CHAP. xv.] JADE PITS OF CHALMAKAZAN 253
feet, and rises about fifteen feet above thé ground. From the excavation made, it could be seen that it was constructed of closely packed layers of rough stones as a base, with a circular wall of similar material above it. A kind of well in the centre filled with loose earth probably contained the relic deposit.
There can be little doubt that the old settlement indicated by these remains was connected with the jade mining of the immediate
JADE PIT WITH DIGGERS, NEAR DEBOUCHURE OF YURUNG-KASH.
neighbourhood. On the southern edge of the site the jade pits are still worked. For a mile and a half we had to thread our way between them before reaching the little miners' camp of SirikToghrak, where I pitched my tent. The pits vary greatly in size and shape. Usually, a square or oblong cutting is made through the layer of gravel and, river sand. At a depth from ten feet downwards strata of rubble are reached, and in these search is made for the pieces of jade that the river once washed down. Finds of great value
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