国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

Sec. iv]   THROUGH THE HILLS OF MAKRAN   101

first day of our stay. The `stone gate' to which keen guides first took us at a point about 2 miles to the east of the lower end of the oasis proved, indeed, only a chalky rock with a natural fissure closed by a large block, behind which local imagination pictured treasure. But when I was subsequently guided across the stony peneplain to the debris area, here also known by the name of the `Forty Daughters', situated about a mile to the north-east of the uppermost point of the oasis, I soon recognized remains of a distinctly ancient site. It lies by the left bank of an affluent of the Aimini stream which descends from an eastern portion of the Lashar range, and less than a mile farther up supplies irrigation for the fields and date-palms of the outlying hamlet of Magtin.

The debris area, covered with stones from completely decayed walls of dwellings and plentiful potsherds, stretches for about half a mile from north-east to south-west with a width scarcely less. Near the southern end there rises to a height of some 80 feet a rocky hillock, the slopes and top of which are covered by the much-decayed remains of stone-built walls of ruined dwellings. The narrow crest, about 110 yards long, is crowned by modern sangars. These stone breastworks were erected during a time when fighting was carried on with Döst Muhammad Khan, the late ruler of Bampûr. The pottery comprises a fair proportion of painted ware, decorated with designs in black, pink, and buff, closely recalling patterns found on ware of British Baluchistan sites which I have provisionally classed as `late prehistoric'.2 The specimens, Fan. Q. 57, 64, 66, 67, 76, 85, 89, reproduced in Pl. XXV, will help to illustrate the resemblance. This is further strengthened by the association of this painted ware with plenty of `ribbed' and relief-decorated pieces, such as Fan. Q. 1, 4, 5, 15, and 7, 12, respectively ( Pl. XXV). Among the plain ware fine fragments showing a dark terra-cotta slip, well polished, also deserve notice.3 On the other hand, very few fragments of glazed ware, including some of ninth- and tenth-century types, could be found, and these, too, mainly on the fortified hillock. The occasional occupation of this portion of the site, owing to its advantages for defence, is likely to have continued down to late times.

A site of familiar character was found at a place known by the significant name of Dambcin, and situated on the left bank of the Rampk stream, about

4 miles west-north-west of Fanuch. There a succession of roughly constructed cairns extends close to the edge of a terrace overlooking the bed of the small stream and bordered on the other side by the foot of a low rocky hill chain. I

2 Cf. N. Balfccbistân Tour, pp. 8 sqq., 18 sqq., Q. 10 reproduced ibid. is a roughly cut quadrangular

Pls. I—III.   piece of terra-cotta, deeply scored crosswise on

3 The perforated fragment Fan. Q. 18 shown in both sides and perhaps used as a `sinker'. Pl. XXV is a lug, detached from a vessel. Fan.