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

UNCLASSIFIED OBJECTS, CULTURE III, SOUTH KURGAN.   169

not determinable. Traces of the polishing are visible on both sides. The shaft end was made by sawing around the bottom of the hoe.

The advanced culture of the South Kurgan also shows itself in implements and objects which were in a certain sense intended to serve as luxuries, and with them we will close the list of objects from the middle strata.

Seals and stamps.—In describing the excavations in terrace B, mention was

made of the discovery of a three-faced stone seal of triangular cross-section, showing figures on all three sides (S.K. 73). The black stone shows some cracks and scratches. On it are represented a man, a lion, and a griffin ; the stone is shown in fig. 400 and the negative and positive casts in plate 45, fig. 8. It was found in

terrace B at +28.25 feet. The workmanship is very imperfect, the cutting is shallow, and the representation of human and animal forms leaves much to be desired. The human figure is par

ticularly awkward, both as regards its attitude and the rendering of the form in detail. The animals are somewhat more successful; at least there is no doubt as to their identity. Very little care was taken, however, in representing the legs of the lion ; and the characterization of the head is not sufficiently apt. The griffin is better, even though the wings are clumsily placed on the neck of the animal.

More simple ornaments are produced by the other stamps made of stone and

400 (X2)   402 0(0.75)   clay. Concentric rings with a high central

boss were produced with a stamp made of greenish-white clay (S.K. 341; fig. 401 and plate 45, fig. 9), from shaft C of the upper

    digging, April 26, 1904, in the middle
layers of culture III. A cross form, with ridges projecting between the arms and

   _   showing crescent-shaped figures at the top,

is shown in the square clay stamp with a perforated handle (S.K. 105 ; fig. 402 ; plate 45, fig. I I), from terrace B, between + 25 feet and + 26.25 feet. A partially preserved stamp of dark-gray, polished stone, with

   403(X0.75)   perforated handle (S.K. 17o; fig. 403 and

401( x0.5)   plate 45, fig. 7), from the upper digging,
between + 25 feet 5 inches and + 29 feet, served to produce a star pattern.

Stone vessels.—We may also class vessels made of stone among the precious objects of luxury, of which only small fragments—lip and bottom pieces—remain. They are small, deep, steep-walled cups with variously lipped forms. In some the lip is only slightly thickened, as in S.K. 256 (fig. 404) from terrace B, between + 21 feet 5 inches and + 23 feet 7 inches. In some it widens outward horizontally

399