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

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 opportunity 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, however, not the very best for the purpose. Im mediately outside the mouth of Buyantubulaq 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 Near to the E of the ruined circum-

the burial site at Ying-p'an.   vallation.

K. 13436. Chinese bronze mirror. The central

vaulted knob is surrounded by a K. 13437 : I-2. Two potsherds probably from the

quatrefoil. Outside this runs a raised plain band.   same large vessel. Decorated with
Between this and the thickened border lies the straight or curved bands incised with a three-main decoration, bordered on each side by a toothed instrument. Hard-burnt, light-red ware. striated band and consisting of four animal repre-

sentations (dragon and tiger) with raised con- K. 13437: 3. Fragm. of the narrow neck (or

tours. Between each animal there is a small boss   spout?) of a vessel of the same

similar to the central one. The outer border has a   earthenware as the preceding one.

"double wave" band with a small dot in each in-

terspace. Brown-red patina with green spots. Diam. K. 13437 : 4. Bronze ring, D-shaped, probably

125 mm. Th. of rim 5 mm. Pl. 15 : 4.   from a buckle. 21X16 mm. Pl. 15 : 2.

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