国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

possible, to

t

save them from total destruction. The removal was skilfully done by

his two   _   _

o assistants Naik Shamsuddin and Mian Afraz-gul Khan, who carefully

packed the sections in over a hundred large cases, which safely reached New

Delhi, where I reassembled, mounted, and set them up in the Central Asian

Antiquities Museum. Some of these are reproduced on plates xi' to xxxi.

A visit between 18 December and 3 January to Urumchi the provincial capital,

mainly on diplomatic business, interrupted survey work. Returning to Murtuk,

Turfán, certain ruined structures were examined and a few painted fragments

were collected (M.C. IV, plate viii).

The ancient burial-ground north of the village of Astána, near Kara-khöja, was

the next site to be explored; and here the results were indeed rich in archaeological

matter. Although extensive plundering had already gone on for a long time, the

silks and various trappings buried with the bodies, still remaining, provided

material of intense interest for the archaeologist, historian, artist, and craftsman.

They are fully described in Innermost Asia.

At this time disquieting information indicated the possibility of official obstruc-

tion to further archaeological activities by local Chinese representatives of `Young

China', on the ground of spoliation of China's ancient inheritance. So it was

decided to move after ensuring the dispatch of the 145 cases of antiquities. Leav-

ing the region of Turfán on 16 February 1915, the journey back to Káshgar was by

way of Singer, Ying-ptan, and along the glacis of the Kuruk-tágh to Korla. From

here to Káshgar Stein travelled 938 miles in 55 days, along the foot of the Tien-

shan range to Kuchá, through Ak-su and Marál-báshi, arriving at Káshgar on

31 May.

At Káshgar, `my familiar base', the collection of antiques was repacked—a long

and tedious business—for their `long and difficult journey across the Kara-koram

to Ladák and thence to Kashmir'.

This done, Stein now made arrangements for his long-projected journey over

the Pamirs—the Roof of the World' towards the Trans-Caspian railway, north-

eastern   Y

eastern Persia, and Sistán, `by the route which the ancient silk trade may be

assumed to have followed'. Permission to pass through Russian territory had

been obtained from the Russian Government by the   P

Foreign Department of the

Indian Government.

As this fresh expedition, fully reported in Innermost Asia, did not furnish any of

the paintings reproduced in this work it   y

g P   t is not proposed to record its progress here.

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