National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

been gilded, Pl. 15 : 19. The double-bead Pl. 15 : 13 had also been gilded and recalls beads from Lou-lan. Eleven small white beads are identical with some from Cemetery 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 8o

39 : I.   Sixty small glass beads, two of which 39 : 4.   Eleven small flat beads of shell,

are yellow (one even showing traces   identical with 5: 21. Have been thread-
of gilding) the rest white. Diam. 5-3 mm. Pl. ed on a brown woollen string. Diam. 4 mm.

15 : 19.   39 : 5.   Spherical carnelian bead. Diam. 17

39 : 2.   Thirty-one very small beads of violet   mm. Pl. 15:17.

39:6.   Spherical carnelian bead. Diam. 9 mm.

glass. Diam. 2-I mm. Pl. 15: 12.

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 ("ÖRDEK'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 "ÖRDEK'S necropolis" as well as in the treatment of the individual graves, the uniform 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 characteristic 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

39 : 7.   Spherical bead of frit ( ?) with parallel

39 : 3.   Double-bead of gilt glass. L. 7 mm. Pl.   grooves. Once possibly covered with

15 : 13.   blue glaze. Diam. 12 mm. Pl. 15 : 18.

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