-P'AN

Find made by Abdurahim of Shindi on
the burial site at Ying-p'an.

K. 13436- Chinese bronze mirror. The central
vaulted knob is surrounded by a
quatrcfoil. Outside this runs a raised plain band.
Between this and the thickened border lies the
main decoration, bordered on each side by a
striated band and consisting of four animal repre-
sentations (dragon and tiger) with raised con-
tours. Between each animal there is a small boss
similar to the central one. The outer border has a
"double wave" band with a small dot in each in-
terspace. Brown-red patina with green spots. Diam.
125 mm. Th. of rim 5 mm. PI. 15:4.

Near to the E of the ruined circum-
vallation.

K. 13437: 1-2. Two potsherds probably from the
same large vessel. Decorated with
straight or curved bands incised with a three-
toothed instrument. Hard-burnt, tight-red ware.

K. 13437:3.

Fragm. of the narrow neck (or
spout?) of a vessel of the same
earthenware as the preceding one.

K. 13437:4. Bronze ring, D-shaped, probably
from a buckle. 21X16 mm. PI. 15:2.

182

PART III.

THE NORTHERN BORDER REGION OF LOP-NOR

I. A QURUQ-TAGH ROCK CARVING.

^VXTThen Henning Haslund and I travelled from Shindi to Ying-p'an, in
VV/ April 1928, we followed the most direct road through the Buyantu-bulaq 1
▼ ▼ canyon, a small road that is far from suitable for camels. In the deep-cut
valley with its luxuriant vegetation of poplars and tamarisks the going is good
except for one place where the path leaves the canyon and runs up among the
mountains on the right side to avoid an impassable spot in the river valley where
there is a waterfall. In this detour in the mountains the camels had a very hard time
crossing steep slopes, ravines with large boulders and some passages that were too
narrow to allow a loaded animal to pass.

6.5 km. south of Shindi we saw that the lower part of the beautiful steep cliff,
more than 100 m. high, on the left-hand side of the valley was covered with rough
pictures engraved in the rock, PI. XV. We did not stop to examine them at that
time, but on my next visit to Shindi I spent several days in early November at the
spot, filled the engravings with white colour, and took many photographs, some of
which are reproduced here.

After having got access to "Innermost Asia", published in 1928, I found that
Stein had been the first foreigner to observe these rock pictures, but he had had no
opportunity to pay any closer attention to this interesting place, which he calls
Inkur-otak.

The brook makes one of its largest windings at this place, encircling a small
open space with poplars, tamarisks and high grass. The foot of the limestone cliff
with the engravings is washed by the water of the brook.

1 The name given to the Shindi river by the Turks is Buyantu-bulaq, i.e. a mixture of Mongolian and Turki,
not altogether uncommon in this region. It means 'the propitious well'. In Hedin's German transcription the first
part is spelled Budschentu; those using English transcription have written it Bujentu. It is interesting to note that
Stein, unaware of the first part being Mongol, supposes the name to be a "transformation which the name Bejan-
tura has undergone in careless Turfanlik pronunciation" (Stein 1928, p. 752 note 6). Bejan-tura is the name given
to the Buddhistic ruins at Ying-p'an. Abdurahim assigned the same name to the ruined tower in the northern
mouth of the Shindi river. According to Jarring bejan is a medicinal plant, tura is tower. Abdurahim pronounc-
ed the river name something like Bdjcntu-bulaq.

183

: '

The distance between the extreme groups on the cliff is 54.5 m. On the central
part the highest figures are situated as much as 5.45 m. above the ground, the low-
est only 0.65 m. Thus the main part of the central group could not be reached by a
man standing on the ground, and there are no ledges or breaks in the wall to stand
on. Only with the help of a ladder, which, fortunately, was at hand at Shindi, was I
able to trace the upper engravings with white. As the artists most certainly did
not stand on ladders when making the figures, it is obvious that some change in
the level of the ground has taken place. It was also soon discovered that the brook-
had not always flowed close to the cliff, but 40 — 50 m. away from it, where traces
of a dry bed were found. The cliff itself also showed how it had been covered by
detritus to an average of 3.5 m. above the present level. Below this level the wall is
quite smooth and clean, showing that it has been protected from the influence of the
atmosphere, above it the surface of the rock is much weathered and covered with
lichen. In PI. XVI a the letters A — a mark the clear line of demarcation between these
parts, i. e. the level of the ground before erosion set in. This hint given by Nature
herself suggests a division of the carvings into one older and one younger fades.
These two "strata" are also clearly differentiated stylistically. Below the lower
stratum there is a third facies, quite modern, as is easily discernable both from the
style and the content.

There are four main groups of engravings on the wall of the rock, and some
scattered figures in the interspaces. The description runs from left to rigt, i. e.
down-stream.

The first group, PI. XVII a, is only 60x95 cm., the lower edge 2.8 m. above the
brook. It consists of a man on horseback, five men on foot, one of whom seems to
be leading a camel with one hand, an ibex, and some unclear lines. The figures are
of poor quality both in point of style and technique. The camel, for instance, is
characterized only by means of two vertical lines denoting the humps. The horns
of the ibex are considerably exaggerated and badly traced. The figures are care-
lessly hacked into the rock, probably with a stone. The markings are quite shallow,
and the contours are therefore not very distinct.

The second group is the most instructive, on account of its "stratigraphy" already
touched upon, and also because it is the richest one. On the total view PL XV it
is seen in the centre, whereas PI. XVI a shows it separately. It measures 6.35 m. in
length and 3.55 m. in height. On PL XVI a the different levels which mark the three
stages in the origin of the carvings, have been marked in such a way that the oldest
lies above an almost horizontal line A — a, the middle stage between this line and a
line B — b, and the youngest stage below the last-mentioned line. All carvings are
on an almost vertical wall.

On the left part of the upper level there are small antelopes (or at least antelope-
like animals) two ibexes, two men on horseback each followed by a dog? or colt?,

184

a bird, a hand with slender fingers, a small foot, a swastika, a sword?, a t a in g h a
sign? 1 and some indeterminable figures. Most of the animals are turning right.

The central part of the upper level has three similar hands close together, and
two hands separately just on the border to the next level, a pair of small feet, four
horsemen riding to the right, a snake-like band, and some unclear figures, the larg-
est of which resembles a pair of scissors with dentated blades.

The right part of the upper stratum is dominated by two stylized trees with
straight parallel branches having hooked ends. They are possibly meant to re-
present the tree of life. Immediately below them are pairs of vertical lines with a
hook at the lower end and the upper ends joined by a horizontal line to form three
groups of one, three and five pairs respectively. They rather suggest the shape of
human legs, as the hooks are turned left and right alternatingly.* Above and on
both sides of the three hands there may have been similar "legs". There is also a
curved line with hooks to the right of the trees. A row of three horses, the last with
a rider, may represent an equestrian figure in pursuit of two horses. They have a
well defined broad body, whereas two other horses quite near are much thinner.
There are also one "thin" and one "fat" camel beside several fragmentary figures.
In all, there are about eighty-five figures on this upper stratum.

The figures of this level are executed in profile and are quite naturalistic, i. e.
from a primitive point of view. There are no marked exaggerations in the shapes of
the animals. They seem to have been made with a metal chisel as the lines are narrow
and well defined. Both style and technique are rather homogeneous, which points to
a limited period for the genesis of the figures. This part of the rock is covered with
lichen. Some of the figures are fragmentary, as small parts of the surface have peel-
ed off as a result of long exposure to the weather.

Practically the whole surface of the middle stratum is crowded with figures, and
there is no need to make any vertical divisions. The animals are predominant.
There are about twenty camels with more or less tower-like humps (one may have
a rider), thirteen dog-like beasts, ten "horses" with long legs and tails, seven ibexes
and one deer (the latter probably belonging to the lowest stratum). Four men are
mounted on horses and three are on foot, one of these may be an archer. There are
several unclear animal representations as well as other figures, for instance a ring
and a highly stylized hand. In all, the number of figures on this middle stratum is
about ninety. They are less distinct and more shallowly made than those on the
upper level, probably made by pocking with a stone. Only on the figures bordering
the upper stratum is there any lichen, otherwise the whole surface is clean. Not all
of the indistinct figures have been filled in with white colour, cf. p. 188.

1 In using this term I follow the precedent set by those who have published rock pictures from N. Mongolia
and S. Siberia, even though the signs on our petroglyph may have another meaning than the proper tamgha
signs, which are owner's marks.

2 Otto Manchen-Helfen (1931, p. 123) mentions the occurrence of freely walking legs, the body never having
been executed, on a rock painting in Uryangkhai (Tanu-tuwa).

185

:< ■

The middle and lower levels jut into each other. On the left part for instance the
lowest line of figures marked with white in PI. XVI a belong to the middle level. They
are well-made ibex and goat representations, and two curious scenes with a man
holding a goat by the tail.

The lowest level, about the lower third of PI. XVI a, is relatively recent work.
This is attested both by content and technique. The two camels, two horses and two
birds are drawn with a totally different conception of art than that manifested in
the upper figures. The proportions are good, and even the narrow legs are marked
with double contours. The lamaistic signs, two endless knots, a spoked wheel etc.,
are of a piece with the Mongol script engraved here. On the left lower part there
are three lines, PI. XVIII b (also visible on PL XVI a though they are not painted
white). I am indebted to Mr. W. A. Unkrig, Frankfurt-am-Main, for his kindness in
reading this inscription. It runs burxat cakgiin suruk, i. e. 'Pictures from the time
of the BuddhasV

It is written with the script used by the Torgut Mongols of Sinkiang in our days,
which was invented in 1648 by Zaya Pandita, but it is not quite modern. Whether
the author of the inscription or some of his fellow Mongols at the same
time drew the well-designed animals and the Buddhistic symbols, or whether the
occurrence of the latter inspired the writing of the three words is of no conse-
quence, as they are equally modern as compared with the pictures higher up on the
cliff. In any case the Torgut wanted to express his belief in the very venerable age
of the existing engravings.

Above the three lines of writing a single line is visible on PI. XVI a but it is ap-
parently without meaning. There are also three more single lines of very uncertain
writing, also of Mongol type but too poorly made to allow of any reading.

These modern figures are executed with dotted lines pocked into the rock with a
pointed tool. The surface of the lines looks fresher than is the case with the upper
figures.

On this main carving there are apparently to be found both the oldest and the
youngest of the stages in the development of this Quruq-tagh rock engraving. It
thus forms an excellent example of how the Inner Asiatic rock pictures were made
successively during prolonged periods. The same observations can be made on the
reproductions of certain Siberian and Mongolian petroglyphs.

The third group of engravings lies a few metres to the right of the preceding one.
It, also, is quite large, about 9 m. long and 3.5 m. high. Here the rock is uneven and
forms a rounded ledge; when standing on this one can easily reach the highest
pictures. The lowest ones lie 0.8 m. above the water-level. Here the "stratigraphy"
is less evident, but four "styles" can be discerned: 1) highly stylized animals, high-
est up on the wall and corresponding to the upper level of the preceding group, 2)
long-legged animals, corresponding to the middle stratum of the preceding group,

186

3) ibexes with narrow contours, 4) shallow figures in the interspaces between the
rest, quite modern. Cf. PL XVI b. PL XVII c shows the righthand part. In all, this
group contains some 165 figures.

Those highest situated, which also look oldest, consist of a man with spread fing-
ers, PL XVII c, an archer(?), seven low and highly conventionalized beasts, three

bucks, and some fragmentary elements.

Of the long-legged animals only one or two are seen on PL XVII c, but the ibexes
are well represented on that photo. They have been given enormous horns, a good
many of them being very artistically made. Some of them have the body marked
with a double line. A few camels, both "fat" and "thin", some smaller quadrupeds,
and two elegantly outlined beasts running right on the right edge of the surface
complete the fauna here. A few human representations (only one on PL XVII c) are
also mixed with the animals, one of them seems to have a phallus, one carries a
burden on his back, two or three are riding on horseback. There are one large foot-
print and four hands of the same short and broad type as on PL XVII b. 1 Two long
lines may possibly be interpreted as snakes, but the meaning of some "enclosures"
with dividing lines is uncertain. There is a wheel-shaped figure and possibly also
a couple of t a m g h a signs. Grano depicts some tamgha signs from N W
Mongolia of about the same appearance (Grano 1910, Figs. 18 and 40) and
Appelgren-Kivalo's Plates 118, 199, 204 and 224 also show some analogies to the
"enclosures".

Also on this group all the indistinct engravings and most of the modern ones

could not be filled with white.

Near to the right of this group lie the six figures on PL XVIII a: a buck with
slightly curved horns reaching to the tail, a camel, a small indeterminable beast, an
ibex, a tree-like tamgha and a "hand" with only three fingers. They cover about

one square metre.

From here onwards the cliff is more uneven and thus less suited for large
groups of figures. Consequently, only scattered elements have been engraved here.

Next to the group PL XVIII a follows an isolated tree of the same fine execution
as that of the two trees on PL XVI a, and situated at the same height above the

brook.

About 3 m. further downstream there is a man on horseback, one hand lifted.
His mount is drawn as a horizontal line with four straight legs.

Below this there are an ibex and a camel, both incomplete. Then come two bucks.

The last group, PL XVII b, is composed of two hands with very small palms, quite
different from the elegantly shaped hands on PL XVI a. Between the hands are some

> Among the rich and variegated rock carvings in the Swedish province of Ostergotland there are a few ele-
ments resembling these short and broad hands. Otherwise hand pictures seem to be missing in Sweden. They have
been interpreted by Nord£n as footprints, probably of bears (Norden Fig. 46 and PI. 38)- The claws of these
"bear's feet" are much shorter than the fingers on our hands, and I therefore prefer to call our figures hands,
though they are far from naturalistic.

187

geometrical lines forming an open enclosure, a trident-shaped figure, a ring with a

central dot and some unclear lines. The lower edge lies about 1.5 m. above

the brook, the height of the carved surface being 1.9 m. The lines are broad and
shallow.

The filling with white colour does not always do full justice to the engravings,
as all the pictures have become equally white. In reality they are of different shades.
The elements of the highest level have, however, a homogeneous appearance. Not so
the other parts. Some other visitor who cares to undertake the labour of filling in
the pictures will no doubt arrive at a different number, because I did not fill in the
most uncertain ones, and as I worked in November the light was not always of the
best. Even on some of the photos I can now discern animal figures which I have not
filled in with white. In any case they give nothing but a quantitative addition.

Having finished the description of the pictures on the cliff, we now turn to those
on three large boulders lying a little upstream on the other side of the brook.

The first boulder lies close to the water and has one side covered with a confusion
of obscure carvings where only one camel and some curved ibex-horns could be
distinguished. Two "elfin mills", i. e. small cup-shaped hollows, were clearly defined.
Under better light conditions these figures may stand out more clearly. In November
the sun never reached this block.

The middle boulder has a carving which is distinct at both ends, whereas the
centre is impossible to interpret. To the left is a man, one hand stretched out to
grasp the tail of or to carry a big bird ( ?) with hanging wings and raised head. The
right extremity shows a deer, a camel, a crane, and a walking man. In the centre
there may be, among other things, a man and a couple of camels.

The lines are thick and the broader surfaces of the figures are hollowed out. This
carving makes a modern impression. The animals recall some of the middle level on
the main engraving, but the movements of the human figures are much more lively.
This carving seems to correspond, in point of style, to the one from Langar-kisht on
the Panja in the Pamirs (Tallgren 1933, Fig. 17).

The third boulder, finally, has a few engravings as shown on PI. XVIII c: three
hands and some incomplete elements, one of which may be an animal.

These stone blocks must have been hidden in the detritus which covered the

lower part of the cliff when the upper level of its pictures were engraved, and the

pictures on the blocks must therefore be younger than this oldest facies. To make

any further chronological distinction is difficult, but it may be added that the

figures on the central boulder look relatively fresh whereas the others are weather-
ed.

*
For those seeking the explanation of this extended rock carving at Buyantu-
bulaq in Quruq-tagh, Prof. Tallgren's paper in ESA 1933 affords excellent

188

T *

guidance. The centre for the Inner Asiatic rock carvings is the Sayan mountains,
i. c. Uryangkhai (Tanu-tuwa) and the South Siberian district of Minusinsk. Ac-
cording to Tallgren's map the nearest rock picture to that of Quruq-tagh is situ-
ated some 700 km. to the north of it at Kurchum in southern Altai. To the south-
west none has been found nearer than Ladakh 1300 km. away. To the east, a group
of rock carvings which I studied in Lang-shan lies about 1700 km. away (Bergman
1935 a, Fig. 6). The nearest is situated about 360 km. to the SSE and was dis-
covered by Dr. Hedin in 1901. 1

The Quruq-tagh rock carving therefore occupies a most important geographical
position, forming a link between rock pictures at tremendous distances.

The main features of the topographical position which might have any bearing
on the carving are the following: proximity to water, vegetation and good hunting
grounds. The water now washes the very rock, the vegetation is luxurious but, as
the valley is narrow, insufficient to feed any large heards. The hunting in Quruq-
tagh is good. Another important feature is that a road or at least a path passes the
place. Most of these characteristics are also typical for the rock-pictures in N.
Mongolia and S. Siberia. If we turn to the subject-matter of our petroglyph we also
find analogies on many other Asiatic rock pictures.

As already mentioned, the animal representations form the major part of the
Quruq-tagh petroglyph, and most of the figures no doubt represent wild animals
such as ibex, antelope, deer, i. e. members of the local fauna. It is somewhat uncer-
tain if the camels are meant to be wild or domesticated, especially as the eastern
Quruq-tagh is one of the few places where wild camels exist. As the humps are
drawn very high, indeed, exaggeratedly so, and wild camels never grow fat enough
to develop anything like erect humps, the pictures most likely show domesticated
camels. Only one or two of them have a rider.

Most of the horses have riders. Among the confusion of separate figures with-
out any obvious connection there may be a couple of real scenes: the two riders
with dogs (or colts?) following, the mounted man driving two horses (below the
trees) and the two men each clutching the tail of a goat-like animal. There are no
love scenes such as abound on e. g. Scandinavian rock pictures, only one man is
ithyphallic, and only one has his sex marked in the same way as several figures of
the Sulek engraving (Tallgren 1933, Fig. 11; this part of the Sulek rock picture
shows several analogies with the older facies of our petroglyph though the number
of men and beasts are in inverse proportions).

The trees are possibly the tree of life or the tree of the world, the hands, the feet,

1 II is situated in the Kalta-alaqan-tagh about 140 km. SSE of Charkhliq and is published in Hedin 1905 Vol.
3. PP. 189 — 191, Figs. 154 — 157, and consists of a few hunting scenes with various animals. The hunters carry bow
and arrow, and arc partly on foot. According to Hedin the figures are naturalistic and executed with an iron
chisel. Most of the pictures have contour lines only. Hedin ascribes them to some Mongol hunters, or, though
less plausibly, to pilgrims.

189

the "elfin mills" and probably some of the undecipherable signs are purely magical.
The oldest level has the most varied subject-matter, and it seems as if this level
covered a wider range of conceptions than the rest. Otherwise we have no doubt to
deal with imititative magic and especially hunting magic. The hunters passing here
have drawn the outline of their game on the rock, by which action they got power
over the animal in question and would be successful on their hunting-expedition.
Tallgren writes: "The primitive rock-pictures in Northern Central Asia express,
I suppose, an idea which once prevailed among the Eurasian peoples of the Old
Stone Age, and which still lives among the primitive hunters in the Siberian Taiga
and on the mountain chains of Central Asia. The pictures of this really "timeless"
culture have been executed by pocking or painting. The main elements in its re-
pertory are animals and conventionalized men, worked in the same manner as in
the corresponding late rock pictures in Africa, Spain, Arctic Scandinavia and among
all primitive hunting nomads in general. It must be noticed, however, that the
Central Asian rock pictures of the primitive group are seldom naturalistic or life-
like. They are mostly conventional, being products of a "frosen" shamanism rather
than of a hunter's imagination, as the Palaeolithic pictures are. In Siberia we have
to do with an inherited art, not with one which depends on the personal observa-
tions of the painter."

How far our carving can be labelled as an inherited art is hard to tell, but it ob-
viously has connections with the Siberian and Mongolian rock pictures, above all
with the group that Tallgren calls the primitive. There is, however, one dif-
ference in the subject-matter of the Siberian-Mongolian rock carvings and the one
in Quruq-tagh. The latter contains several incised hands, whereas this element seems
to be lacking among the former groups. I have not been able to trace any hands in
the publications of Siberian and Mongolian rock pictures available to me, and Prof.
Tallgren of Helsingfors, the famous specialist on the prehistory of these regions,
has kindly confirmed this observation. Otherwise the pictures of hands have a very
wide distribution. On the Panja rock pictures there are hands, both large natur-
alistic ones (Tallgren 1933, Fig. 19) and short and broad ones executed in the same
stylized manner as are some of the Quruq-tagh hands (Tallgren 1933, Fig. 17, our
PL XVII b). Exactly the same curious shape is found on an Indian seal from Barenrah,
Hamipur (Wilke 1913, Fig. 210 b) and on one of the Lang-shan carvings (Berg-
man 1935 a. Fig. 6). Some of the hands in our carving have only four, or even
three fingers, but it is far from certain that they are meant to represent mutilated
hands. The general meaning of the hands is explained as apotropaic gestures ; in
other instances they are interpreted as symbols of proprietorship and as means of
keeping possession when they are over or next to animal figures. This latter ex-
planation would fit in perfectly with the general meaning ascribed to the other
elements, and on PL XVI a a little to the left of the centre there is a hand covering a
part of an animal, though this is incomplete, only the hind part being executed.

190

After all, the hands on the Quruq-tagh petroglyph show connections with the
south-west and the south and not with the north.

Stylistically the majority of the animals are poorly executed; they are stiff, and I

outlined in profile. Some of the human figures are seen en face. The "artists" have I

been most successful in depicting ibex bucks, some of them being highly suggestive |

and recalling the best ibex representations in the Ordos bronze art. A mounted horse
is shown at the trot, and an antelope is also depicted in lively movement. Though the
rest of the horses are stiffly drawn, their movements have been emphasized by the
position of the riders. With one hand they hold the reins and with the other they
whip their small, long-tailed mounts. Everybody who has been fortunate enough to
see a Mongol hurrying across the wide spaces of the steppes at a joyful speed,
riding his pony in the way peculiar to these people, with his bodily weight on one
thigh, and urging his mount by touching the rear of its hind-quarters with the
whip, will understand that the simple rock-picture horsemen are founded on ob-
servations of nature.

The occurrence of domesticated animals among the wild ones shows that the
makers of the pictures relied not only on hunting, but also on cattle breeding. In
this instance the making of the pictures had the object of increasing the number
of cattle.

Whether the Mongols of our days who made the horses and camels on the lowest
level were moved by the same wish, or whether they just wanted to show their
superior ability in drawing is hard to say. They have in any case felt an attraction
to this old place of primitive worship, regarding it as "powerful" and sacred and
therefore enriching it both with animals and lamaistic signs. Stein also mentions
that local worship of some kind attaches to the spot in another way : he saw a flag
which a Mongol visitor had set up near the rock pictures.

It is, of course, impossible to answer the question as to whether there exists an
unbroken local tradition here. There may be several hiatuses in the genesis of the
engravings, as there are rather well-marked generations. Different tribes may in-
deed be responsible for different parts of the petroglyph, but the conception under-
lying these manifestations is the same.

The chronology of primitive petroglyphs is always hard to decide. For the S.
Siberian and N. Mongolian rock pictures Tallgren gives the probable limits as
B. C. 500 — A. D. 800. The rock pictures of Ladakh and W. Tibet are of varying
dates. The qualifications for very early pictures exist, if we can rely on the palaeo-
lithic age ascribed to some rock paintings in NW India. The rock carvings along
the different routes connecting India with the Tarim and the Oxus Basins are in
many cases of a Buddhist character: stupa representations and a few lines of script.
Some of them can be dated in the third, others in the fifth, eighth or ninth centuries
A. D. In some instances such Buddhist rock carvings are combined with human

191

•

figures, animals and geometrical signs executed in a true primitive way (Cf. Ben-
g veniste PL V). It is not possible to determine in all cases whether the various types

of figures are contemporary or whether they are the results of successive use of
the spots as sacred places. In many instances the Buddhist stupa carvings seem to
form the primary element of the compositions which has attracted people and in-
spired them to make additions. These carvings are often labelled as pilgrims'
pictures. On the other hand there are also rock pictures in Western Tibet lacking
the Buddhist elements (e. g. Tucci, Fig. 21) which are of the same type as the older
parts of the Quruq-tagh petroglyph.

Francke gives an explanation of the meaning of recent rock pictures in Kash-
mir-Ladakh which totally differs from the generally accepted interpretations of at
least old rock carvings. The many bucks, e. g. on a rock surface at the village Donga
near Shimsha Kharbu about midway between Srinagar and Leh, are said to be
offerings to the mythical pre-Buddhistic King Kesar, made in gratitude for the
birth of children (Francke PL 9).

Through the good offices of Mr. Henning Haslund-Christensen I have come

into possession of a photo of this rock carving. On the left-hand part of the large

boulder the photo clearly shows two more bucks than appear in Francke's re-

C production. (The figures are not filled in with white colour on either picture). This

proves that the people still embellish this rock with carvings of the same kind as
those already existing. On this petroglyph only the Buddhistic stupa symbols may be
of some age. The present inhabitants of the Donga village are Mohammedans and
have nothing to do with the carvings.

In another case Francke calls an ibex representation "the old big stone-buck,
personification of the rock".

According to my belief not all of Francke's buck figures must necessarily be
connected with human fecundity. When two goats are depicted, one of them with
a small goat within, denoting pregnancy, this is better explained as a prayer for in-
crease in the stock of goats.

A carved hand Francke calls a sign of Wednesday.

As is evident from the description given above, our Quruq-tagh engravings come
down to modern times, maybe the present century. The "stratigraphy" shows that
the highest level must be of a certain antiquity. The origin of the art is no doubt
very old, but in our case the earliest part must have been made by a people well
aquainted with the use of metal tools. To give any more precise date would be
hazardous. One could, of course venture the guess that the carving was started by
some Huns coming from Northern Mongolia, where they probably practised this
kind of art, and that it was continued by some people associated with the south-
west, e.g. the Tibetans, and also by the Mongols.

It is still too early to base any conclusions on the distribution of rock-carvings in

192

PI. XV

■

General view of the cliff with the rock carving, Buyantu-bufaq, Quruq-tagh.

PI. XVI.

It™

*—

ft, The central group of flic rock carving, with three "strata".

b. The right part of the central group and the whole third group.

■

Inner Asia. The development of this art is dependent on the presence or absence of
rock faces suitable for the reception of the figures. Thus it is hopeless to expect to
find any rock pictures in the granite hills in regions with desert climate, as the sur-
face of this kind of rock is much weathered and easily peels off.

2. SHINDI.

A. Watch-station.

On the top of a small hill at the mouth of the Shindi river or Buyantu-bulaq there
are some very small remains of a watch-tower guarding the entrance to the valley
from the north. Stein has already observed this small ruin. At the foot of the hill,
on the SW side, there are traces of quarters. A square wall, totally covered by
earth, is 4x4.7 m. At a depth of 50 cm. there was a layer containing few pieces of
charcoal, animal bones and horse droppings. The walls had been built of brushwood.
Several houses were lying close together. In one room were found remains of the
fallen-in reed roofing, and a hearth made of three stones placed edgewise, filled
with charcoal and ashes. Some cows' bones were also found in this room.

When studying a photo of the place I discerned a low rampart surrounding the
whole place to form a compound. This wall is so low and decayed that I did not
notice it when on the spot.

B. "Tash-oi".

High up on the mountain-side to the west of the Shindi river and not very far
south of the village, Abdurahim showed me a 'Tash-6i' (stone hut). The main
structure is shown in PI. XIX b. As seen on the plan Fig. 38 it consists of a rectang-
ular enclosure, open towards the precipice on the eastern side. A smaller room,
which has the south wall common with the enclosure, has about one metre high walls
of slate slabs joined with mortar. The outer wall is a dry-stone wall. Inside the
door at the eastern side of the room there was a hearth of small stones and earth,
23 cm. in diam. and about 25 cm. below the surface. The loessic earth was inter-
mixed with ashes to a depth of 70 cm., and also contained a few animal bones.

In front of this main structure but about 8 m. below the SE corner there is a
small outwork. About 40 m. east of the main structure and about 15 m. below
there are remains of a shelter with two (three?) rooms in a row, close to a steep
cliff. Here I found a couple of potsherds in a layer of ashes, charcoal and animal
bones which reached 50 cm. below the floor.

On a level with this house and straight below the outwork mentioned above I saw
some remains of masonry strengthened with logs and branches.

193

;

fit?

' -

i i i i i-

Fig. 38. Plan of "tash-oi" near Shindi, Quruq-tagh. Complete and broken
hatchings denote standing and fallen down masonry respectively.

It is almost impossible to determine the age of these stone houses only from the
potsherds found. Their position high above the ground with a fine prospect along
the river valley made them very suitable as look-outs, and it is possible that they
were constructed in connection with the watch-tower at the mouth of the valley
described above. It is a priori very reasonable to suppose that all these structures in
the valley of the Shindi river were erected, or at least inspired, by the Chinese to

safeguard the traffic on the Silk Road passing not very far to the south of the
Quruq-tagh range.

C. Grave near Shindi.

When at Shindi with Norin, in November 1928, I examined a grave about 3 km.
to the east of the village. It was situated on a small elevation near Norin's point
1 561 (cf. sheet Shindi of Norin's map), and consisted of a rectangle measuring
5x6 m. with an outer and an inner wall of stones, and between these a filling of
gravel. Half a metre of loessic earth covered an irregular layer of smaller slabs,
and below this we found some remains of a very much decayed human skeleton. The
left arm was lying higher than the traces of the skull. 20 cm. to the left of the skull
there was a lower jaw of a sheep. This formed the only funeral deposit. Immediately
below this we came upon rock.

The grave was of course measured, but the plan was lost in Siberia together with
many other more valuable data. I am therefore unable to state with certainty in
which direction the skeleton was resting, but as far as I can recollect the head was
lying to the west.

Even this stone grave Abdurahim called a Tash-6i though it made no real im-
pression of having been a house.

194

3- SOGET-BULAQ.
A. Ruined fortress.

When travelling from Korla to Shindi, in October 1928, I took the road via
Sai-cheke at Konche-darya through the narrow mountain valley Soget-bulaq. The
reason why I chose this route was that my guide Urayim (= Ibrahim) from Shine-
ga informed me that there was a "Kohna-shahr" in the Soget-bulaq valley. After
having proceeded 9.5 km. northwards (measured in a straight line) from the south-
ern foot of Quruq-tagh we also reached a ruined fortress on the western side of the
valley, where it forms a marked bend and is wider than elsewhere.

The structure is situated on the top of a small but very steep hill, the walls of the
fortress following the irregular shape of the hill, Fig. 39. 1 It measures roughly
50x30 m. The walls are built of slabs with mortar. As seen in PI. XlXa parts of the
masonry have fallen down. The walls do not exceed 4 m. in height. The interior
makes more the impression of a platform than of an enclosure. There is only one
gate, situated in the southern part on a narrow promontory. Here the walls arc
higher but also thinner. On the eastern side an inlet between two promontories has
been closed by a low wall thus forming a lower bastion.

Only a couple of undecorated potsherds were picked up inside the fortress. Below
the rampart we found the bronze pendant PL 15: 3, in the shape of a very stylized
animal representation, a ram, the horns forming the suspension loops. There are
pendants among the Ordos bronzes with similar conceptions of the animal.

These meagre finds do not furnish any definite chronological clue. Considering
the general situation of the fortress, it is evident that it was constructed to control
traffic from North to South or vice-versa, and it was most likely built to block
this mountain road from invasions from the north. When traffic on the Silk Road,
or more precisely The Road of the Centre, was flourishing it was certainly very
necessary to protect this east-westerly route from flank attacks, and in this part
especially from the north. The Silk Road here followed the line of watch-towers be-
tween Ying-p'an arid Korla, a line that is easily reached from the Quruq-tagh
mountains. It is therefore reasonable to suggest that the Soget-bulaq fortress was
built at the time when the trade along the Silk Road was lively and when the
Chinese still feared inroads from the Hsiung-nu.

The Soget-bulaq fortress may also have been constructed to protect one of the
roads to the kingdom of Shan, a small state mentioned in the Former Han annals
and located in western Quruq-tagh. This explanation, however, is less probable as
this kingdom can hardly have been of much consequence. The name Mo-shan men-
tioned by Li Tao-yuan probably refers to the same territory.

1 The contours on the plan arc not measured and the intervals are thus very approximate; they do not reach
the foot of the hill.

*95

Fig. 39. Sketch plan of ruined fortress in the valley of Soget-bulaq, Quruq-tagh. The complete and broken hat-
chings denote preserved and fallen down masonry respectively.

Some of Norin's graves and 'tash-ois' may have some connection with this an-
cient kingdom.

This fortification ought to be seen in connection with those at the Shindi river
and the fortress at P'o-ch'eng-tze in Quruq-tagh.

B. Burial place.

Between the fortress and the small
brook there is a group of eight closely
placed graves built of stone slabs placed in
rectangles. Seven of them were destroyed
by man, the one which seemed to be un-
touched I excavated. Plan and section are
shown on Fig. 40. The rectangle is lined
with slabs put edgewise. It measures 2.3 x
1.2 m., and is about 35 cm. higher than the
ground. Level with the ground there was a
layer of flat slabs. Nearly in the centre and
1 m. from the top a human skull was found,
and a little higher up and to the side was a
child's skull. Near the adult skull there
was some green colour from some trifling

Bc2sg

Fig. 40. Grave near the ruined fortress at Sogct-
bulaq. Plan and section.

much decayed bronze plate. As no other

bones or funeral deposit were met with it is most likely that this tomb, too,

been subject to a previous search.

The fragmentary skulls have been handed over to Prof. Backman.

had

4. GRAVE AT SHOR-TSAGHAN.

When making his topographical and geological surveys of western Quruq-tagh,
Norin discovered a great many ancient tombs and remains of small stone structu-
res, which have been marked on his maps. The Turki name for all the different
kinds of these remains built of stones is Tash-6i, 'stone house', or Degipter-tash-6i,
'stone huts of the spirits' (Norin p. 176). In some cases these structures served as
dwellings and sheep enclosures, in other cases they were small fortifications or
watch-stations. Huntington mentions them as "little stone shepherd's huts".

Along the northern foot of Khara-teken-ola, south of the lake Baghrash-kol, both
such structures and ancient graves are very common. Norin opened a grave in the
region of Shor-tsaghan near his camp 201. It consisted of a mound of earth and
stones in which he found a chamber measuring 2 x1m., walled with rough stones and
about 1 m. deep, which was filled with fine sand and stones. At the bottom rested the

197

*.- .-

i* ^

nr+

■^^ **^ \L^ I

p»

m >«.'

•» u

Fig. 41. Grave at Yukken-gol, Quruq-tagh. Drawing from a photo by Dr. E. Norin.

strongly decayed remains of a human skeleton with the head eastwards, and at
its feet some fragments of a sheep's skull. The iron objects marked in the list below
were recovered from here. They arc all very much decayed and broken. There was
a horse's bit with a joint at the centre and a ring at each end, an oval ring with a
projecting hook i. e. probably a buckle of the nomad style, and some indeterminable
fragments.

It is impossible to date these fragments with any certainty. It seems likely, how-
ever, that they belong to the first millenium A. D.

»v

Another grave found by Norin is shown in Fig. 41. It is situated at Yukken-gol
600 m. due east of his camp 29 (cf. Norin's map Sheet Shindi). It consists of a rect-
angle, about 4x6m., of slabs placed edgewise, and reminds one of certain stone
graves in Inner Mongolia.

It is still too early to ascribe the Quruq-tagh graves to definite periods. They have
probably been constructed in various ages and also by different peoples. Those
coming inte the question are Huns, Avars, Turks, and Mongols. At all events these
tombs must be anterior to the time when Islam asserted itself among the Turks and
before Lamaism came to govern the minds and customs of the Mongols.

DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF OBJECTS FROM QURUQ-TAGH SITES

Shindi. From a ruined "tash 6i."

K. 13438: 1. Potsherd from the projecting rim of
a fairly large jar. Reddish-brown,
hard-burnt ware. Diam. of mouth has been 22.5
cm.

K. 13438:2-4. Three potsherds from fairly large
vessels. About the same ware as
— : 1 but with yellow surface.

K. 13438: 5-6. Various small bones, teeth, coal etc.

Soget-bulaq.

K. 13440:1. Bronze pendant? with two circular
loops (one broken off) at one end.
The whole object is possibly a stylized animal re-
presentation. L. 55 mm. PI. 15:3.

K. 13440: 2-3. Two potsherds of coarse red-brown
ware. Found inside the fortress.

1 -
1

■*

198

K. 13440:4-5. Two small potsherds of reddish
ware. — :5 has a black line painted
on a dark-red slip. Found at the graves between
the fortress and the brook.

Shor-tsaghan, tomb excavated by Norin
in the region S of lake Baghrash-kol.

K. 13445: 1-2. Two fragm. of an iron bridle, which
has had a joint at the centre and a
ring at each end.

K. 13445:3-4- Two small iron fragm. with a hole.

K. I3445:5- Iron buckle. An oval ring with a
projecting hook instead of a tongue.
25X23 mm.

K. 13445: 6-7. Two small iron fragm., probably
from rings.

K. 13445 : 8. A few fragm. from a much-decayed
iron sheet with two perforations.
Br. 55 mm.

K. 1344S : Q- Human incisor.

5. RUINS IN THE QARA-SHAHR REGION.

A. MING-OI.

In the early autum of 1928 I travelled from Charkhliq to Quruq-tagh. As the
ferry-place near Ying-p'an was difficult to traverse with camels because of the
high water in Qum-darya I followed the main road from Tikenliq to Korla. From
there I paid a short visit to the imposing ruins of the once Buddhist monastery which
is now called Ming-6i and situated near to the west of the road between Korla and
Qara-shahr. On the other side of the road and a little further to the north lies the
ruined town of Baghdad-shahri, which I also visited.

I had not planned to undertake any excavation at either place, as the first one
was well known through the intensive work by Oldenburg, Grunwedel and Stein,
and the latter had proved to Stein to be very unpromising.

From one of the central ruins in Ming-6i I brought away the two Buddhistic
stucco heads PI. 32:9 and II, and a few trifling objects were collected from the
ground. One of these was apparently lost by Stein, as it bears his site marks. The
heads are very close to those found by Stein in this eighth century monastry.

B. BAGHDAD-SHAHRI.

After having left Ming-6i I paid a flying visit to the ruined town called Baghdad-
shahri. All that remains of it is the decayed walls. At the large mound in the interior
some local treasure-seekers were digging, but they had made no interesting finds.
We found a fragmentary Chinese coin on the ground, most likely a K'ai-yiian issue

of T'ang period.

Stein has identified this site with the old capital of Yen-ch'i, which the T'ang
annals place at the right side of Khaidu-gol. 1 Stein's identification is rendered less
certain by my discovery of the ruined walls of another city ve.-y near to Baghdad-
shahri which I made six years after my visit to this place.

1 This is Ihe spelling usually applied to the Mongol name o£ the Qara-shahr-darya. I have never heard it
pronounced by any Mongol. According to Mr. Unkrig it must be a corruption of Khoitu-gol, i. e. The river in
the rear, or to the north.

199

C. RUIN NEAR BAGHDAD-SHAHRI.

When travelling from Qara-shahr to Korla, in March 1934* I observed the ruins
of a rather large enclosure suggesting a town wall. It was situated about 3 km. N
of the village Danzil, and about 1,500 m. from the ruined town of Baghdad-shahri.
The compass bearings from the northern "gate" towards the corner-towers of
Baghdad-shahri were: NE corner S 71 ° E, SW corner S 45 E.

The cart-road crosses the northern wall, where a plain and quite modern p'ai-lou
has been erected, and follows the eastern side of an inner square, Fig. 42. According
to my estimation, which must be regarded as only approximate, the sides of the
outer wall measure roughly 600 m. and are 2 — 3 m. high. On the southern side I saw
no traces of any wall. The sides of the inner square measured about 250 m. Along
the inside of its eastern wall ran a rather solid brick wall about 4 m. high. The inner
enclosure contains several low mounds of dilapidate structures.

The whole "town" is covered with a thorny shrub vegetation, and the ground is
salt-encrusted, as is also the case with the surroundings. A small water-course flows
through the ruin. The moistness and salinity of the ground makes it less probable
that any perishables can be preserved here.

Whether this ruin or Baghdad-shahri was identical with the Yen-ch'i of the T'ang
annals is impossible to decide. One of them most likely was Yen-ch'i, and the other
may have been A-ch'i-ni (Agni) of Hsuang tsang or Wu-i ( Wu-ch'i) of Fa hsien,
because it is uncertain if these three names denoted one and the same place.

However this may be, both of these ruins occupied an important strategical posi-
tion along the highway between Turfan and the Tarim Basin, and also on the
mountain road from the Hi valley along the Qara-shahr river where nomad inroads
could be expected.

In this connection we might mention a few objects obtained by Dr. Nils Ambolt
from local people who had found them when digging up roots for fuel at a place
about 6 km. SW of the village Danzil between Baghdad-shahri and Ming-6i.

Two Chinese coins are from the periods corresponding to 766 — 784, a third is so
covered with verdigris that the inscription is illegible. PI. 15:6 shows one side of a
Sino-Kharoshthi coin. The Chinese characters are very unshapely and irregular;
they read apparently liu ch'u ch'ien, i. e. six ch'u (= a weight) of money. This side
nearly coincides with Hoernle 1899, PI. I: 14. The other side is still more obscure.
It probably shows a horse standing to the right, and a couple of nearly effaced
square characters. It recalls Hoernle's PI. 1 : 8. No. — : 5 is most likely of the same
sort of Indo-Chinese coins. According to Hoernle, these coins date from the first
and second centuries A. D. To similar coins from Khotan, where they seem to have
been issued, he assigns the period 73 — 200 A. D. as a safe date.

200

To Qorosnoh*

■
■

i
i

m 1

•

•
I

To KoHo

ill!

Fig. 42. Approximate plan of ruined city

between Qara-shahr and Korla. Hatching

= masonry.

Fig. 43. Earth rampart at Qu-
mush, Quruq-tagh. Approximate

plan.

The flat bronze button PI. 15: 14 is harder to place, but the strap end PL 15: 5
can be compared with Arne 1914 Fig. 228, which was found in Qara-khoja near Tur-
fan and is ascribed to a post-Sassanian period. The relief decoration shows affinities
with Hungarian strap fittings of the migration period. (Hampel's fourth group).

With the exception of the two Sino-Kharoshthi coins, these objects seem to be
from the time during the T'ang dynasty when this region saw heavy traffic and a
colourful life in the now ruined monasteries.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM THE QARA-SHAHR REGION

Ming-di.

K. 13442: 1. Three joined fragm. of a small clay
vessel of light-red ware and with dark-
red painting.

K. 13442: 2. About half of a small low
earthenware. Diam. 5.5 cm.

K. 13442:3. Small potsherd with two black lines.
Light yellowish, hard-burnt ware.

K. 13442:4. Small fragm. of ornament of burnt
clay, probably from a sculpture.
(Marked Mi. xi, apparently dropped by Stein.)

K. 13442:5. Stucco relief head, the upper part
missing. Nearly full size. The arched
eyebrows run down into the very sharp-edged
nose. Half-closed eyes, but with large swelling
eyeballs. Short upper lip, small much-curved mouth.
Straight chin with double chin marked below. PI.
32:9-

K. 13442:6. Stucco relief head, much decayed.
About half life-size. The hair is part-
ed by a horizontal ribbon, the lower part having
the coils laid against the sides. The ear-lobes arc
somewhat elongated. PI. 32:11.

lamp of Baghdad-shahri.

K. 13444:1. Small fragm. of Chinese coin with
the character "yuan" below the hole.
Probably a K'ai-yiian.

Sawn-off point of a horn-core.

4. Two small chips of black flint.

K. 13444 : 2-
K. 13444: 3-

Danzil.
K. 13443: 1.

Chinese coin, Ta-li-yiian-pao (766-
780). Diam. 21 mm.

K. 13443:2. Chinese coin, with unclear legend,
probably Chien-chung-t'ung-pao (780-
784). Diam. 21 mm.

K. 13443:3. Chinese coin, much corroded, broken.
Diam. 22 mm.

201

K. 13443 : 4. Copper coin, Sino-Kharoshthi, with
unclear Chinese legend on one side,
the front part of a horse standing to right and
part of legend on the other side. Diara. about 19
mm. PI. 15:6.

K. 13443: 5. Copper coin, probably Sino-Kharosh-
ihi, with very unclear legend. Diam.
16 mm:

K. 13443:6. Flat bronze button with incised orna-
ment on one side. Diam. 18 mm. PI.

15:14-

K. 13443 : 7- Bronze mounting for strap end. One
side is ornamented in relief: a floral
design framed by a single row of dots between
raised borders. The plain rear side is fastened
with two rivets. 20X14X5 mm. PI. 15:5.

6. RUIN AT QUMUSH.

When travelling" along the main road from Turfan to Qara-shahr in February
1934, one night was spent in the then destroyed and deserted village of Qumush. On
the south-eastern side of the small village I discovered a rhomboid enclosure, an
earthen rampart, which must be the remains of a small fortification or military
camp. It measured about 85 m. square and had gates in three of the sides, see plan
Fig. 43. Near to the west of it there is a 4 m. high mound, at the top of which one
could see metre thick layers of straw, charcoal, bones, fabrics and similar refuse
laying in great disorder. Without digging — and I had no opportunity for this
whatsoever — it was impossible to ascertain if the mound contained any structural
remains, or if it was just a huge rubbish-heap.

This small ruin has escaped the attention of earlier travellers. It might be
identified with the fortress Kiimush-aqma, which in a note of Hsi-yu-wen-chien-lu
1777 is said to be situated 520 li north-east of Qara-shahr.

I f

Si I

7. MONOLITHS AT CH'AI-O-FU.

About 3 km. tho the east of the village Ch'ai-o-p'u in T'ien-shan and about 1 km.
to the north of the eastern end of the lake nearest to this village I discovered a
fallen "baba" stone with a very rude face and an engraved line forming a girdle,
PI. IX a. Total length of the stone 2.2 m. The girdle is 1.2 m. from the top. In the
neighbourhood there is an earthen mound from a k a r e z or subsoil irrigation
canal.

About 100 m. south of the main road Turfan — Urumchi there is an erect stone, 2
m. high, and with an engraved belt or girdle 1.05 m. from the top, just as was the
case with the nearby baba stone. It was impossible to discern traces of any face
though there has probably once been one.

To the north of the road and in the vicinity of the telegraph line I found another
standing, thin stone, 1.65 m. high, but I could discover no engravings on it. Be-
tween the latter and the road there is still another small erect stone. There are also
probably some stone graves here.

Afterwards I have learnt that this site is mentioned by Huntington (p. 300) :
"Two monoliths about seven feet high, stand near the shore. Near them there are
a number of artificial mounds of various sizes, and several lines composed of

202

groups of stones. Each group consisted originally of about eight boulders from one
to three feet in diameter arranged in a circle perhaps six feet across."

Owen Lattimore also visited this place, and he saw three monoliths, one of
them being the baba stone of my PL IX a. Besides he mentions "five large tumuli
arranged in a line, surrounded by curious broken circles of small boulders on the
bare ground. The disposition of the whole site is a little confused by the mounds
about the shafts giving access to an abandoned karez." (Lattimore 1930, p.
148 f.)

In the Hi valley Lattimore saw not a few monoliths.

As far as I am aware Stein is the first to have recorded a baba stone in Sinkiang.
It is standing in a primitive Kirghiz shrine at Chalkoide in the mountains between
Kelpin and Uch-turfan (Stein 1921, Fig. 341). There the stone effigy was wor-
shipped by the Kirghiz.

As a rule the baba stones are placed on a tomb or in the immediate vicinity of a
tomb. It is hardly likely that the baba found by Stein and the shrine surrounding it
are contemporaneous. Whether the baba was taken to the shrine from its ori-
ginal place or the shrine was erected around the baba is hard to decide. In any
case the combination of shrine and effigy is highly suggestive as a manifestation of
the survival of ancient pre-Mussulman worship.

Von Le Coq tells us about similar worship by the Kirghiz (Le Coq 1928, p.
154). They regard the baba figures either as gods or as memorials of famous an-
cestors.

In Qasaqstan the baba figures are common. Le Coq mentions one along the road
from Semipalatinsk to Sergiopol and another between Sergiopol and Kulja (Le
Coq 1926, p. 160).

In Sergiopol I noticed two babas which had been moved thither from the sur-
rounding neighbourhood, and one is standing at the roadside on the outskirts of
Urdjar. Several baba stones have been taken to the museum in Semipalatinsk. In
the Minusinsk region and in N. Mongolia they are extremely common, and many
specimens are also known from the eastern part of Inner Mongolia, Chakhar and
Ulan-chap, the former discovered by Prof. J. G. Andersson, the latter found by me.

The baba stones are distributed over practically the whole Eurasiatic steppe
region, and seem to belong mainly to the first millenium A. D.

The stones at Ch'ai-o-p'u have nothing to do with the few finds of worked flint re-
covered in the vicinity and discussed on p. 26.

I will revert to the question of the baba figures and hope to be able to treat it
more fully in a forthcoming publication on Inner Mongolian antiquities.

Though they have no connection with the monuments above, it ought to be men-
tioned that there are several ruins of ancient watch-towers or signal-towers around
Ch'ai-o-p'u along the Turfan-Urumchi road.

203

PART IV.

THE SOUTHERN BORDER REGION OF LOP-NOR

This last part of my treatise is to deal with the finds obtained from three

ruined sites at Charchan, Vash-shahri and Mi ran which I visited in 1928.

They have been well known for many years. Though my collections from

there are in no way unique they are nevertheless of interest as originating from
stations on the Road of the South, the Silk Road which skirts the southern rim of the
Tarim Basin.

1. CHARCHAN.

In "Serindia" Stein gives a well presented collection of data about Charchan as
furnished by Chinese historical records, of which I give a short extract here.

In Han-time the name of the oasis was Chii-mo, and it was still occupied towards
the end of the third century A. D. It was the capital of a small kingdom. The Kha-
roshthi form Calmadana is most likely meant to reproduce the indigenous name of
Charchan. According to the Buddhist pilgrim Sun Yun it was called Tso-mo in
A. D. 519, and was then held by the T'u-yii-hun, a nomad tribe occupying the high
plateaus to the west of the Kuku-nor lake. In 640 Charchan was a part of the vast
dominion of the Western Turks. When the famous Hsuan Tsang returned from
India about 645 he found no inhabitants inside the lofty city walls of Charchan, or
Che-mo-t'o-na as he calls it; this name is apparently a reproduction of Calmadana.
The place was garrisoned again some fifteen years after the passage of Hsuan
Tsang. In the period 674 — 76 its name was changed to Po-hsien. It is known to
have been occupied in the beginning of the 8th century. At this time the place seems
to have been called Padaki (Clauson, p. 302). The present name first appears as
Cher-chen in a Tibetan record found in Miran. Stein suggests that this new name
is attributable to the change wrought by the T'u-yu-huns' occupation. It was partly
destroyed by the Mongols, but when in 1273 — 74 Marco Polo passed here, he says
that Charchan was a province of Great Turkey, and that the people worshipped
Mahomet.

Stein is of the opinion that cultivation had disappeared by the end of the 18th
century, probably for a long period earlier. Only after the first third of the last

204

century did the Chinese begin to settle Charchan once more, as a penal station. Its
growing importance as an agricultural settlement has been stated by Stein, and on
my visit in 1928 I found that the oasis had improved still further.

On his fourth expedition, 1883—85, Prjevalsky visited Charchan. As the in-
formation he obtained regarding the Kohna-shahr is very important and has been
overlooked by Stein I herewith render it in English from Hedin's Swedish trans-
lation of Prjevalsky's narrative (pp. 396 f).

"At Charchan there are, in the middle of the desert and partly covered by
mounds of loess and sand, traces of an old culture — ruins of towers, houses and old
canals. According to local tradition two cities existed here at different epochs.
Among the remains of these the natives now and again undertake diggings, espec-
ially after the storms when the sand is removed to a considerable depth. Here they
find coins of copper and gold, silver bars, gold ornaments, jewellery, iron objects
and copper vessels, and, oddly enough, sherds of glass — all in the older city. From
the younger city they obtain burnt bricks. They also excavate tombs containing
wooden coffins. In these the corpses are very well preserved, thanks to the extreme
dryness of the ground and the air. The men are of very high stature and have long
hair; the women have one or two queues. Once a tomb was discovered with twelve
male corpses in a sitting position. Another time a young girl was discovered in her
coffin. Her eyes were covered with leaves of gold, and her head was wound round
with a gold ribbon from chin to crown. She had been dressed in a long garment,
now totally decayed, but on the breast were some thin stars of gold; her feet were
bare. The natives of Charchan told us that even the wooden coffins in some instances
were so well preserved that the wood could be used for making various small articles.
Together with human corpses one also found bones of horses and sheep in the tombs."

Prjevalsky apparently made no excavations or collections of antiquities, he only
gathered information. In the statements of the natives the riches found in the tombs
have probably been exaggerated — this is usually the case when ignorant people
describe archaeological finds. Another typical detail is the mention of the very high
stature of the corpses : the size of a corpse or skeleton is always magnified when
described. Several points are very suggestive and ring true: the good preservation
of the corpses, the occurrence of glass and so on. It is also interesting to note that
the existing ruins have been extensively used by the natives as "brick mines".

Grenard's description is also interesting and worth quoting (Grenard Vol. 3, p.
146). He visited Charchan 1893.

'A Tchertchen a Touest de l'oasis et legerement au sud de la route de Keria, des
maisons en ruines sont ensevelies sous le sable; les toits ont disparu, mais les murs
sont encore assez bien conserves. lis sont faits de briques cuites, grosses et solides.
Les anciens du village disent qu'on y a trouve aux premiers temps de la colonisation
du nouveau Tchertchen, c'est-a-dire debut de ce siecle, des corps d'hommes vetus de

205

Iaine, ayant les cheveux courts et la barbe longue, portant des anneaux aux oreilles
et quelquef ois au nez, divers ustentiles de cuisine, des fragments de ianibou d'argent,
des pieces de monnaie chinoises et des fragments de livres musulmans."

Grenard acquired a coin of Wu Ti of Liang (first half of the sixth century).

As seen from the above, Stein surveyed the historical records dealing with Char-
chan, and he also searched the actual site. Among his acquisitions only one coin of
the period 1054 — 56 admits of prima facie dating. He did not come across any
graves.

As soon as the local people in Charchan, in July 1928, became aware of my anti-
quarian interests they offered small objects which they had picked up on the surface
of what they called the Kohna-shahr. Among the things purchased in this way
there may be a few of somewhat dubious age and uncertain origin, but most of the
articles are certainly genuine. When I moved out of the bazaar and pitched camp in
the western border of the oasis I personally picked up some objects of the same
kind as those purchased from the local people.

The present Charchan oasis is situated on the left bank of the Charhan-darya.
On the right bank there is a smaller, and probably rather new, oasis called Aralchi,
which does not, however, call for further mention here. The cultivated ground, the
fields, the orchards etc. form an elongated oval nearly 3 km. wide along the river,
just as do most of the oases situated on river-banks. Above the cultivated ground a
branch of the river is forced to run in a westerly direction, afterwards turning to
the north, and finally west-northwest. Along its northern course it forms the west-
ern boundary of the oasis. To the west of it opens a sterile, slightly undulating and
eroded gobi surface, a soft, dusty clayey ground with a thin layer of fine black
gravel. A rather large part of this desert is called Kohna-shahr (Old Town) as it
yields pottery fragments and other small finds.

Very few structural remains are to be seen, inter alia a small tower of uncertain
age. It is possible, though, that some of the undulations which now show the same
surface as the rest of the ground are hiding very dilapidated brick ruins. The de-
struction of the ruins has thus been going on constantly since the time of Prjevai.-
sky's visit.

The most striking feature is a dry irrigation canal running roughly from south-
east to north-west and near the western border of the Kohna-shahr. It has raised
embankments and the bottom lies higher than the surrounding ground. Some tama-
risks are growing along it. One time it no doubt watered a good deal, if not the
whole, of the fields and orchards of the old city of Charchan.

The present oasis covers probably a part of the old town, but as practically all
the ground inside it is cultivated there was little hope of discovering any an-
tiquities there during a short visit. I therefore limited my survey to the deserted part
west of the modern oasis.

206

A. GRAVES.

*s z

^"X

n 3

In the eastern part of Kohna-shahr very near the border of the present oasis we
found five graves within a distance of 17 in. (cf. the plan Fig. 44). Owing to wind
erosion the skeletons were lying very near the surface of the ground and were more
or less incomplete.

Grave I with its poorly preserved skeleton
contained a large earthenware jug PI. 35 : 4 and
two pairs of rectangular bronze fittings, Fig. 45,
probably from a wooden box or the like. These
objects were found above the head of the buried
man, Fig. 46. The jug is of dark, nearly black
colour and has a simple ornamental band running
round the shoulder; its age is hard to determine.

Graves 2 and 3 were much disturbed as seen
from the plans in Fig. 46. They contained nothing
besides the bone fragments.

Grave 4, also disturbed, had an earthenware
vessel near the head of the skeleton, PI. 35 : 1. The
shape of the vessel is about the same as that from
Grave 1, only rather slenderer, and the ware is
coarser and of inferior quality.

Grave 5 had the best preserved skeleton but the
skull was missing. The feet were lying 39 cm.
below the upper part of the cerebral column. No
sepulchral deposit was preserved.

Another group of graves was discovered N and
NW of the 'tati' surfaces which mark the extension
of the Kohna-shahr. Two of them, Graves 6 and 7, were excavated by some tempo-
rarily engaged people without my knowledge, and the data from the examination
are thus very poor.

Grave 6 contained bones of at least two individuals. The best preserved skull was
taken for examination, for which I must refer to Prof. Backman's report. The dead
were buried in a pit, roughly 2.5x1.5 m., and 1.5 m. deep, and the pit had been roof-
ed with a layer of round logs covered with straw matting.

Some fragments of a green woollen braid PL 32 : 10 were found on one of the skele-
tons and the bottom of a low clay bowl. Fig. 47, of the same type as other Char-
chan bowls. There was also a part of a wooden vessel made of a hollowed-out
trunk, PL 32: 2, and having a very simply engraved figure of a deer(?) on the out-
side, Fig. 48. The bottom must have been of leather and secured with strings in the
holes along the lower rim. The main part of a wooden comb was also recovered and

1 1 1

Fig. 44.

10 m

Charchan, Kohna-shahr. Plan
of graves I — 5.

207

Fig. 45. Probable ar-
rangement of bronze
fittings from Grave I,
Charchan. Half size.

finally a wooden spindle whorl, or maybe more correctly the
whorl of a fire-drill, PL 32 : 3. The comb, which has been partly
reconstructed in Fig. 49, has had the shorter teeth secured in a
lost transverse piece (of tendon?) and the long outer teeth have
been tied to the sides with strings running in the marked notches
on the upper part If this reconstruction is correct it shows a
certain likeness with the Lop-nor comb PL 9: 1.
Grave 7 was situated by the side of Grave 6. The construction was in conformity
with the other one but the roof was made of reed bundles wound round with two
cords. The pit contained one skeleton and a clay pot of the same kind as several
purchased in Charchan and stated to originate from Kohna-shahr. The people were
not quite certain if the cup PL 35 : 6 or 35 : 7 was found in this grave.

Both of these graves seem to have been more or less plundered on some former
occasion. In the earth around the dug out graves I found a small carved peg with
a row of holes (K. 13345: 6) having quite withered wood.

The other graves were destroyed by treasure-seekers long ago, and so was an-
other group of five or six graves a little farther to the west.

On the surrounding ground we did not notice any fragments of pottery, other-
wise so common in Kohna-shahr proper. This burial place was apparently situated
outside the old town.

As the funeral deposits are very poor the dating of these graves is somewhat
hazardous. It is quite clear that they are of a pre-MussuIman age, and that they
belong to people that inhabited Charchan before Marco Polo passed here. It is not
quite out of the question that Graves 6 and 7 belong to the Lou-Ian period, as the
construction of these graves reminds us of some of the Lop-nor graves, but the
sepulchral furniture is too insignificant to allow of any proper distinction.

B. *TATF FINDS.

Pottery.

From the historical data regarding Charchan, as seen from the brief extract
given above, we do not reach further back than the time of the Han dynasty, when
the oasis was known as Chu-mo. There is nothing to contradict the supposition that
Charchan was inhabited long before that, possibly already in prehistoric times. The
finds furnishing the proofs, however, have been wanting. With the acquisition of
the beautiful earthenware vase shown in PL 1 we have apparently acquired an ob-
ject antedating the Han dynasty, cf. p. 18 f. Its general features places it among the
chalcolithic pottery, possibly of the second millenium B. C. A few plain potsherds
may also be prehistoric. (K. 13342: 28, 30 — 31, 52 — 53).

208

VI XVIK

n. The first group of the Quruq-tagh rock carving.

h. The last group furthest to the south

c. A part of the third group of the Quruq-tagh rock carving.

PI. XVIII.

a. The figures to the right of the third group

b. Three lines of Mongol script.

; ■

5 '

c, A carving on a boulder.

Oerchfin. Grove |.

therthen. Grave 2.

Cherthen, Grave y

y*vm

I I I I I I

Cherchen, Grove 5.

Cherchen, Grove 4,

tit

i _ L

Fig. 46. Charchan Kohna-shahr. Plans of graves I — 5.

A few pottery fragments resemble in the ware the Lop-nor pottery from the time
of Lou-Ian (K. 13342:20, 24 — 25). The light-grey vase PI. 35:3 is a well-known
Han type, and closely recalls a vase found in Mass-grave 1 at Lop-nor (PI. 21 : 2).
Together with some of the beads, and possibly a coin, these are the remains that
can be attributed to the time of Chu-mo.

209

Fig. 47. Drawing of the earthenware bowl K.13345: ' from

Charchan. Half size.

The main bulk of the Charchan
pottery, a coarse, thick-walled and
brick-red earthenware, must be
post-Han, and probably originates
from the time of the later occupa-
tions, i. e. from the T'ang, Sung,
and Yuan dynasties. A minor part
of the sherds shows a dark grey,
well-burnt ware, PI. 36: J. PL
36:5 is brownish. These are not

so thick-walled though they have belonged to large vessels.

As is the case at Vash-shahri, a few potsherds show incised characters, probably

Tibetan, PL 37: 3 (and possibly also PL 37 : *)> which gives a hint as to their date.

The Tibetan occupation of Eastern Turkistan lasted from 670 to 692, and from the

middle of the eighth century for one hundred years. I am indebted to Professor

Helmer Smith, Upsala, for a confirmation of the nature of the incised characters.
Most of the handles are loop-shaped, but there are also lugs. A single case of a

horizontally applied handle is shown on PL 37: 4.

Spindle whorls were made of potsherds, but PL 37: 9 shows a fragmentary whorl

which was originally made for this purpose. It is also of earthenware and has some

impressed dots.

The bowls PL 35 : 5 — 7 have the same shape as Fig. 47. Two of these I know

myself as coming from graves inside the Kohna-shahr, and I am pretty sure that
all the complete vessels have a similar origin. We must also reckon with the poss-
ibility that most of the small finds such as beads and other ornaments or metal
fittings have come from destroyed graves. Many potsherds, on the other hand, must
be regarded as refuse from dwellings.

Small objects.

Among the five copper coins obtained, one is a "Goose-eye", i. e. one of those
much debased coins so common during the final period of the Lou-Ian time. A K'ai-
yuan coin is a T'ang issue, and two Sung coins bear the periods corresponding to
1017 — 22 and 1023 — 32. The fifth coin, PL 33:9, has exactly the same shape as
the ordinary Chinese ones of the T'ang and later dynasties; the four characters,
however, are non-Chinese and illegible. It is apparently an imitation of a Chinese
coin.

There are three bronze buckles all without tongues. PL 33: 3 somewhat recalls a
buckle of T'ang? type from the Tog^ijai site (Stein 1907, PL LI, M. 001. g), and
PL 33: 2 has a parallel from the Lou-Ian station (Stein 1921, PL XXXVI, L. A.

210

Fig. 48. Figure incised on the
wooden bucket PI. 32:2, Char-
chan. Nat. size.

Fig. 49. Reconstruction of

the remains of a wooden

comb. Charchan, Grave 6.

Half size.

0050) and another from Inner Mongolia in the Museum of Far Eastern Anti-
quities in Stockholm (K. 10204: 6) ; these latter are more elongated.

PI. 33 : 1 is of a type quite common in Inner Mongolia. I myself picked up a speci-
men in a ruined house of the Sung or Yuan dynasty near Khara-khoto at the low-
er Edsen-gol river, and in MFEA there are five similar buckles obtained in Kuei-
hua or in Inner Mongolia. (K. 11003: 1372 and 1383, K. 11233: 13, K. 11283: 38
and 40). Hardly any of these last mentioned had any tongue, but the one from
Charchan may have had one. There is always the possibility, however, that this
type was never used as a true buckle for fastening two ends of a strap, but that it
was hanging on the lower edge of the belt (or other strap) and used for attaching
other objects in the same manner as on the girdle in the Korean Gold Crown Tomb
(Hamada & Umehara, Fig. 33). A modern development of this type is to be found
among the silver fittings that the Mongols carry on their girdles, and where they
suspend their cinderbox, knife and chopsticks etc. It is no doubt a non-Chinese
contrivance developed among the Central Asian nomads.

The bronze fitting PI. 33: 4, to join the strap-end with the rear side of the buckle,
has a parallel from Khotan (Stein 1928, PI. X, Badr. 0168). PI. 33: 5 has probably
been used in the same way.

Small pendants, rings and beads of bronze were also purchased in Charchan, PI.
33 and 34. The bronze seal or signet PI. 33 : 12, is identical with some specimens
purchased by Hedin in Khotan on one of his earlier journeys and now published by
Montell (Montell 1938, PI. V: 1 — 3), who suggests that this type of intaglios was
the arms or sign of a religious sect or a group of monasteries. Referring to a
Khotan signet found by Grenard he considers them as reminiscences from the
Nestorian time. I should like to draw attention to the similarities between this type

*%j

211

of intaglios and the relief design on a slab in Gandhara style from Panjab (Stein

1937, PL II, B.A.047).

One of the other two signets, PI. 33 : 22, has four engraved scrolls, also recalling
Khotan signets (Stein 1921, PL V, Khot, 06. s.)

The three silver objects PL 34: 12 — 14, one pendant and two fragments of finger
rings, are nicely polished by wear. The shape of the pendant reminds one of an
Oriental object found in the Swedish Viking Age city of Birka (Arne 1914,
Fig. 105).

A bronze mirror with handle, PL 33 : 23, is of clear Chinese origin. The decorated
side depicts in low, flat relief a scene which is rather popular on charms and amulet
coins during the Sung and later dynasties. Under a fir tree is seated a man with a
halo. He is clad in a garment with rich folds. Before him stands a smaller figure
carrying something on his hands. Between them, in the foreground, there are a
crane and a tortoise. The two animals as well as the fir tree are emblematic of
longevity, but it is uncertain whom the human figures are meant to represent. They
have been interpreted as representing the Taoist immortal Ma Ku offering a cup
of wine to the Star of Happiness, 1 an interpretation that does not seem conclusive, as
the smaller figure has none of Ma Ku's common attributes. In Chinese numismatic
works 2 the scene is said to show Hsing kuan or Mandarin of the Stars being attend-
ed by a servant. Chavannes 3 interprets the sitting figure in the same scene as the
divinity presiding over human life and the other figure as a young boy offering him
some sort of object. One of these explanations appears to be more justified than the
first one given above. The closest parallel as to the outline of the mirror is afforded
by a specimen from Turfan (Stein 1928, PL LXXI, Kao. III. oi). The Charchan
mirror can hardly be older than the Sung dynasty for stylistical reasons; it may be
still younger.

Shells with suspension holes as well as beads and other small articles made of
shells have been examined microscopically by Dr. Bergenhayn and found to belong
partly to a freshwater bivalve Quadrula living in East Asia and North America,
partly to various marine shells such as Cyprea moneta, Strombus floridus and
Columbaria mendicaria. The latter have thus been brought overland to Charchan
from the far off sea. Some of them are shown in PL 34: 55 — 59. PL 34:39 is a
small pendant in the shape of an animal(?), and PL 34: 36 has two small engraved
circles with central dot just as has the bronze object PL 33:8. It is indeed remark-
able to find how the people in the Tarim Basin used marine shells, apparently to be
carried as charms and ornaments, as they lived farther from the sea than any other
people in the world. Cowries, and probably also other shells, were sometimes used as

1 Lockhardt: The Currency of the Farther East, No. 1652.

2 E. g. Ku-chuan-huei, by Li Ch'u-pcng.

3 Le cycle Turc des douze animaux (TP 7) Fig. X.

212

;

current money. They seem, however, to have been most commonly used as highly
appreciated charms and amulets. I have touched on these questions in BMFEA 7,

pp. 113 f-

Beads and pendants are quite common and certainly from several different peri-
ods. The materials include opal, agate, jade in several colours, malachite, lapis
lazuli, amethyst, coral and glass. Most of them have been pictured on PL 33 and 34.
Those of stone, especially jade, are certainly of local manufacture, i. e. made some-
where along the southern border of the Tarim Basin, those of lapis lazuli may have
been traded from Badakhshan, where famous mines are known to have existed
(T P 1904, p. 66). The pendants in some instances consist only of an oblong or
drop-shaped pebble with a perforation at one end, PI. 34:49, 51, 54 and 60. Some
of the suspension holes are drilled from both sides and meeting at an angle, i. e. the
holes are V-shaped. The glass beads are no doubt importations from the West, the
main bulk of them would pass as Roman beads in any country. Of special interest
are the eye-bead PI. 33: 16 and the mosaic bead fragment PI. 33: 18. Several others
such as PI. 33: 28 — 33 are made of two kinds of differently coloured glass and PI.
33: 19 has the surface covered with white, red and blue spots, standing out brightly
against the black background.

K. 13342: 69 is a fragment from the lower part of a glass bowl, the uncoloured
glass looking very similar to some fragments from Lou-Ian in Hedin's old collec-
tion, and the same is true regarding K. 13342:70 — 71, two fragments from the
widening rim of some small glass bottles (cf. Bergman 1935 c, pp. 114 ff.). These
sherds may very well be of Syrian glass. A few sherds of greenish, semi-translucent
glass from here have probably been made locally in Turkistan at a later period.

In general these 'Tati' finds from the Kohna-shahr of Charchan are of the same
sort as those acquired by Hedin in Khotan and adjacent sites, but among the artic-
les from Charchan there are none of a Buddhistic character, whereas the Khotan
collection has many such objects.

There is very little Chinese material among the finds from here, but the presence
of some coins indicate that there was some trade with China in the Sung period after
the interruption caused by the Tibetan conquest in T'ang time. Even in Han time
trade must have flourished, as Charchan is situated on the very Road of the South, a
highway that has remained in use ever since. It was along the same road that in-
fluences from India and the West reached Charchan.

The extent of these 'Tads', several kilometres in length and breadth, where potte-
ry fragments and small articles occur abundantly, is sufficient to prove
that the ancient Chii-mo and its successors must be located in the position of
the present Charchan oasis and its immediate vicinity, as rightly pointed out
by Stein. As far as can be judged none of the objects acquired by me is of a date
later than the Yuan dynasty, and it therefore seems reasonable to suppose that the
occupation of the present Kohna-shahr site ended some time during the 14th century.

213

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM CHARCHAN

K. 13335- Pottery jar of light grey, hard ware.

Low narrow neck, bulky shoulder
and flat bottom. The surface of the shoulder is
slightly wavy from a furrow running spirally round
the vessel. H. 17.5 cm. Diam. of rim 8.3 cm.
Diam. at widest place 15.5 cm. Diam. of bottom 8.5
cm. PI. 35 : 3.

K. 13336. Clay pot of reddish-brown, partly

black ware containing rather coarse
grains of sand. Around the short neck a leather
strap is fixed (probably modern) to stop up a
leak. H. 12.5 cm. Diam. of mouth 8.3 cm. Diam.
of widest part 12.2 cm. Diam. of bottom 8.5 cm.
PI. 35 : 2-

K. l$337- Pottery bowl of dark grey, nearly

black ware. Rounded bottom, the
wall slightly widening towards the rim. H. 10.5
cm. Diam. of rim 15.7 cm. Diam. at lower edge of
wall 13.2 cm. PI. 35: 5.

K- x 333& Pottery bowl of the same type as

the preceding one but with low wall.
Moreover, the ware is a little lighter. H. 9.5 cm.
Diam. of rim 14.5 cm. Diam. at lower edge of wall
13.6— 14 cm. PL 35:7.

K. 13339- Pottery bowl of the same type as

the preceding one. The rim is partly
broken. Within the ware is red and contains rather
coarse grains of sand. H. about 11 cm. Diam. of
rim 18.4 cm. Diam. at lower edge of wall 18.1 cm.
Probably originating from Grave 7. PL 35 : 6.

K. 13340. Chinese bronze mirror with handle

(broken). One side has a decoration
in very flat relief: to the left a person is sitting
under a tree. He is wearing a dress with many
folds, and a halo. Behind the tree a cloud scroll.
To the right a standing figure carrying something
on his hands. Between the two figures are a crane
or heron and a tortoise. The scene is encircled by
two raised lines, and the rim of the mirror has a
moulding that also runs along the handle. L. 18. 1
cm. Diam. 9.9 cm. Reddish-brown patina with in-
significant green spots. PL 33:23.

K. 13341 : 1. Chinese coin, K'ai-yiian-t'ung-pao
(618 — 627). Diam. 25 mm.

Chinese coin, T'ien-sheng-yuan-pao

Chinese coin, T'ien-hsi-t'ung-pao
(1017— 1022). Diam. 26 mm. The
reverse is carelessly stamped.

Copper coin of the same shape as
the Chinese ones but with four non-
Chinese characters. Diam. 24 mm. PI. 33 : 9.

K- I334I : 5-
K. 13341 : 6.

"Goosc-cye" coin with irregular
contour. Diam. 10—12 mm.

K. 13341 : 2.
K. 13341:3-

K. 13341:4*

K. 13341 : 7.
K. 13341 : 8.

Portion of square bronze buckle. A
rivet in each corner. 36X30 mm.

PI- 33:3.

Portion of bronze buckle, pear-
shaped contour. 24X21 mm. PL 33 : 2.

Portion of brass buckle. The front
part is oval and has a small point,

the rear side is rectangular to receive the strap.

19X18 mm. PL 33: 1.

K- I334I : 9- Bronze strap-end, from buckle.
Rectangular plate with the short end
wavy. From the other end projects a double hoop
(broken) which has passed round the tongue-bar
of the buckle. The edge is bevelled along long
sides. One hole for a rivet 30X20 mm. PL 33:4.

K. 13341:10. Small bronze pendant, square with
two loops. The flat part has five
engraved circles on each side. 17X14 mm. PL
33:8.

K. 13341:11. Bronze strap-end? from buckle?
Two loops at one end, the other end
rounded. Below there has been a rivet. Ornament-
ation consisting of coarse lines. 15X10 mm. PL

33 = 5-

K. 13341 : 12. Small bronze pendant, triangular
with a notch across the lower point.
15X10X4 mm. PL 33: 11.

K. 13341 : 13. Bronze mounting in the shape of a
six-petalled rosette with large cent-
ral hole. Diam. 16 mm. Th. 5 mm. PL 33 : 7.

K. 13341:14. Bronze ring, cornet-shaped. Diam.
20 mm. Th. 1 1 mm. PL 33 : 6.

K. 13341 : 15. Sewing ring of bronze with three
rows of small hollows. Diam. 21 mm.
W. 7 mm. PL 33 : 10.

K. 13341 -' 16. Three fragm. of a small brass finger
ring which has contained a round
stone.

K. 13341 : 17. Small spiral of bronze wire. L. 8
mm. Diam. 5 mm. PL 33:13.

K. 13341 : 18. Fragm. of flat bronze tube, traces
of lines across. L. 24 mm. Diam.
7—8 mm. PL 33:14.

K. 1334' ! '9- Small bronze bead enclosed in a
grooved bronze band. Diam. about 9
mm.

214

K. 13341 : 20. Small bronze boss, hemispherical
with central hole. Diam. 7 mm.

K. 13341:21. Square bronze seal. Divided into
quarters, three of which contain a
figure recalling a four-pctallcd flower, the fourth
contains a swastika. The loop on the other side is
lost. 25X23 mm. PI. 33:12.

K. 13441 : 22. Front part of a silver finger ring

with cavity for a stone. On each

side a small knob projecting from the edge. PI.

34^2-

K. 13341 : 23. Hexagonal silver bezel with partly
obliterated pattern. 14X14 mm. PI.

34:i3-

K. 13341:24. Silver pendant in the shape of a
shovel. The loop slightly patterned.
Probably the frame of some ornament. 28X16 mm.
PI. 34:14.

K. 13341 : 25. Pendant of sheet-brass, probably
quite modern work. L. 30 mm.

K. 13341 : 26. Fragm. of tube-shaped object of
dark-green jade (?) The complete
end is ground off on two sides and pierced with
a suspension hole. L. 27 mm. Diam. 14 mm. PI.
34:40.

K. 13341 : 27. Small square seal of light green
serpentine. A high loop on the upper
side. Engraved with four small volutes. 19X18
mm. PI. 33:22.

K. 13341 : 28. Rectangular seal of weathered white

marble. A loop on the upper side. The

engravings are obliterated. 24X19 mm. PI. 34: 37.

K. 13341:29. Small square slab of black stone
with bevelled edges on one side.
Possibly an unfinished seal. 14X14X4 mm.

K. 13341:30. Small U-shaped object of black
pottery. 19X18 mm.

K. 13341:31. Rectangular bead of white marble
with a moulding. 14X7X5 mm. PI.

34:38.

K. 13341 : 32. Small birdlike figure made of a
thick shell, probably from a Quadru-
la. The thickest part is pierced with a longitudinal
hole. L. 17 mm. PI. 34:39-

K. 13341 : 33. Small pendant (?) made of shell
(probably a Quadrula). Consisting

of a rectangular part, pierced with two small
holes, and showing two engraved circles on one
side, and one pointed part. L. 20 mm. PI. 34 = 36.

K- 1334' : 34- About half of a Quadrula shell with
a suspension hole through the hinge.
Diam. about 65 mm.

K- 13341:35. A worn shell of Strombus floridus.
L. 15 mm. PI. 34:58.

K. 13341 : 36. Pierced shell of Columbaria mendi-
caria. L. 12 mm. PI. 34 : 59.

K. 13341 : 37-41. Five cowries (Cyprea moneta)

with suspension hole. L. 15 — 19

mm. — :37 PI. 34:55. — -V PI- 34:56.

K. 13341 : 42. Cowrie shell (Cyprea moneta) with
dorsal part ground off. L. 17 mm.
PI. 34:57.

K. 13341:43. Half of a cowrie shell (Cyprea
moneta) with dorsal part ground
off. L. 27 mm.

K. 13341 : 44-48. Five beads made of a Quadrula

shell. Diam. 10—4 mm. PI. 34= 3>

—35-

K. 13341 : 49. Hexagonal bead of white and pink
opal, tapering towards the ends. L.

18 mm. Th. 11 mm. PI. 34:43-

K. 13341 : 50. Cylindrical bead of light-green
stone, recalling jade. L. 17 mm.
Diam. 9 mm. PI. 34 = 4>-

K. 13341:51. Barrel-shaped bead of white, striat-
ed agate. L. 17 mm. Diam. 13 mm.

PI. 34M6.

K. 13341 : 52. Octagonal bead of white, striated
agate. L. 14 mm. Diam. 9 mm. PI.

34:45-
K. 1 3341: 53- Drop-shaped pendant of white agate.
Suspension hole through the thinner
end. 21X12X7 mm. PI. 34:50-

K. 13341 : 54. Pendant made of a small pointed
stone, white jade? L. 19 mm. PI.

34:5l-

K. 13341 : 55. Drop-shaped pendant made of a
pointed piece of white jade. L. 15
mm. PI. 34=49-

K. 13341 : 56. More or less drop-shaped pendant
of white jade. L. 17 mm. PI. 34: 48.

K. 13341 : 57. More or less drop-shaped pendant of
light-green jade. The suspension
hole is V-shaped. 26X17 mm. PI. 34 = 47-

K. 13341:58. Oblong pendant of a light-green
stone resembling jade. The middle
part is thicker than the ends. Suspension hole at
the thinner end. The lower end has two notches.
30X1 1X9 mm. PI. 34:44-

215

K. I334I : 59- Small pyramidal pendant of pot-
stone. 16X7X6 mm. PI. 33:41.

K. 13341 : 60. Small jade stone, light-green and

brownish-red. At the thinnest end a
V-shaped hole. Pendant. L. 19 mm. PI. 34:60.

K. 13341:61. Oblong jade stone of a beautiful
reddish-brown and greenish colour.
At the thinner end a V-shapcd hole. Pendant. L.
42 mm. PI. 34:54-

K. 13341 : 62-63. Two pendants of white jade,

nearly spherical with a semi-
circular loop. L. 21 mm. — :62 PI. 34:52.

K. 13341 : 64. Pendant of light-green jade, the
same type as — :62— 63, but of in-
ferior workmanship. L. 14 mm. PI. 34:53.

K- J 334i '• 65- Spherical bead of translucent chal-
cedony. Diam. 7 mm.

K. I334 1 ! 66. Barrel-shaped bead of brown and
white opal. A hole is drilled from
both ends, but obliquely, so that they do not meet
properly. L. 14 mm. Diam. 8 mm. PI. 34:42.

K. 13341 : 67. Oblong, octagonal bead of carnelian.
L. 20 mm. PI. 34: 1.

K. 13341 : 68. Flat, hexagonal bead of carnelian.
Diam. 14 mm. Th. 6 mm. PI. 34 : 2.

K. 13341 : 69-72. Four spherical beads of carnelian.

Diam. 12—7 mm. PI. 34:3 — 6.

K. 13341 : 7$. Small polygonal bead of carnelian.
Diam. 7 mm. PI. 34:7.

K. I334I : 74-76. Three spool-shaped carnelian

beads. L. 1 1 — 13 mm. PI. 34 : 8 — 10.

K - *334* '• 77- Spool-shaped, hexagonal bead of
flamy carnelian. L. 18 mm. PI.
34:".

K - 1334' : 78. Big spherical bead of malachite, one
side defective. Diam. 21 mm. PL

33:i7-

K. 13341 : 79- Disc-shaped turquoise bead with
eccentric hole. Diam. 11 mm. Th. 3
mm. PI. 33 : 21.

K. 13341 ! 80-81. Two small pierced pieces of mala-
chite.

K. 13341:82. Rectangular flat, hexagonal bead of
greenish-blue glass. L. 13 mm. PI.
33 : 20. •

K. 13341:83. Oblong bead of lapis lazuli with
rounded edges. L. 13 mm. PI. 33:27.

K. 13341:84. Cylindrical bead of lapis lazuli. L.
7 mm. PI. 33:26.

K. 13341 : 85. Small drop-shaped pendant of lapis
lazuli. A hole has been begun from
each side at the broad part and perpendicular to
the suspension hole. L. 11 mm. PI. 33:24.

K- 13341:86. Spool-shaped bead of lapis lazuli. L.
14 mm. PI. 33 .-25.

K. 13341 : 87-89. Three irregular beads of amethyst.

K. 13341 : 90. Small coral branch, through which
one hole has been drilled. L. 18 mm.

K. I334I : 91-97- Seven small coral beads.

K. 13341 : 98. Small coral branch, pink.

K. 13341 : 99-100. Two round beads, reddish-brown

material. Diam. 14 mm. — 199
PI- 33:i5-

K. 13341:101. Spool-shaped, flattened bead of
honey-coloured glass. L. 12 mm.

PL 34:i5.

K. 13341 : 102-103. Two small beads of gilt glass.

L. 7 and 5 mm. PI. 34: 16—17.

K. 13341 : 104. Polygonal bead of dark-blue glass.
8X9 mm. PI. 34:18.

K. 13341 : 105. Small irregular bead of green
glass. PI. 34 : 19.

K. 13341 : 106-107. Two small double-beads of

light-green glass. L. 4 mm. PL
34:20—21.

K. 13341 : 108. Double-bead of dark-blue glass. L.
7 mm. PI. 34:22.

K. 13341 '• 109-115. Seven small glass beads, green,

blue and black. Spheroids or bi-
conical. PI. 34:23—29.

K. 13341:116. Fragm. of small tube of green
glass. Diam. 4 mm. PI. 34:30.

K. 13341:117. Small thin bead of green glass.
Diam. 7 mm. PI. 33 : 34.

K. 13341:118. Small irregular bead of brown
paste (?) with six ridges. Diam. 7
mm. PI. 33:35.

K. 13341:1 19-120. Two spherical beads of white

glass. Diam. 6 and 9 mm. PI.
33 ' 36—37-

K. 13341:121. Nearly spherical bead of green
glass. Diam. 11 mm. PI. 33:38.

K. 13341 : 122. Bead of cobalt-blue paste(?). Diam.
9 mm. PI. 33:39-

K. 13341 : 123- Nearly spherical bead of blue-green
glass. Diam. 12 mm. PI. 33:40.

2l6

K. 13341 : 124. Spool-shaped bead of streaked
glass, white, dark-violet and black.
L. 23 mm. Diam. 9 mm. PI. 33 : 28.

K. 13341 : 125. Small double-bead of brown glass
with white veins. L. 6 mm. PI.
33 =33-

K. 13341 : 126-129. Four small beads of black glass

with white veins. Diam. 5 — 7
mm. PI. 33:29—32.

K. 13341 : 130. Eye-bead, nearly spherical, with
six "eyes" consisting of a yellow
centre bordered by a red and a white line. Diam.
11 mm. PI. 3$: 16.

K. 13341:131. Fragm. of barrel-shaped bead of
blue glass with yellow veins in the
surface layer.

K. 13341 : 132. Fragm. of mosaic glass bead, green
(in two shades) inset with red
ovals having white centres. PI. 33:18.

K. 13341 : 133. Fragm. of flat bead or pendant of
black glass with inset of white,
yellow, red and blue spots. PI. 33 : 19.

K. 13341 : 134-135- Two small hollow bronze beads.

Diam. 6 and 8 mm.

K. 13341 : 136. Two small fragmentary beads, one
of turquoise, one of greenish glass.

Objects collected on the Tati' surfaces.

K. 13342: 1-12. Twelve sherds of large earthen-
ware vessels, with designs of
garlands and straight bands incised with a dentat-
cd instrument. The ware is rather coarse, reddish,
brown or dark grey. — : 12 PI. 37:2.

K. 13342:13. Sherd, probably of the same

vessel as — : 12. Besides the above-
mentioned pattern an incised figure recalling a
Tibetan character. PI. 37:3.

K. 13342:14. Small sherd of an earthenware

vessel with an incised figure
partly recalling Tibetan writing. PI. 37: 1.

K. 13342: 15-24. Ten sherds from earthenware

vessels, more or less decorated
with incised lines or impressed circles. The ware
is light yellow, red, brown or grey. Most of the
fragments are from large vessels.

K. 13342:25. Two joined sherds from a large

earthenware vessel. The outside is
grey, the inside brownish. Covered with irregular
zig-zag impressions recalling basket-work. PI.

36:7-

K. 13342:26. Fragm. from the rim of an earth-
enware pot. Brown ware with in-
termixed coarse-grained sand. Decorated with a
wavy line both on the inside of the wide mouth
and on the shoulder.

K. 13342:27. Small fragm. from the rim of an

earthenware vase. Dark grey,
fine-grained ware, decorated with wavy lines.

K. 13342:28. Small fragm. from the rim of an

earthenware vessel of reddish
brown ware. Immediately below the rim a raised
band with vertical grooves. Prehistoric ?

K. 13342:29. Fragm. from the rim of a small

earthenware ewer with a marked
lip. Thin, red ware.

K. 13342:30-31. Two fragm. from the rims of two

large vessels. Reddish and brown
earthenware.

K. 13342:32. Sherd from a large earthenware

vessel of brown to grey ware in-
termixed with sand. A horizontal lug. Decorated
with garlands and straight bands incised with a
dentated instrument.

K. 13342:33. Fragm. from the rim of a large

earthenware vessel. Below the rim
a stout horizontal lug. Thick, reddish-brown ware.

K. 13342: 34-35. Two fragm. from the rims of two

smaller earthenware jugs with a
handle at the rim. Red ware. — :34 is similar in
shape and ware to K. 13344. (PI- 35= >)•

K. 13342:36. Broad handle from a larger earth-
enware jug of dark-grey to red
ware intermixed with sand.

K. 13342: 37-41. Five loop handles from fairly

large earthenware vessels. Reddish
or grey, sandy ware.

K. 13342:42.

Handle of an earthenware pot; has
been attached horizontally. Brown-
ish ware. PI. 37:4.

K. 13342:43. Small fragm. of an earthenware

vessel with a fragmentary handle.

K. 13342 :44a-k. Sherds from a big earthenware

vessel of rather thin, dark-grey
ware (after washing some of the sherds have
acquired a yellowish colour on the outside). Round
the shoulder runs an applied border with impres-
sions forming a zig-zag pattern. Below this there
have been groups of hatched triangles with
the points downwards, and above there has
been a more freely executed (floral ?) pattern.

PI- 36:5.

217

K. 13342:45-50. Six sherds from large earthenware

vessels.

K. 13342:51. Sherd from the thick bottom of a

pointed earthenware vessel (or
tripod). Dark-grey, hard ware.

K. 13342:52-53. Two small sherds of thin-wallcd

earthenware vessels. Red and
reddish-brown ware, possibly prehistoric.

K. 13342:54. Fragm. of an earthenware disc

with two rows of round impres-
sions along the edge. PI. 37 : 9.

K. 13342: 55-58. Two complete and two fragment-
ary spindle whorls or sinkers made
of sherds of earthenware vessels. Diam. 48-28 mm.

K. 13342:59. Small fragm. of earthenware

vessel with rounded outline.

K. 13342 : 60-63. Four pebbles of greenstone and

sandstone with oval section. May
have been used as grindstones and pestles.

K. 13342:64. Flat, oval pebble of sandstone,

probably used for smoothing.
Fragm. of a whetstone of slate.

K. 13342:65.
K. 13342 : 66.

K. 13342: 67.

K. 13342:68.

K. 13342:69.

Small fragm. of a small core of
brown flint.

Seven flint chips, partly used for
striking fire.

A piece of slag and two iron
fragm.

Fragm. of a glass bowl, trans-
lucent and uncoloured.

K. 13342: 70-71. Two fragm. of probably circular,

somewhat conical small glasses
from vessels of unknown shape. Pale yellow and
green glass.

K. 13342: 72. Ten small fragm. of glass vessels.

Pale green or uncoloured.

K. 13342:73. A few small fragm. of bronze,

sheet and refuse from casting.

Grave 1.

K. 13343^- Earthenware jug with a stout

handle running from rim to
shoulder. On the shoulder an incised zig-zag line
and below this a wavy line. Nearly black ware. H.
24.5 cm. Diam. of rim 13.5 cm., at the widest part
20 cm., the flat bottom 13.2 cm. PL 35:4.

K. 13343 : 2- 5- Four rectangular bronze pieces

with a rivet hole at each end, the
rivets partly preserved. Probably fittings for some

wooden case or suchlike ; they have very likely
been joined in the manner shown in Fig. 45.
55X15 mm. 55X18 mm. 56X17 mm. and 53X13
mm. L. of best preserved rivet 21 mm.

Grave 4.

K. 13344- Earthenware jug, restored out of

several fragm.; one part spoiled by
weathering. Of the same type as K. 13343:1 but
with less accentuated profile. Light reddish ware
intermixed with coarse-grained sand. H. 21 cm.
Diam. of rim 9.8 cm. Widest part about 15.5 cm.
Diam. of the flat bottom about 9.5 cm. PI. 35: 1.

Grave 6.

K. 13345:1. The main part of a weathered
earthenware bowl with low, slight-
ly concave wall and rounded bottom. The surface
of the ware is blue-black, the fracture is brick red.
Diam. about 17 cm. H. 7 — 8 cm. The same type as
K. 13337—39- Fig. 47-

K. 13345:2. The main part of a wooden bucket
made of a hollowcd-out trunk,
probably poplar. Round the lower edge a row of
holes for fastening the bottom, which might have
been of leather. The remaining attachment for the
handle projects obliquely above the rim, following
the grain of the wood. Below the attachment is a
primitive, engraved animal figure, probably deer.
Fig. 48. II. 15 cm. Diam. 13 — 16 cm. Th. of wall
I cm. PI. 32:2.

K. 13345:3- Thirteen teeth of a wooden comb.
The two outer teeth are stouter
than the rest, and have five deep notches on their
upper part (to receive strings for tying the teeth
together?) The other teeth have apparently been
inserted in some perishable material. L. 112 and
95— <>3 mm. Fig. 49.

K. 13345:4. Part of firc-drill(?). A wooden
whorl with a broken-off peg
through the central hole. The preserved end of
the peg is charred. Diam. of whorl 48 mm. Th. 15
mm. PI. 32 : 3.

K. 13345:5- Two small pieces of thick, plaited,
woollen braid, blue-green. W. 3.5
cm. PL 32: 10.

K. 13345: 6. Two parts of a wooden peg with
square section. From one side a row
of fine holes has been drilled, the other sides are
decorated with carved V-shaped lines. 130X10X9
mm.

218

2. VASH-SHAHRI.

When travelling from Charchan to Charkhliq, in August 1928, I stopped at the
Kohna-shahr of Vash-shahri for one day. This ruined site is of the same 'Tati'
character as the Charchan Kohna-shahr, but it presents quite a different aspect as
the ground is covered, to a very large extent, with huge, fantastic tamarisk mounds,
PI. XX a. These accumulations, which reach a height of 6 — 7 m., have in some
places preserved small remains of brick structures. The ground is very sandy, and
on the surface is exposed debris of various nature from the time of the occupation
of the site.

It has been identified with Hsin-ch'eng of the T'ang Annals, a place which was
also called Nu-chih and is said to have been founded by K'ang Yen-tien, who was
a Sogdian chief in the period 627 — 649. It is situated about 9.5 km. to the west of
the present village of Vash-shahri. I never got an opportunity to determine the ex-
tent of the 'tati' debris, only that there were two separated 'tatis', which I called I
and II, the former being situated about 3.5 km. to the NW of the latter. According
to Stein, the extent of the 'tati' surface is 1 x 1/2 mile.

The coins found by Stein give a clue to the duration of the settlements here.
He found three K'ai-yiian coins (618 — 627) an illegible T'ang coin and five Sung
coins ranging between 1023 and 1107. I myself recovered a fragment which might
be from a late Wu-ch'u coin, five indeterminable fragments of Sung or Yuan coins
and one complete Ming dynasty coin; a T'ien-yuan-chung-pao which was issued
between 1378 and 1388. It is likely that this early Ming coin was dropped here after
the abandoning of the site.

The other metal objects are hardly worth mentioning; they consist of trifling
fragments of bronze fittings and the like. 1 A small pendant is of lead, PI. 38: 16.

There are some beads of glass and opal, PI. 38: 6 — 15, a triangular pendant of
white agate, PI. 38: 17, resembling those from Charchan, a ring of a Quadritla
shell, PI. 38: 3, and a diminutive bird figure of glass or frit with a vertical hole for
a string, PI. 38:4. The latter object might be compared with the small bird figures
from Khotan (Montell 1938, PL VI: 10 — 11) though the latter are of metal.

Sherds of glass vessels of poor quality, greenish and only semi-translucent, are
probably of local make from the Tarim Basin.

a Hedin purchased an old copper pitcher when passing through the ruined site of Vash-shahri. It is depicted in
Hedin 1898, II p. 223. In the Ethnographical Museum in Stockholm it bears the number 03.11.88. Height
14 cm., widest diam. 107 cm. The body is nearly globular with a well-shaped neck with a plain moulding round the
middle. A strong handle with an indistinct pattern of V-shapcd grooves runs from the rim to the widest part of
Ihc body. There is a stout spout with eight-sided section ; its tip is damaged, a piece of the rim is broken away and
there is also a small hole in the bottom. The surface has a dark brownish, uneven colour. The vessel has been
used in modern times, possibly as a tea-pot. To give any absolute date for the manufacture of this rather hand-
some vessel is not so easy, but it may possibly be placed within the last five centuries of the first millenium A. D.
Its origin is non-Chinese.

219

■

V f

The few sherds of glazed wares, on the other hand, are certainly importations
from China, and more precisely from Honan. There are pieces from dark greenish-
blue Chun bowls and from Celadon and Ying-ch'ing wares ranging in colours
from light greenish brown, light bluish-green to whitish green. A small sherd with
green glaze must be labelled as T'ang ware. The others can safely be attributed to
either the Sung or the Yuan dynasty. Stein's collection contains about the same
kind of wares.

The coarse, unglazed pottery is very similar to that from Charchan. Only sherds
were found, no complete vessels. Of a certain interest are the potsherds bearing a
Tibetan character carelessly incised with some coarse tool, PL 36:0; — 10, In a way
they form a part of the decoration, which otherwise consists of incised bands made
with a dentated instrument. These bands are in the shape of arcs or garlands, as
well as horizontal ribbons, PI. 36: 1. They apparently originate from the time when
the Tibetans ruled the Tarim Basin, as do the similar Charchan sherds.

Other potsherds have ornaments slightly resembling Tibetan characters, but as
all are fragmentary we cannot be absolutely sure as to what is meant, PL 36: 2 and 6.

The potsherd PL 37: 6 is unique. It is made of a whitish clay and has a moulded
ornamentation in high relief. Except in the colour of the ware it may be paralleled
with the Khotan terra-cotta vessels, but these usually have their ornaments applied
on the plain wall.

PL 36:8 is from the shoulder of a largish jar of coarse earthenware, decorated
with horizontal wave-lines incised with a dentated tool. A raised oval, of no partic-
ular use, somewhat recalls a cowrie.

Impressed circles occur on the rim and the neck of PL 36: 3, from a large jar.
Similar ornaments are seen on PL 36: 4. PL 37: 5 has an incised wave-pattern.

Most of the handles are loop-shaped, and some of them have impressed ornaments.
There are also lugs.

A lot of spindle whorls are made of potsherds; they denote that spinning formed
an important part of the household activities here.

A small fragmentary tile, PL 32: 8, is hard to reconstruct. I have sometimes wond-
ered if it could have been used as a support for the small conical smelting pots of
which there is a specimen in my collection (K. 13346: 112) only 45 mm. high. From
the Sung and Yuan ruins at Edsen-gol in Mongolia I collected several smelting pots
of this diminutive size. The occurrence of refuse from bronze smelting is further
evidence of local bronze casting.

A fragmentary mace-head of stone, PL 37:10, has two parallels amongst the
| Lop-nor objects, as already pointed out. All three seem to have been intended as

mace-heads and not weights or the like.

Three wooden combs call for some attention. They are all double-teethed. PL
38:20 and 22 are very similar and have concave sides, whereas PL 38: 19 has
convex sides. It is rather likely that they originate from destroyed tombs. Stein

220

also found a wooden comb with two rows of teeth here (Stein 1921, V. S. 0041).
It is interesting to note that the double-teethed comb shows about the same shape
already at its earliest appearance. The single-teethed comb, on the other hand, attains
many varying shapes. A double-teethed comb from Mohenjo-daro, for instance, of
the third century B. C, shows close affinities with our PI. 38: 20 (Mackay, PI.
K, I).

The wooden peg PI. 38: 21, pointed at both ends, may be a spool for yarn. It re-
calls a specimen from Qara-khoja (Le Coq 1913, PI. 64 r).

The Vash-shahri Kohna-shahr was apparently abandoned at a period not far re-
moved from the twelfth century. The river at the time of the occupation must have
flowed quite close to the old site, but whether the abandonment was due to the
change in the course of the river or to some other cause is impossible to determine.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM VASH-SHAHRI

Kohna-shahr. Tati II around camp
23/8 1928.

K- 13346: 1. Chinese coin, T'ien-yiian-chung-pao
0378 — 1388)- Diam. 26 mm.

K. 13346:2. Fragm. of Chinese coin with broad
edge. A "Chih" at the top. Possibly

a Chih-tao-yiian-pao (995 — 998), as the character

is in "grass writing".

K. 13346:3. Fragm. of Chinese coin with one
and a half illegible characters.

K- 13346:4. Fragm. of Chinese coin with part
of one of the two characters.
Marked border. Probably a late Wu-ch'u.

K. 13346:5. Fragm. of Chinese coin, the lowest
character is "Ta".

K. 13346:6-7. Fragm. of two Chinese coins.

K. 13346:8. Fragm. of small bronze buckle,
oval.

Fragm. of small bronze object with
a hole through the end.

Bronze ring with slanting sides.
Diam. 22 mm.

K. 13346: 9.
K. 13346:10.

K. 13346: n-15. Five small bronze fragm., fittings

and suchlike.

K. 13346:16.

K. 13346: 17.
K. 13346: 18.

Seven small bronze fragm., wire,
balls and beads.

Various small bronze fragm. and

refuse from casting.

Flat lead pendant, probably once
rectangular. Decorated with in-
distinct lines. 18X15 mm. PI. 38:16.

K. 13346: 19. Small iron fragm. of a knife or the

like.

K. 13346:20. Small bird figure of paste, light
greenish blue and dark blue. Pierc-
ed with a vertical hole. L. 10 mm. PI. 38:4.

K. 13346:21. White glass bead, spheroid. Diam.
9 mm. PI. 38: 7.

K. 13346:22-25. Four small beads of blue glass.

Diam. 7 — 2 mm. PI. 38:8 — 11.

Small bead of nearly black glass.
Diam. 5 mm. PI. 38:12.

Fragm. of honey-coloured glass
bead. Cf. K. 13341 : 101. PI. 38:13.

Spheroid bead of flamy opal. Diam.
8 mm. PI. 38:14.

Cylindrical opal bead. L. 12 mm.
PI. 38:15-

A small glass ball and two fragm.
of light-blue glass beads.

Main part of a flat ring of a thick
shell, probably a Quadrula. Diam.
26 mm. PI. 38 : 3.

K. 13346: 32-34. Three fragm. of shells.

K. 13346:35. Wooden comb with two rows of
teeth, coarse and fine, at opposite
ends. The sides are convex. L. 77 mm. W. at ends
42 mm., at middle 71 mm. PI. 38: 19.

K. 13346:36. Wooden comb with two rows of

teeth, coarse and fine, at opposite

ends, both a little damaged. The side parts are

concave. Both sides of the middle part have two

K. 13346:26.
K. 13346:27.
K. 13346:28.
K. 13346:29.

K. 13346: 30-
K- 13346: If.

221

"eyes" consisting of concentric circles, and four
small circles round them. L. 87 mm. W. at ends
77 mm., at middle 68 mm. Th. 7 mm. PI. 38:20.

K. 13346:37. Wooden comb of the same type as
the previous one, but the middle
part decorated with only one "eye" surrounded by
four small circles. L. 90 mm. W. at ends 84 mm.,
at middle 58 mm. Th. 10 mm. PI. 38:22.

K. 13346:38. Wooden peg, pointed at both ends
and with a moulding near the
middle. L. 118 mm. Diam. 8 mm. PI. 38:21.

K. 13346:39. Various greenish glass fragments,
semi- translucent and of inferior
quality.

K. 13346: 40. Fragm. from lower part of a Chun-
bowl. The thick bluc-grcen glaze
reached down to the foot-ring. Dark grey ware.

K. 13346:41. Small fragm. from rim of a Chun-
bowl with light green-blue glaze
and brownish rim.

K. 13346: 42-43. Two small fragm. of olive green

Celadon ware.

K. 13346:44. Fragm. of light green Celadon cup
with wavy outer surface.

K. 13346:45. Fragm. from the bottom of a Ying-
ch'ing cup. Pale green glaze. On
the inside is a design of curved lines scratched
in the white ware before glazing. The bottom is
flat, the outside is partly glazed, the foot-ring is
low and rather sharp-edged.

K. 13346:46. Small sherd from a Ying-ch'ing
cup or saucer. Pale green glaze.

K. 13346:47. Small sherd of thin stone ware,
brownish-green glaze on the out-
side.

K. 13346:48.
K. 13346: 49-

Small sherd of T'ang ware, green
glaze on both sides.

Sherd of an earthenware vessel of
almost white ware and with a cast
relief design (a ground-pattern of raised rings,
floral design, a fish ? etc). PI. 37:6.

K. 13346: 50-51. Two sherds of earthenware ves-
sels with a raised band of oblique
impressions. Coarse red ware.

K. 13346: 52-53. Two sherds of earthenware vessels

with impressions made with a peg
wound with string. Red ware.

K- '334^ =54- Small sherd from an earthenware
vessel with small round im-
pressions. Coarse brownish ware.

K. 13346:55. Fragm. from rim of an earthen-
ware jug with high neck and a row
of impressed circles. Coarse red ware. PI. 36:4.

K. 13346:56. Fragm. from rim of a large earth-
enware jar. Below the short, wide
neck and on top of the rim a row of impressed
circles. Coarse red ware, 12 mm. thick. PI. 36 : 3.

K. 13346:57. Sherd from the shoulder of a big
earthenware jar. Two rows of in-
cised garlands made with a dentated instrument,
between horizontal lines; a vertically applied
raised oval with one longitudinal and five trans-
versal grooves (depicting a cowrie ?). Coarse red
ware, the outer surface yellowish. PI. 36:8.

K. 13346: 58-62. Five sherds from large earthen-
ware vessels; thick, coarse, brick-
red and grey ware, decorated with carelessly in-
cised garlands and bands consisting of several
parallel lines. — =58 PI. 36:1.

K. 13346:63. Sherd from rim of a large earthen-
ware jar, decorated with arcs in-
cised with a dentated instrument. Coarse, thick,
red ware.

K. 13346: 64-65. Two sherds from large earthen-
ware vessels, decorated with
straight bands and garlands or arcs incised with a
dentated instrument, and a figure recalling a
Tibetan character. Coarse, brick-red ware. PI.
36 : 9 — 10.

K. 13346:66. Sherd from shoulder of a large
earthenware jar with an irregular,
incised figure. Coarse, reddish-brown ware 16 mm.
thick. PI. 36:6.

1^.13346:67. Sherd of earthenware vessel with
an irregular, incised figure. Coarse,
brick-red ware. PI. 36 : 2.

K. 13346:68. Sherd from earthenware vessel
with traces of an incised, irregular
figure. Light grey ware.

K. 13346 : 69-74. Six sherds from large earthen-
ware vessels with roughly incised
lines, straight or wavy. Coarse ware, brick-red or
brown.

K- 13346:75. Large sherd from a bulky earthen-
ware jar with a stout handle. Half
obliterated ornaments of straight lines and arcs
incised with a dentated instrument. Coarse, brick-
red ware, less than 1 cm. thick.

K. 13346 : 76-78. Three loop-handles of earthenware

vessels. — :y6 has four impressed
circles divided into quarters, — : 78 has one similar
ornament and a boss. Rather coarse, brick-red or
reddish-brown ware.

222

K. 13346:79. Sherd from small earthenware jug
with a handle emerging from the
rim. Light-grey, thin ware.

K. 13346:80. Sherd from the rim of a wide
earthenware jar without a neck. 3
cm. below the rim a horizontal lug. Coarse, red
to brownish-red ware.

K. 13346:81.

Sherd from the rim of a small jar
of thin, reddish brown and red
earthenware.

K. 13346: 82.
K. 13346:83.

K. 13346 : 84.

Fragm. of small, flat earthenware
bowl, lamp ? reddish ware.

Sherd of large earthenware vessel
with two holes after being repaired.
Rather coarse, grey ware.

Small sherd of thin-walled earthen-
ware vessel, light-grey.

K. 13346:85-110. Twenty-six spindle whorls of

potsherds; seven complete, seven
with unfinished hole, two without hole and
ten fragmentary. Brick-red, brown and greyish
wares. Diam. 50 — 23 mm.

K. 13346:111. Fragm. of a moulded, hollow
earthenware object. 43X50 mm. PI.
32:8.

K- 13346: 112. Fragm. of a pointed melting-pot of
grey ware, the inside has dark-
brown glaze, the outside red glaze. H. has been
about 4.5 cm.

K. 13346:113 Nearly half of a mace-head of
light-grey granite. Diam. 82 mm.
Present thickness 35 mm. PI. 37:10.

K. 13346: 114. Fragm. of a whetstone of brownish
slate with suspension hole. Br. 4
cm.

K. 13346:115. Fragm. of small, pierced disc of
white stone. Diam. 19 mm.

K. 13346:116. Thin pebble with unfinished sus-
pension hole.

K. 13346: 117-118. Two fragm. of light-green,

partly polished jade.

K. 13346: 119. Ten small flint pieces, probably for
striking fire.

Tati I about 3.5 km. NW. of Tati II.

K. 13347:1.
K. 13347:2.

K- 13347: 3-
K. 13347: 4-

Fragm. of bronze rod, from the
handle of a spoon or the like.

Various small bronze fragm.

Spherical carnelian bead. Diam. 7
mm. PI. 38 : 6.

Triangular, wedge-shaped pendant
of white, semi-translucent, striated
agate. 31X25 mm. PI. 38:17-

K. 13347:5-8. Four small sherds from earthen-
ware vessels with incised, wavy
lines. Grey, thin ware. — :6 PI. 37:5.

K. 13347:9-12. Four small sherds of earthenware
vessels with engraved, straight or
garland-shaped lines, partly a lattice-pattern. Dark-
brown and greyish ware,

K. 13347: 13. Loop-shaped handle of an earthen-
ware vessel.

K. 13347:14. Fragm. from the flat bottom of a

large earthenware pot with large

steam-holes. Dark-grey ware, brownish-red within.

K. 13347: 15. Rounded sherd of red earthenware.

3. MIRAN.

As in the case of Charchan's Kohna-shahr, Prjevalsky was the first European
in modern times to learn about the Kohna-shahr of Miran. But it seems as if he
never visited the place. Huntington is the first to mention the presence of Buddh-
istic ruins here (Huntington p. 243). Stein was the first archaeologist to examine
these highly interesting remains. From the imposing mud-fortress he excavated many
Tibetan records on wood, dating from the eighth and ninth centuries, and from the
surrounding temples and stupas marvellous fresco paintings of an Indian character
were recovered and saved from destruction; they date from the third to the fifth
centuries A. D.

223

In Chinese historical records there prevails a certain confusion as to the old
names of Miran. Stein and Giles place Yii-ni at Miran. According to the Former
Han annals Yii-ni was the capital of Shan-shan (i. e. Lou-Ian). I-hsiin, which Li
Tao-yuan gives as the capital, is identified with Charkhliq. From a Tang itinerary
which Pelliot has made available in translation it is evident that I-hsiin in Tang
time was equal to Miran. Yii-ni had already before this been identified with Charkh-
liq by Grenard. The records are thus far from precise as to the places Yii-ni and
I-hsiin. And the identifications of e. g. Stein and Herrmann stand in contradic-
tion to each other. As Charkhliq and Miran are situated only 80 km. from each other
the confusion is understandable.

Present day Miran is just a small village situated some kilometres to the west of
the ruins, on the left side of the brook Jaghan-sai, which once watered the Kohna-
shahr as can be seen from old canals.

In our days Charkhliq is by far the most prominent of the two places and may
really be called a town, especially as it is the administrative centre of the modern
Lop region. Its superiority in size is of quite modern date. According to local
opinion the water-supply available in the Charkhliq river is about the same as that
in the Miran stream, though certain ground conditions are more favourable at
Charkhliq than at Miran. In my opinion the resources of Charkhliq are by far super-
ior to those of Miran. As conditions have hardly changed during the last 2,000 years
it seems plausible to assign greater importance to Charkhliq than to Miran also in
the days of Lou-Ian, and thus make Charkhliq the site of the capital.

One might tentatively reconcile the different views as to the situation of Yii-ni and
I-hsiin by supposing that they both fall inside the Charkhliq oasis. As Yu-ni is called
The old eastern town' by Li Tao-yuan, it may have been the eastern part of the
oasis, and I-hsiin the western part. It seems maybe far-fetched to have two names for
one and the same oasis but one of them may render a name in another language.
There are many examples of this in modern Sinkiang. The present provincial capital,
for instance, has no less than four designations: Urumchi, Ti-hua, Hung-miao-tze
and Sinkiang-ch'eng, three of which are Chinese.

When Wei-t'u-ch'i, a son of a Lou-Ian king, after a long residence in China re-
turned to his native country of Lou-Ian to ascend the throne, he is said to have re-
quested the Emperor to plant a military colony in the city of I-hsiin, where the land
was rich and fertile, to collect the grains and to heighten the prestige of the king.
In reality it seems more plausible that the Chinese themselves dispatched this mili-
tary force to keep an eye on the new ruler of Lou-Ian. However, the king would
certainly have had these soldiers much closer at hand in the oasis in which he him-
self resided that 80 km. away from it. This circumstance points to the proximity of
Yu-ni and I-hsiin.

Giles is also on the same path of thought but he explains that the capital was re-
moved from Miran (Yii-ni) to Charkhliq (I-hsiin) when the new king returned.

224

PI. XIX

a. The fortress in the Sogct-lmlaa valley as seen irom EXE,

b. Interior of "tasli*oi M on mountain-side near Shimli,

PI. XX.

a. My camp among the huge tamarisk cones in the Kohna-shahr at Vash-shahri.

S V 5. * v

■ ■■' . ■

1). The burial site at Mi ran,

' '

There remain discrepancies among the sources even with these explanations, and
the question of Yu-ni and I-hsiin can not be regarded as definitely solved.

There is very little doubt, however, that I-hsiin of the T'ang annals is identical
with Miran. The name was at that time applied to Miran instead of a part of the
Charkhliq oasis, which then had the name Shih-ch'eng.

Other T'ang names of Miran is Ch'i-t'un-ch'eng (City of seven military colonies)
or simply T'un-ch'eng. On the Tibetan records found by Stein the place is called
Nob-chun or Little Nob.

As I believe in the identification of Yu-ni with Charkhliq, and also want tentative-
ly to locate I-hsiin there, I rob Miran of its position as the one time capital of Shan-
shan.

In September 1928 I paid a short visit to Miran in order to get an ocular impress-
ion of the ruins already excavated by Stein. Unfortunately I did not take his pub-
lications with me on the 1928 expedition. The traces of his excavations were still
easily seen. The very small rooms in the fortress, which served the Tibetan garri-
son as quarters, had been cleared from refuse by Stein. Some drift sand had accum-
ulated on the floors, but not to any great extent, considering the period of fourteen
years that had elapsed.

Tokhta Akhun of Miran, formerly residing at Abdal, 1 and the faithful servant
both of Hedin and Stein, accompanied me, and he presented me with a bead of gilt
glass, PI. 38: 5, and a small wooden slip with Tibetan writings, PI. 38: 2. These ob-
jects he had found in the fortress of Miran after Stein's departure. This small Ti-
betan record is unfortunately fragmentary and the reading of it is therefore difficult.
I am indebted to Mr. W. A. Unkrig for the following suggestions. It begins with a
pir-ka i. e. "trial stroke". The two first words are possibly bso mgon (the
guardian of the resting place), then follows a vertical stroke and probably a gya do
(breast plate or shield) and a pa or mat. The final signs can not be read. This frag-
mentary reading gives no proper sense.

From the ground around the fortress we picked up some pottery fragments
among which a sherd of a small vessel with part of a Tibetan inscription is of some
interest, PI. 37:7. Its fragmentary condition does not allow of any definite inter-
pretation. It also starts with a pir-ka. The first letter is a ca or tsa; the three follow-
ing characters are too fragmentary to be read. The fifth is certainly a ka, and the
last one a ro. For this reading I am also indebted to the kind efforts of Mr. W. A.
Unkrig.

When Tokhta Akhun learned of my intention not to undertake any further
excavations in the ruins, as this would scarcely have been worth while on ground so
thoroughly examined by Stein, he told me about a burial place a little to the north.

1 As early as 1914 the Abdal people had moved to Miran, leaving their semi-nomadic settlement for more
permanent ones, as attested by Stein.

225

C*«*

^S^SSJ^f^^

Fig. 50. Mi ran. Grave I, Plan and section.

Fig. 51. Mi ran, Grave 2. Plan and section.

It was found to be situated amongst high tamarisk cones 2.5 km. NNE of the ruin-
ed fortress, and immediately to the west of a ruined watch-tower. According to my
cyclometer measurement this tower should be situated between Stein's ruins XII
and XIV, nearly 800 m. WSW of XII (Cf. PI. 29 in Stein 1921). The graves
showed no marks above the ground, and were located by striking the flat sides of
the spades against the ground; where it sounded hollow we dug, PI. XX b. Here
follows a description of the four graves discovered.

Grave 1.

0.7 m. below the surface we came across a "coffin" consisting only of half a
hollowed-out poplar trunk, showing coarse marks of the carpenter's axe. It covered
a well preserved skeleton resting on its back, Fig. 50. Near the left ear there was
a plain bronze ring, PL 38: 1. 0.4 m. below the ground, and above the middle of the
coffin, we found a bunch of coarse, dark-brown hair, and a half wooden comb of a
type common in the Han dynasty in China, PI. 38: 18.

i'i

Grave 2.

The skeleton in this grave was also well preserved, but was lying in a slanting
position with the head 0.8 m. higher than the feet. There was no coffin, only a
horizontal log and an obliquely placed board Fig. 51. The only things found were some
trifling fragments of red, green and yellow silk fabrics lying around the chin, on
the upper part of the chest and on the upper parts of the arms. Everything indicates
that this grave was plundered long ago.

226

%&Q>

illpScE

Fig. 52. Mi ran, Grave 3. Plan and section.

Grave 3.

The coffin in this grave, lying only 0.35 m. under the ground, was most curious,
consisting of a hollow trunk that totally enveloped the skeleton. The upper part of
the skeleton was disturbed, as if the deceased had been forcibly turned round in the
coffin in such a way that the spinal column had been broken, and the cranium dis-
placed. The trunk was open at both ends, and contained no funeral deposits. Fig. 52.

A similar coffin from Qum-darya (cf. p. 55) had both ends closed with wooden
lids.

Grave 4

was of the same construction as Grave 1, the bones were displaced and the cranium
broken. It contained nothing else and was apparently plundered.

The heads of the skeletons were placed in the following directions: N 25 °E,
S 6o°W, N 4 o°E, S 45°W.

From Grave 1 the whole skeleton was taken, and from Grave 2 and 3 the crani-
ums. They have been handed over to Prof. G. Backman for anthropometric exa-
mination.

Unfortunately the objects found in Graves 1 and 2 are too poor to allow of any
definite chronological determination, but the comb PI. 38: 18 is of the common Han
type used in Lou-Ian, and the silk fragments, too, might very well be of that age.
It is therefore likely, though far from proved, that these graves belonged to the
people inhabiting Miran in the Lou-Ian time. The older Miran ruins date, as shown
by Stein, from the third and fourth centuries A. D., but there are also two temples
from the fifth century or a somewhat later date. The fortress was occupied during

227

the eighth and the ninth centuries by Tibetans. It is hardly probable, however, that
these graves have anything to do with the Tibetans.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM MIRAN

K. 13349:1.

K. 13349:2.

Small spheroid bead of gilt glass.
Diam. 7 mm. PI. 38: 5.

Small bronze f ragm., probably from
a vessel.

K. 13349:3* Fragm. of small wooden slip (label)
with nearly effaced Tibetan char-
acters written with ink on one side. L. 85 mm.
Br. 10 mm. (has originally been broader, and has
had a suspension hole). PI. 38:2.

K. I3349:4- Bottom of wooden bowl, lathe-
turned.

K. 13349:5. Sherd from the neck of a red,
earthenware jar with a row of im-
pressed dots, and, below that, part of a line of
incised Tibetan characters. PI. 37 :y.

K. 13349: 6. Sherd of a large earthenware vessel
decorated with a straight line and
across it a garland incised with a three-toothed
instrument. Coarse, red ware. PI. 37 : 8.

K. 13349 : 7"8- Two sherds from earthenware jars
with a handle emerging from the
rim. Red and brownish ware.

K- I 3349 : 9- Sherd from the rim of a wide,
rather big earthenware pot. Brown-
ish ware.

K. 13349: io-n.Two fragm. of small earthenware

cups (lamps ?), light-red and
yellow ware.

K- 13349:12. Small fragm. of light-grey stone-
ware.

K. 13349: 13-16. Two complete and two fragment-
ary spindle whorls of potsherds.

K. 13349: 17- Small rounded potsherd, unfinished
spindle whorl.

K. 13349:18. Fragm. of a spindle whorl of
sandstone. Diam. 37 mm.

K. I3349 : x 9- Unfinished spindle whorl made of
a round pebble.

K. 13349:20-22. Three chips of flintlike stone.

Grave 1.

K. 13350:1.
K. 13350:2.

K- 13350:3.

Bundle of dark-brown human hair.

About half of a wooden comb with
coarse teeth and parabolic back. L.
85 mm. Th. 17 mm. PI. 38: 18.

Ear-ring of plain bronze wire.
Diam. 23 — 26 mm. PI. 38: 1.

Grave 2.

K. 13351. Small fragments of silk fabrics, red,
greenish and yellow, in plain weave.

4. CONCLUSION.

The three ancient sites discussed in Part IV, Charchan, Vash-shahri and Miran,
are situated on the old highway which is called The Southern Road. It skirts all the
oases on the southern border of the sand desert that covers the larger part of the
Tarim Basin, and connects China and the West. Its first beginning lies hidden in
obscurity. From the Chinese records we know of its existence in the early Han dy-
nasty, and it became a significant channel along which the Chinese exported their
precious silk and such other articles as were desired in the West. Just as was the
case with The Northern Road, this Southern Road remained in use after the aban-
doning of The Road of the Centre and its importance must then have increased con-
siderably. The attacks of the Huns were a more or less constant menace to the

228

northern branches of the Silk Road, but the Road of the South was hardly reached
by these busy nomad hordes of the North. When also this southern road was made
untrafficable to peaceful merchant caravans, the interruption was caused by the
hostile and bellicose Tibetans, who advanced from their lofty mountain regions in
the south. In 670 A. D. they made their first mighty expansion northwards, con-
quering the whole of the Tarim Basin. Driven back once they returned in 766, when
also Kansu was conquered. They erected strongholds near to, or on, the Road of
the South (e. g. Miran, Mazar-tagh), and the east-westerly traffic on the old trade
routes was cut off. When the Tibetan power was definitely broken by the Uigurs
soon after the middle of the ninth century, trade developed anew; and even among
the scanty finds from Vash-shahri this turn of events is reflected in the occurrence
of glazed wares, which must have been imported from Honan in Central China.
Here travelled Marco Polo in the thirteenth century, and it was in use along
its whole extent from Kashgar to Tun-huang long after the time when the
famous Venetian put his marvellous itinerary on record. It is really only one minor
part of this road that has come into disuse in our own days: the stretch between Mi-
ran and Tun-huang. Though even this part is used by camel caravans in rare in-
stances nowadays; that it does not see any heavy traffic is mostly due to the
political conditions.

If the progress of modern civilization ever continues along the same lines as
hitherto, and the Turkistan roads should be turned into motor highways, this Road
of the South will hardly be considered, as there is too much drift sand along it. And
the drift sand is the most troublesome obstacle to motor traffic. It thus seems as if
this road had served its purpose as a channel for great transit trade. It will prob-
ably remain what it now is, a local road of very relative importance.

229

APPENDIX I.

NOTE ON THE INSCRIPTION ON THE SILK-STRIP No. 34:65.

By Prof. Dr. STEN KONOW, Oslo.

The small silk-strip 34: 65, which is 26.5 cm. long, bears, in the right hand cor-
ner, a short inscription, 5.75 cm. long and consisting of ten signs. They have
been written with ink, and in the case of the first letter the ink has run out
into the silk so that the head has become indistinct. There cannot, however, be any
doubt about the reading. The preservation of the legend is remarkably good.

The alphabet is Indian Kharosthi, which we know from numerous documents
found at the ancient sites along the southern route through Chinese Turkistan.
where it seams to have been in current use during the first centuries of our era, so
far as we can judge at present down to the latter half of the third century A.D. La-
ter on it was replaced by the other ancient Indian alphabet, the Brahml, which had
been introduced into the northern oases in the second century A. D., and of which
there are also traces in the south even in the Kharosthi period.

We have not sufficient materials for judging, with certainty, about the gradual
changes of individual characters during the period when this alphabet was in cur-
rent use in the southern oases. Most of the documents have only been published in
transliteration, and the table of letters prepared by the late Professor Rapson 1 is
useless for chronological purposes. We must therefore turn to dated Indian Kharos-
thi records in order to arrive at an approximate dating.

It has long been recognized that the closest parallel to the Central Asian Kharos-
thi is to be found in an inscription found at Wardak, about thirty miles to the west
of Kabul, and now preserved in the British Museum. 2

With regard to our record the similarity is very striking. We may compare the
rounded top of the letter ca, which is angular in most Central Asian records; the
straight top and the two long legs of ya, while the right hand leg in Central Asia is
usually shorter than the other one; the modified form of sa, which it has become
usual to transliterate sa, and which, in India, is met with for the first time in the
Wardak inscription, and, above all, the form of the cerebral ta. In Central Asian re-

1 Kharosthi Inscriptions discovered by Sir Aurcl Stein in Chinese Turkestan. Transcribed and edited by A.
M. Boyer, E. J. Rapson, E. Senart and P. S. Noble. Oxford 1920— 1929. Plate XIV.

2 The last edition in Kharos^hT Inscriptions with the exception of those of Asoka. Corpus Inscriptionum
Indicarum. Vol. II. Part I. Calcutta 1929, pp. 165 ff.

231

cords it usually consists of a slightly rounded top-stroke, with a vertical slanting-
forwards and continued by a bottom stroke towards the right, in a convex curve. In
our record the top is essentially the same, but it is continued at the left extremity in
a continuous curve, opening backwards.

In Indian inscriptions the letter is rather infrequent, and the shape is quite dif-
ferent. In the Wardak epigraph, however, it is found, in the same form as in our
legend, in the word patiasae, Sanskrit pratyanisaya 'for the sharing*, though it has
not hitherto been recognized, having been transliterated as d. From the view-point
of Indian Kharosthi the Lou-Ian silk inscription is therefore of importance as show-
ing us a hitherto unknown form of the letter.

Now the distance between Wardak and the find-place of the silk strip is no doubt
considerable, and it might be considered rash to draw any chronological inferences
from the similarity of the script used in these different places. But there are several
indications to show that the intercourse was not inconsiderable, and in the case of
the Wardak record these indications even extend to the occurrence of the personal
name Marega y which we only know from Central Asia. I therefore think that we are
quite justified in assuming that our silk legend belongs to about the same time as
the Wardak inscription.

The latter is dated on the 15th Artemisios of the year 51. There is a general con-
sensus of opinion to the effect that the era is the same which we know from many
Indian records and which starts from the inauguration of the famous king Kaniska.

But there is no unanimity about the initial point of this reckoning. Most scholars
apparently hold that we have to do with the well-known Indian Saka era beginning
in 78/9 A. D. and that the Wardak inscription accordingly goes back to about 130
A. D. It would lead us too far astray to repeat the arguments which, in my opinion,
make it impossible to identify the Kaniska reckoning with the Saka era. I am still
convinced that we must assume an epoch for the former in A. D. 128/9, and that
the Wardak inscription is dated on April 25, A. D. 179. Our silk strip would
accordingly seem to have to be ascribed to the last decades of the second century
A. D. And such a dating seems to agree with what we know from other sources.

In his Serindia, Oxford 1921, pp. 373 f., Sir Aurel Stein describes a bale of silk
found at Lou-Ian. Its width is 18 3/4 inches. At one of the ruined watch-stations of
the ancient Chinese limes west of Tun-huang he subsequently found two strips of
undyqd silk, and one of them bears a Chinese inscription which Chavannes trans-
lated 'a roll of silk from K'ang-f u in the Jen-ch'eng kingdom ; width 2 feet 2 inches ;
length 40 feet; weight 25 ounces ; value 618 pieces of money'. Sir Aurel adds : "The
mention of the kingdom of Jen-ch'eng, which was established in A. D. 84 in the
province of Shan-tung, still one of the chief silkproducing regions in China, proves
the silk to date from the end of the first or the beginning of the second century
A.D.

The find of two wooden measures enabled Sir Aurel to accurately determine

232

the value of the old Chinese foot. It was divided into ten inches, each 9/10", or
22.9 mm., and was accordingly 9 inches or 22.9 cm. long. The width of this silk
roll was accordingly 19.83 inches or 50.38 cm., and the length 36 inches or 9.16 m.

These old measures seem to have remained in use for silk rolls down into the time
of the Chin dynasty. Our silk strip is therefore evidently incomplete, only a little
more than half the original width.

A welcome corroboration is furnished by another find described by Sir Aurel pp.
701 f f . It consists of two strips of silk, and one of them shows a width of about 19 J/'
inches or close on 50 cm. It is, moreover, of importance because it bears an inscrip- •
tion in Brahml letters of the first, or more probably of the second century A. D. Sir
Aurel has followed M. Boyer in reading it as aistasya pata gisti saparisa, which he
explains as meaning *a piece of cloth of aista, 46 gisti', taking aista "to designate the
particular quality of material of the silk contained in the roll", or as "intended to
designate the purchaser or something of the sort", and gisti to correspond to Pan-
jabl gitth 'span', 46 designating the length of the cloth.

In his important paper Textilicn im alten Turkistan 5 Professor Luders has shown
that the word pata, Sanskrit patta, which repeatedly occurs in the Central Asian
KharosthI documents, means *silk roll', and,, on p. 37, he corrects M. Boyer's reading
saparisa to caparisa 'forty', i.e. we again have the same length of the roll as in the
Chinese inscription.

The reading of the legend can, however, be further improved. I am confident that
we must read srirastrasa pata dhisti caparisa 'silkroll of Srirastra, forty dhisti'.
Whether Srirastra is the name of the country of origin, as seems to be likely, or of
the owner of the roll, is of comparatively small importance. It is of greater interest
that we get a well-known word instead of the hypothetical gisti. Dhisti is undoubt-
edly = disti y for which we regularly have dithi in the KharosthI records from I
Eastern Turkistan, a designation of a measure, which evidently corresponded to the I
Chinese foot. The initial dh instead of d points to a spirantic pronunciation, which I
was evidently due to Iranian influence.* I

The silk inscriptions mentioned above show what we ought to expect in our strip. I

And this expectation is fully borne out by an examination of the inscription itself. I

The first letter is, as already remarked, a little blurred, but perfectly legible: sim, I

The second is clearly dha, with the stroke indicating length below, so that the read-
ing dha is justified. There is, however, an upward bend of the bottom, and if it had
been continued a little farther and backwards, we should have to read dhu. and
then, according to the Central Asian practice, combine this with the lengthstroke •

and read dhu. If we bear in mind the frequent coupling of more than one vowel-
sign which we know from Central Asian Brahmi records, it is, however, tempting

3 Abhandlungen der prcussischen Akademie dcr Wisscnschaften, Jahrgang 1936. Phil.-Hist. Klasse. Nr. 3.

pp. 24 ff-

4 Cf. Acta Orientalia xiv, pp. 235 ff.

233

to read dkua t but I have never come across any such coupling in KharosthI, and it is
safer to read dha. Then comes ca with the length-stroke, i. e. cd, and further rtya$a.

The first word is consequently Sitndhacariyasa^ the genitive of Simdhacariya^ which
can safely be considered as equivalent to Sanskrit Sindhvacarya 'the Sindhu
teacher'. It is clearly the name of a man, and evidently denotes the person
to whom the roll belonged.

The name is of some interest, because we know from Professor Luders 5 that tra-
ditional tales connected with Western India and especially with Sindh were localized
in Eastern Turkistan. Thus the Sindh town Roruka seems to have been identified
with Lou-Ian. It seems as if colonists from Western India, including Sindh, had sett-
led down in Eastern Turkistan at an early date. Our legend may be taken to indicate
that this settlement was not later than the second century A. D.

After the name comes an absolutely unmistakable pa. With the ensuing /a,
which I have already mentioned, we accordingly get pa/a 'silk roll*.

Then follow two signs, which are clearly identical, though the last one is a little
indistinct, and which must be the numeral symbol for twenty. As usual in KharosthI
records a repeated 20, 20 20, means forty. We thus have the same number, clearly
indicating the length of the roll, as in the Chinese and the Brahml legends. And we
must translate: 'Sindhuacarya's roll, forty (feet long)'. There was evidently a stan-
dard length, and also a standard width, of these ancient silk rolls.

5 Sitzungsberichte der Prcussischen Akadcmie der Wissenschaften 1930, pp. 7 ff ; cf. my remarks Acta Ori-
entalia xii, pp. 136 ff.

234

APPENDIX II.

MICROSCOPICAL AND CHEMICAL TESTS

By HJALMAR LJUNGH.

(Engineer of the State Railway Administration).

RED PAINT ON WOOD. (SAMPLE FROM CEMETERY 5).

The withered wood fragment has a thickness of about 8 mm. To judge from the
curvature of the piece it must formerly have been part of a wide and round vessel.
It is evident, too, that both inside and outside have been covered with a good lac-
quer, 1 containing a red mineral pigment.

Owing to the withered state of the wood it was easy to scrape off the lacquer. The
flake powder gained in this way was boiled with strong hydrochloric acid until full
solution was obtained. Then sulphuretted hydrogen was passed into the diluted solu-
tion. As no precipitate was formed, no lead or other heavy metals can be present.
Ammonium sulphide precipitated greenish black iron sulphide, and all other indicat-
ing reactions proved that iron is the dominating substance, and that it occurs in the

form of oxide.

It may therefore be assumed that the red pigment used was a calcined ochre.

NO 5. A: 6. CONTENTS OF THE BASKET.

Agglomerates of rounded light red-brownish grains.

The appearance as well as the structure and properties of the grains coincide with
those of the grains in the sample No. 5. F: 1.

Thus it is to be assumed that also here the material in the basket is millet — in
this case merely a little cleaner and more carefully manipulated.

NO. 5 F: 1. CONTENTS OF THE BASKET.

Big lumps of mixed grains of sand (diam. 0.02—2 mm.) of almost all colours,
and a large proportion of grains of some brownish organic matter (1 — 2 mm.),
together with some few seeds in light-brown and dark-brown glossy hulls (2— 2j4

1 To avoid any misunderstanding it should be mentioned that this 'lacquer' has nothing whatsoever in common
with the Chinese lacquer otherwise referred to in this monograph. F. B.

■

235

mm.). The seeds are surprisingly well preserved, both within and on the outside.
The bare grains have agglomerated in heaps. Nevertheless they are easily distin-
guishable as soon as the mass is softened in hot water. Here and there, however, the
grains have formed such a solid mass as to be no more separable.

It is evident that the seed corns have grown on the Asiatic grass, Panicam milia-
ceitm (sanguineum) or millet. Hence it is to be assumed that the contents of the
basket were once millet grits with some corns still left unground. If the substance
in the basket may thus be considered to have been millet-porridge it is of some in-
terest to add that it also contains salt, sodium chloride, but traces only of soluble
sulphates.

NO 5:148. TEXTILE MATERIAL.

This sample, already washed, consists of two specimens of wool — one of them,
dyed in a somewhat reddish, nice brown rather dark hue, is spun and twisted to
form a two-strand twine, each strand containing about 180 filaments; the other one
is spun and twined to a much looser and very bulky yarn of uncertain light brown-
yellow colour.

The wool hairs have a thickness of 13—27 n, and concerning the dark dyed
hairs even a little more, or up to a trifle above 30 //. Furthermore, as a matter of
fact, we not infrequently found hairs in the mass with a length of more than 50
mm. All these hairs have a well preserved wavy structure and scaly surface, show-
ing the characteristic serration of sheep wool fibres. There is no resemblance to
the wool hairs of the camel. But it must be remembered that such a thin and really
fine fleece is produced only by extremely good or improved sheep races. It is there-
fore a question as to whether this fleece has been shorn from the home sheep or
imported — perhaps (this is in any case not quite impossible) with returning silk
caravans from Bactria, where in those times very good fleece was procurable.
Compare also "Sheep wool from the Kucha district"!

Yet the case is here still more complicated. Together with the fine fleece there
are quite a number of pieces of thick hairs, 90—130 ^ many of which are crushed
and spread out in one plane to something about treble the breadth. Some of them
show a rather rapid transition to the thin form and appearance of the fleece hairs.
These big hairs are mostly broken into pieces, in this condition resembling
fragments of overhairs from an antelope's pelt. If they did belong to this
animal, the fine fleece would perhaps be hairs from the fur, i. e. the underwool of
a common antelope. As in Sweden it proved impossible to find an antelope skin with
underwool(!) I applied to the British Museum and got from there top hairs and
underhairs of two antelope skins (Gasella gutturosa and Gazella Prjevalskii). I was
thus enabled to establish the unmistakable and obvious difference between the fleece
in question and the antelope fur, and I was also able to show that the underhairs

236

of the two antelopes are considerably coarser than the fleece of all common deer

animals (family Cervidae). It was also established that the big hairs of the sample

are so-called "kemps" or "dead hairs" from sheep. But the presence of the "kemps"

tells us that the wool must have been taken from an adult sheep and can not belong

to the first and finest clip of the "lambs' wool" from animals of eight or ten months
old.

Hence it is here assumed that the wool had been imported.

NO 34:70. WHITE POWDER IN A SMALL LEATHER-BAG WRAPPED

IN WOOL-HAIRS.

The powder is in no wise fatty, but it can not be mixed with water — it does not
get wet. On the other hand, it takes ether very readily, but nothing is extracted by
this solvent. In reality there is no organic substance in the powder. If heated, the
mass blackens only for a moment, giving off a distinct smell of burnt leather, then
it assumes a very characteristic brown-yellow colour, as does the common painting-
colour, white lead. Following this indication it was easy to show that the powder
could be dissolved in nitric acid, with the exception of a considerable part of it
which proved to be sand (probably from the desert), and another part which could
be dissolved in strong hydrochloric acid and which proved to be antimonious
oxide. Sulphur is not present.

When the lead nitrate was formed, carbon dioxide was set free. Then the nitrate
compound was precipitated by sulphuric acid and determined as lead sulphate in
the ordinary way. The powder possesses a high degree of dispersion and adheres
strongly to rough surfaces. As the use of white lead as toilet powder was common
in the civilised world as early as the 4th century B. C. we are justified in assuming
that the find may have been once used for such a purpose.

Concerning the wool round the small powder-bag it may be added that among the
hairs of the ordinary sheep wool I was surprised to find some bigger hairs showing
a striking resemblance to the hairs of a gazelle, Gasella gtitturosa of Kansu.

NO 36: 5. FRAGMENT OF BASKET.

The fragment shows a simple wickerwork, i. e. a weaving in which the warp is
rigid and the weft flexible.

The rigid warp here consists of pretty round (diam. 1.5 — 1.8 mm.) and straight
strands of a dicotyledonous stem. All small twigs have been carefully removed, but
in some places the bark is not peeled off altogether.

The flexible weft forms a plain weaving over single warps. The surface is
smooth. Near the upper rim three triplets of neighbouring weft-strands are drawn

237

■

I »

over a couple of warps instead of a single one, thus composing a band of three-
strand twined work. There is a similar band round the bottom. On the inside of the
basket this texture looks like a plain twined weaving.

There is still a third component of the basketwork. It is a minute round string
(diam. 0.2 mm.) of a dicotyledonous root, almost certainly from an Artemisia plant.
This little strand is not used everywhere, but only occasionally, especially for the
strengthening here and there of the three-strand twined work. It may be added that
this extra little strand has in any case not slipped out of a main weft one, but has
been handled fully individually by the basket-weaver. Sometimes it has been
wrapped on a warp strand, and there is no other wrapping anywhere in the weav-
ing (-fragment).

It was difficult to find out w-hat material the old basket-maker had used in her
weft-strands. It was possible, finally, to establish that a good part of the material
best corresponds to the "tsaghan deris" or "white grass" of the Mongols or Lasia-
grostis splendens of the Botanical Museum. The stems of this grass have been split
to form two or more strings to be used together with dicotyledonous root strings
for weft strands — also in the three-strand twine. Indeed, as a matter of fact, the
clever basket-weaver has used both of these heterogeneous materials together in every
one of the weft strands. A whole series of cuts through the outsides of neighbouring
weft strands have been made, and one is surprised to see (through the microscope)
how grass and dicot. fibres alternate in a highly irregular manner. As a matter of
fact a gleaming and glossy grass surface may be seen in many parts of the plain
weaving, and dull root surfaces in the three-strand weaving. The wall has a net-
pattern made of glossy grass applied on top of the main weft element and showing
a marked contrast in colour to this. The result is thus a proof of the simple but good
basketry of the primitive Lou-Ian people.

In these microscopic examinations Professor G. Edman of the Pharmaceutic In-
stitution has given me splendid assistance and sacrificed much time, for which I
give him my sincerest thanks.

NO 38: 13. SCRAPINGS FROM A WOODEN TROUGH.

The principal matter is a non-granular, most shapeless mass of a light brown-grey
colour.

If a small quantity of the substance is heated in a test tube in a Bunsen flame it
gives off water, brownish tar, and an intense smell of burnt milk. What remains
is a structureless black carbon.

The presence of lactic acid in the mass has been proved by the common iodoform
reaction and the special Uffelmann test (carbolic acid with dissolved ferric chlor-

238

ide), and furthermore with an alcoholic solution of guajacol in the presence of
strong sulphuric acid. The mass also contains some lime (Ca).

It may therefore be assumed that the substance in question was once sour milk.

SHEEP WOOL FROM THE KUCHA DISTRICT.

This wool sample is of course not an archaeological specimen. Taken from a
sheepskin in the market at Kucha, it is a simple product of to-day, to be compared
to the wools of the grave finds. From this point of view, however, the sample is in-
teresting.

The wool is pretty to look at : clean, dazzlingly white and good-sized. Moreover,
it has an agreeable softness of handle. Is it then a more "cultivated" wool of a higher
count than the two thousand years older wool from the graves? The microscopic
examination does not answer in the affirmative. On the contrary, it shows that the
hairs are coarser, with a thickness between 20 and 55 p, that most of the hairs
have a medullary core or pith like a white string, occupying half the breadth of the
hair, and that the external scales (flattened horny cells) have a very irregular and
split appearance. Most of the wool in the sample consists of overhairs taken from a
sheep belonging to a good but none the less plain breed — producing a wool consider-
ably inferior to the fine and dense wool used in the loin-cloth No. 5 : *4&

239

WORKS CONSULTED

•

ABBREVIATIONS

AH =

BEFEO =

BMFEA =

BSOS =

Burl. Mag. =

ESA

JASB

JSFO =

Pal. Sin. =

RAA

TP =

WBKKA =

Archaeologia Hungarica.

Bulletin de l'£cole Francaise d'Extremc-Orient.

Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (Ostasiatiska Samlingarna).

Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies (University of London).

The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs.

Eurasia Septentrionalis Antiqua.

Journal and Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

Journal de la Societe Finno-Ougrienne.

Ostasiatische Zeitschrift.

Palaeontologia Sinica.

Revue des Arts Asiatiques.

T'oung pao, ou Archives concernant l'Histoire, les Langues, la Geographic et

l'Ethnographie de 1'Asie Orientale.
Wiener Beitrage zur Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte Asiens.

v-r

■ .

v i

Alfoldi, A.

Funde aus der Hunnenzcit. (AH 9)
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AMAMUNA & MlNAMOTO.

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Chosen Gov. Gen. Museum, Seul.

1930.
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1923. The cave-deposit at Sha-kuo-t'un in

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1923.
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research in Kansu. (Memoirs A: 5

Geol. Survey of China). Peking

1932. Hunting magic in the animal style.
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1934. Children of the yellow earth. Lon-
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Andrews, F. H.

1920. Ancient Chinese figured silks. (Burl.
Mag. July-Sept, 1920). London 1920.

1935. Descriptive catalogue of antiquities
recovered by Sir Aurel Stein during
his expeditions in Central Asia, Kan-
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1925-

1933-

Appelgren-Kivalo, Hj.

Alt-altaische Kunstdenkmaler. Hel-

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Painted stone age pottery from the

province of Honan, China. (Pal. Sin.

D. T : 2). Peking 1925.
Die Funde von Luan P'ing und Hsuan

Hua. (BMFEA 5). Stockholm 1933.
Ashton, L. & Gray, B.

Chinese art. London 1935.
Bachhofer, L.

1935. Der Zug nach dem Osten. Einige Be-
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Bergman, F.

1935 a. Nagot om Mongol iet i forntid och
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*937-

240

la,

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Berlin.

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1934. The horse: a factor in early Chinese

history. (ESA 9). Helsinki 1934.
Zakharov, A.

Antiquities of Katanda, Altai. (Journ.

Roy. Anthr. Inst. 55)). London 1925.

-•

■

t -

(The alphabetic order of the bibliography and the general index is according to Swedish usage,
thus a and 6 come at the end and not together with a and o.)

245

INDEX OF PLATES 1-38

Plate

Inv. No.

Size Page

Plate

Inv. No.

Size Page

K. 13334

»/«

17—19, 21 f., 208

5:3

K. 13375 :

2 /3

32, 176

2: 1

K. 13328: 1

15. 19

5:4

- K. 13375 :

2 /3

32, 176

2:2

K. 13328 : 16

15, 20

5:5

K. 13410;

2 /3

33, 178

2:3

K. 13328: 8

15. 19

5:6—7

K. 13368:

25—26

2 /3

A 1

33, 175

2:4

K. 13328 : 13

15, 19

S = 8

K. 13386 :

2 /3

33, 177

2:5

K. 13329: 1

16, 20

5:9

28:21

2 /3

A 1

32, 172

2:6

K. 13329:8

16, 2r

5:10

25:7

31, 172

2:7

K. 13331 : 1

17. 21

5:"

K. 13369

2 /3

33. 35, 156

2:8

K. 13331 : 42

16, 21

5:12

K. 13368 :

2 /3

33. 175

2:9

K- 1333 1 : 40

1 6, 21

5:13

K. 13360

33. 174

5:14

K. 13379 :

2 /a

33. 176

3: 1— 12

K. 13332: 38—49

27, 29

5:i5

K. 13415

2 /a

33, 178

3:i3

K. 13332 : 50

27. 30

5:16

2: 1

V«

33 f-, 60,

3:14—17

K. 13332: 55—58

27. 30

5:i7

K. 134":

2 /3

178

3:18

K. 13332:53

5 : 18—19

K. 13368 :

28—29

2 /3

33. 175

3:19

K. 13332 : 69

MM ■

27, 30

5:20

K. 13367

2 /3

33, 175

3:20

K. 13332:68

27. 30

5:21

K. 13365

2 /3

33, 175

3 : 21—22

K. 13332: 71—72

1 MM

27. 30

6:1

10: 3

4 /9

56 f.

4:1

K. 13332:22

27, 29

6:2

10:4

56 f.

4:2
4=3

K. 13332 : 34
K. 13332: 29

Vi
Vi

27. 29
27, 29

6:3

10:2

¥ MW

v«

56 f.

4:4

K. 13332: 103

7:i

5=117

85.96

4:5

K. 13332:70

7:2

5:I20

85. 97

4:6

28: 18

32, 172

7 = 3

5: 122

85, 97

4:7

K. 13431 : 2

33. 180

7:4

5: 121

y«

85, 97

4:8

K. 134*4 : 6

33, 178

7:5

5M24

85,97

4:9

28:22

32, 172

7:6

5MI9

85. 97

4: 10

K. 13410:4

Vi 178

7:7

5M23

v«

85.97

4:11

K. 13368: 18

175

7:8

5:48

73, 95

4: 12

K. 13418:2

33. 8c, 179

7:9

5- G:3

73, 92

4:13

28:16

27. 32, 82, 172

7:10

5:113

y«

81,96

4:14

28:15

32, 172

7:11

5- E: 3

72, 80

4:iS

K. 13353 : 2

174

7: 12

5:75

80,96

4:16

K. 13353 : 1

2 / 3

33, 174

7:i3

5- A: 5

l A

70, 80, 91

4:17

28: 19

28, 32, 172

7:14

5. F:2

73, 80, 92

4: 18
4:19
4:20

4:21

K. 13359 : 1
K. 13405: 1
K. 13391 : 1

K. 13328:126

2 /s 32. 174
2 /3 178

Vl 33, 177

2 /s ". 20

8:1

8:2

8:3
8:4

5- L:S
5: 128
5. D:io

Vi
Va

85 U 94
85 U 97
72. 85, 92

4:22

K. 13411: 1

¥ V

2 /3

33, 178

5. E:5

72, 85, 92

r * r

*'»-" w

8:5

5- F:7

73, 85, 92

5:i

K. 13431:3

2 /3

180

8:6

5- L: 4

85 f.. 94

5:2

K. 13428

2 /3

33. 180

8:7

5: 126

85,97

170

246

Plate

Inv. No.

Size Page

Plate

Inv. No.

Size Page

8:8

5:125

85. 97

14:3

5. G:2

Va 84,92

8:9

5-D:9

72, 85 f„ 91

14:4

5:144

Va 82, 84, 98

9:1

5:56

v«

78, 95. 208

U:5

5. A:6

Va 7o, 83, 91

9:2

5:138

78,97

15:1

6. B:9

Vi 1 '2, 116

9:3

5:88

86,96

15:2

K. 13437: 4

Vi 180, 182

9:4

5:54

15:3

K. 13440 : 1

Vi 195. 198

9;S

5=55

78, 95

15:4

K. 13436

Va 149. 180, 182

9:6

5:i36

78,97

15:5

K. 13443:7

Vi 201 I

9:7

5:28

15:6

K. 13443:4

Vl 2O0, 202

9:8

5:30

15:7

5:22

Vi 86,94

9:9

5:90

75. 96

15:8

5:6

Vi 77. 94

9: 10

5:49

75, 95

15:9

5:18

Vi 77, 94

9:11

5- H:2

74, 77. 93

15: 10

8:2

Vi 171

9:12

5. A:4

70, 77. 90

15:11

8:1

Vi 171

9:13

5:172

15:12—13

39:2—3

Vl 143

10: 1

5.160

74 U 99

15:14

K. 13443: 6

V1201 f.

10: 2

5.A:x

69, 75. 90

I5:i5

5:21

Vi 77. 94. "0

10:3

5:i59

74 f-. 99

15: 16

5:7—15

Vi 77. 94

10:4

5: 161

74 f-, 99

I5:x7

39:5

Vi 143

10:5

5:i54

75. 08

15:18

39:7

Vi 143

10:6

5- J:x

74. 93

15:19

39:i

Vi 143

10:7

5MS8

74. 99

16: 1

6.A: 2

2 /a 108, ii2, 114

10:8

5:89

*/9

75. 96

16:2

6. A: 12

Vs 108. 115

10:9

5:i57

75, 99

16:3

6.B:xo

2 /s 112, Il6

11: X

5:i49

76.98

16:4

6. A : 10

*/a no, 114

11:2

36:8

137. 139

16:5

6. A: 1

2/3 107, 113

11:3

5- A: 3

69. 75. 90

16:6

6. A: 13—14

2/ 3 1 10, 115

11:4

5. K:i

2 A»

74. 93

16:7

6. A: 11

2 /» III, II4

" = 5

5.H:x

2 /9

74» 93

16:8

6. A : 16

Va »o, 115

xi : 6

5. D:i2

72, 86, 92

16:9

6. A: 2

2/3 I08, 114

11:7

5:i47

2 /9

74 *.. 98

17 : 1—2

6, A: 18—19

2/3 no, 115

12: 1

5:148

75.98

17:3

6. A: 15

Vi "o, 115

12:2

5. 1.3

2 /3

74. 93

17:4

6. A: 17

2 / 3 no, 115

12:3

5:4

35. 82, 04

17:5

6. A: 20

2 /8 no, X15

12:4

5:2

35. 82, 04

18:1

7. A: 6 about Va 103, 106

12:5

5:i

2 /3

35. 82, 94

18:2

6.B:6

2/3 112, 115

12:6

5 = 3

35. 82, 94

18:3

9:17

Vi 100, 102

12: 7

5 = 43

2 / 3

86, 94 f-

18:4

9:1

Va 100 f.

12:8

5:75

2 /3

18:5

9:4

Va 100 f.

12:9

5:40

2 /3

82, 94

18:6

9:i5

Vi IOO, 102

12: 10

5:42

2 /3

86,94

18:7

33:26

Vi '57. 159

12: 11

5:41

2 /3

86,94

18:8

9:8

Va 100, 102

12: 12

5:69

2 /3

82,95

18:9

9:10

Va I oo, 102

12: 13

5:i39

82, 97

IS: 10

34:26

Va 122, 129

12: 14

5- G:9

2 /3

18:11

6. B:n

Va 112, 116

12: 15

5:27

84. 94

19 : 1 — 2

34:20—21

1/4 120, 129

12: 16

5:68

2 /3

78,95

19:3

34:19

Va iso, 129

13:1

5:141

82—84. 97

19:4

34: 10

Vs n8, 129

13:2

5:146

82, 98

19:5

34:9

Va "8, 129

13:3

5:140

82,07

19:6

34 = 8

Vs II8 - I2 9

13:4

5- B:x

71. 84, 91

19:7

34:i7

Va "ft 129

13:5

5:x5o

76,98

19:8

34:5

Va no. 128

14:1

5: 142

82, 98

20: 1—2

34:30—31

Va 124, 129

14:2

5. H: 3

20:3

34:27

Va 124, 129

247

Plate

20:4
20:5
20:6

20:7
20:8
20:9

21 : 1
21:2

21:3
21 14

21:5
21:6

21:7
21:8

22: i

22:2

22:3

22:4
22:5

23:1
23:2

23:3

24: 1
24:2

25: 1
25:2

25:3
25:4
25:5
25:6
25:7-8
25 : 9—10
25: 11
25:12

26:1
26:2

26:3
26:4

26:5
26:6

27 : 1—2

27:3—4

27:5

27:6

27:7
27:8

27:9
27: 10

27:11
27: 12

28: 1—2

28:3

28:4

Inv. No.

34:29
34:23

34:3—4

34:33
34:32

34:45

34:i8
34 = 2

34:i

34:7

34:65

34:44

34:49

34:38 a

34:66

34:69

35:i7
34:68

34:67

35:i8

38:6

34:46

35:i9

35: 19

35:2
34:40a

34:47

38:15

37:i

38:16

7-B:7-8

7.A:7-8

37:2

33:i9

36:5
36:2

36: 1

36:3

36:7

36:4

38:13—14
36 : 20—21
38:11
35:23
36:16

36:15
33:23

36:14

6.B:8

33 = 22

32: 60—61

32:8

K. 13378 : 34

Size Page
Va 124, 129

1/2 120, 129
2/3 "9. 128
Vi ,2 4. 130

Va 124. 130
Va 127, 130

Vs 120, 129
Va "8, 128

Va 118, 128

Vs "9. 129

Ve 127. 130, 231 ff.

Va 127, 130

Ve 125, 130

Va 125, 130

Va 126, 131
Va 126, 131

Va 126, 133, 135
2/3 126, 131, 133

2/3 126, 131, 133

Ve 125, 133, 135

Va 141 £
Va 125, 130

Va 132, 135
about Va 132, 135

,, Vi 132, 134

V* 125. 130
2/3 125, 130

Va 141 t
Va 140
Va 141 f-
2/3 104, 106
2/3 103, 106
Ve 140
Va 157 £

Va 136, 139
Va 136, 138
Va 75, 136. 138
V15136, 139
Ve 137. 139
Ve 137, 139

V« Mi f-

Va 137, 139
Vi mi f-
Va 134 *-, 181
Va 137, 139
Va 137. 139
Vi i57 f.
Va 137, 139
V* "i, "5
Va 157 f-

Vi 149. 153. 165
Vi 152

Vi 149, 152

Plate

28:5
28:6
28:7
28:8

28:9

28: 10

28:11

28:12

28:28

28:29

28:30

28:31

28:32

28:33

28:34

28:35

28:36

28:37
28:38

28:39
28:40—41

28:42

28:43

28:44

28:45
28:46

28:47

28:48

29:1

29:2

29:3
29:4
29:5
29:6

29:7

29:8

29:9

29: 10

29: 11

29: 12

29:13

29:14

29:15

29: 16

29:17

29: 18

29:19

29:20

30: 1
30:2

30:3
30:4

30:5
30:6

Inv. No.
32: 112

K. 13378: 10

32: 129

32:142

32:79
32:77

32:80

32: 113— 128

K. 13378:21

32:36

K. 13378:27

K. 13378: 26

32:49
32:99

K. 13378: 37

32:90

32:65

32:63

32:86

32:72

32:67—68

K. 13378 : 43

32:58

32: 106

K. 13378 : 1
32: 100

32:93

K. 13378: 42

K. 13378: 44
11: 1

K. 13408:5

K. 13378: 4

K. 13378 : 33

K. 13378 : 45

K. 13380:5

K. 13378 : 6

K. 13378:8

K. 13400

K. 13376:1

K. 13376 : 2

K. 13377: 1

K. 13378 : 2

44:3

K. 13386: 8

K. 1 3361

K. 13427

32:175
32 : 1 10

K. 13355
K. 13426
K. 13432
K. 13416
K. 13430: 1
K. 13434:2

Size Page

Vi 150, 154
Vi 149, 152

Vi 154
Vi 149. 154
Vi 153

VH53

Vi 150, 153
Vi 149. 154
Vi 152, 162

Vi 153. 162
Vi 152
Vi 152
Vi 153
Vi 151, 153
Vi 150, 152
Vi 150, 153
Vi 149. 153
Vi 149. 153
Vt 150, 153
Vi 150, 153
Vi 150, 153
Vi 149. 152
Vi 149. 153
Vi 1 Si. 153
V3151 t
Vi 151. 153
Vi 153
Vi 151 f.

2 /3

151

31,

171

Va 169,

178

152

2 /3

150,

152

151.

152,

169

150,

164,

176

2 /3

151

2 /3

151

f., 169

2 /3

169,

177

2 /3

169,

176

151.

169,

176

156

151

174

2 /3

169,

177

169,

175

163,

180

151,

154.

169

151,

154

165,

174

166,

180

i66,

180

166,

179

148,

156, 168

168,

180

248

Plate Inv. No.

30:7 K. 13404

30:8 K. 13418:9

30:9 41:6

30:10 K. 13430: »

30:11 1:5

30:12 K. 13425

30:13 K. 13420

30:14 K. 13433

30:15 K. 13434:1

30:16 43:3

30:17 42:9

30: 18 K. 13408:1

30:19 K. 13408:2

30:20 K. 13424:1

30:21 K. 1338 1

30:22 K. 13413

30:23 40:3

30:24 K. 13417

30 : 25 42 : 3

30:26 40:4

31:1 K. 13423:1— 36

31:2 21:1

31:3 K. 13408:3

31:4 M:i

3i:S 42:2

36:6 42:4

31: 7 3i: J

31:8 K. 13401:1

3i:9 42:5

31:10 26:6

31:11 20:1

31:12 20:2

32:i 34:25

32:2 K. 13345: 2

32:3 K. 13345:4

32:4 34:24

32:5 K. 13328: 49

32:6 K. 13328:45

32 : 7 K. 13328 : 50

32:8 K. 13346:111

32:9 K. 13442:5

32 : 10 K. 13345 : 5

32:11 K.I3442:6

33:1 K. 13341:8

33:2 K. 13341:7

33:3 K. 13341:6

33:4 K. 13341:9

33:5 K. 13341:11

33:6 K. 13341:14

33:7 K. 13341:13

33:8 K. 13341:10

33:9 K. 13341:4

33:10 K. 13341:15

33:n K. 13341:12

Size Page

2 /3 155

Va 161,

2 A 162,

2 /3 148,

2 /3 60,

2 /3 164,

Va m

2 /3 168,

2 /3 169,

2 /3 165.

2 /3 168,

2 /s 164,

2 /3 166,

2 /3 166.

2 /3 168,

f.
179

»73
156
170

179
179

I80

168, 180

173

178
178
179
176
178
173
179
173
173

2/3 162

2 /3 164,

f- 179

171

Vi 169. 173

171

2 /3
Vl
Vl
2/3
2 /3
Vl

109,

173
166,

163,

155

173

2 /3 164,
2/3 169,
2 /3 164,

Ve 121,
Va 207,
V3208,

Va 121,

2 /3 15.

2/3 is,

2/3 15.
2/3 220,

Va 199.

2/3 207.

Va 199,

Vi an,
Vi 210,
Vi 210,
V1211,

Vl 211,

Vi 214

Vl 212,
Vl 210,

Vi 214
Vi 214

173
173
f.

172
171
171

129
218
218
129

223

201

218

201

214

214
214
214
214

214
214

Plate

33: 12

33 : 13—14

33:iS

33:i6

33:i7

33:18—19

33:20

33:21

33:22

33:23

33 : 24—25

33:26

33:27

33:28

33:29—32

33:33

33 : 34—40

33:41

34:i—»
34: 12—14
34:15—30

34 : 31—35
34:36
34:37
34:38

34:39
34:40
34:41

34:42
34:43
34:44
34:45
34:46

34:47
34M8
34:49
34:50

34:51

34:52

34:53
34:54
34:55
34 : 56—57
34 : 58-59
34:60

35:i
35:2

35=3

35:4

35:5
35:6

35=7

36:1

36:2

Inv. No.

K.13341
K.13341
K.13341
K. 13341

K.13341
K. 1 334 1
K. 13341
K 13341
K. 1 3341
K 13340

K. 1 3341
K. 13341
K.13341

K. 13341
K. 13341
K. 1 3341
K. 13341
K.13341

K.13341
K. 13341

K.13341
K 1334 1

K. 13341
K. 13341

K. 1334 1
K. 13341
K 13341
K. 13341

K 1334 1
K. 13341
K.13341

K. 13341
K. 13341
K.13341

K. 1334 1
K. 1334 1
K.13341
K. 1334 1
K. 13341
K.13341
K. 13341
K.13341
K. 1 334 1

:2i

: 17—18
:99

: 130

:?8

: 132-133
:82
:79
:27

: 85-86
:84
:8 3
: 124
: 126-129
:i25
: 1 1 7-123
:59

: 67-77
: 22-24

: 101-116
: 44-48
:33
:28

= 31

= 32
:26

:50

:66

= 49

:58

:52

= 51

= 57

:56

:55

:53

:54
:62

= 64
:6i

:37
= 41-42
: 35-36
:6o

K. 13344
K 13336
K. 13335

K. 13343 :
K. 13337
K. 13339
K. 13338

K. 13346: 58
K. 13346 : 67

about

Size Page

1/1 2ii f 214

l /i 214
t/» 216

t/i 213. 217
1/1 216
1/1 213, 217
'A 216
'A 216

h 212, 215

2 /3 212, 214
l/l 216
'A 216
Vl 216
l/l 213, 217
l/t 213, 217
'A 213, 217

Vi 216
'A 216

A 216
A 212, 215
A 216
A 215
A 212, 215

A 215
A 215
A 212, 215

A 215
A 215
A 216
A 215
A 215
A 215
A 215
A 215
A 215
A 213, 215
A 215
A 213, 215
A 216
A 216
A 213, 216
A 212, 215
A 212, 215
A 212, 215
A 213, 216

/s 207, 217 f.

/s 214

A n8, 209, 214

A 207, 218
A 210, 214
A 208, 210, 214
A 208, 210, 214

/q 220, 222

A 220, 222

249

Plate

36
36

36
36
36
36

5
6

7
8

9— 10

37:i
37:2

37:3
37 = 4
37 = 5
37:6

37:7
37:8

Inv. No.

K. 13346: 56
K. 13346: 55
K. 13342: 44
K. 13346:66
K. 13342: 25

K. 13346 : 57
K. 13346 : 64-65

K. 13342:14

K. 13342: 12
K. 13342: 13
K. 13342: 42
K. 13347: 6
K. 13346: 49
K. 13349:5
K. 13349 : 6

Size Page

Plate

Inv. No.

Size Page

V» 220, 222

37:9

K. 13342 : 54

2/3 210, 218

*/b 220, 222

37:»o

K. 13346: 113

2/3 151, 220, 223

*/b 210, 217

38:1

K. 13350: 3

t/% 226, 228

Vb 220, 222

38:2

K. 13349:3

Vi 225, 228

*/b 210, 217

38:3

K. 13346:31

Vl 219, 221

Vfl 220, 222

38:4

K. 13346 : 20

Vl 210, 221

4 /b 220, 222

38:5

K. 13349 = 1

Vi 225, 228

2/3 210, 217

38:6

K. 13347 : 3

Vl 210, 223

38:7-15

K. 13346: 21-29

Vl 219, 22r

2/3 217

38:16

K. 13346: 18

Vl 219, 221

2 / 3 210, 217

38:i7

K. I3347M

Vi 219. 223

2/3 210, 217