IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Sand-Buried Ruins of Khotan : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
422 THE RUINS OF ENDERE [CHAP. xxvii.
higher than the level of the ground in the immediate vicinity. Kept down by the weight of the masonry, the loess soil below the Stupa has resisted erosion and now appears like an additional base,
making the structure look considerably higher than it is in reality. Though the outer casing of bricks has suffered a great deal, I
succeeded with a little trouble in ascertaining the original propor-
tions of this " memorial tower." On a square base, measuring 23 feet on each side and about 7 feet in height, there rose a solid
dome 16 feet in diameter and approximately of the same height.
Thus the total dimensions agree very closely with those of the little Stupa at the Niya River Site, though the arrangement there
of a double basement introduces a marked difference in the detailed
proportions. In Indian Stupas the increase of height relative to diameter may generally be considered a sign of later date, and a
comparison of these two Stupas, the time of which can be approximately determined, seems to confirm this observation also for this northern region.
On the 26th of February my explorations at this site were completed, thanks to the energy with which the work of excavation
had been carried on, from early morning until after nightfall by the light of bonfires. The interesting finds showed plainly that I had reached the border-line beyond which Indian influences yielded to Chinese. A move further east would have carried me beyond the
limits of the territory with the archceological exploration of which I was concerned. Besides, the time that remained at my disposal
seemed none too ample for the expeditions I had yet to make to ancient localities north of Keriya and Khotan. So I reluctantly decided that the time had come to set my face again westwards. There was consolation in the thought that it meant a start on the journey which was to bring me back to Europe and to dear ones not seen for long years.
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