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

the spot, interrogating the alleged finders and verifying the exact circumstances and

nterrogg

position of the discoveries, was the only way to determine their full archaeological

value. How much more he achieved in this strenuous twelve months' tour is recorded

in hisY report, P reliminar   ort, Archaeological Exploration in Chinese Turkestan, and his

fuller account entitled AncíentKhotan. The route taken on this, his first Central Asian

expedition, ran via Gilgit and Hunza into Chinese territory on the Tágh-dumbásh

Pamir by way of the Kilik Pass. Here was started his triangular and plane-table

survey, which, with astronomical and geological observations, continued through-

out his journey. Passing through Tásh-kurghán, a very ancient outpost of Central

Chinese dominions, and Sarikol, surveying by the way the Mus-tágh-ata range

with a peak of 24,000 feet, he reached Káshgar on 29 July, where he made

preparations for his journey into the desert near Khotan. An enforced delay at

Khotan was utilized to survey the hitherto imperfectly mapped portion of the

Ktun-lun range, by which certain errors in official maps were subsequently cor-

rected. This done, the desert sites explored from Khotan included Dandán-oilik,

where very interesting wall paintings and paintings on wood were found, one,

with an Aphrodite-like figure, on the wall of a shrine,' and another, on wood, of the

`silk princess', both referred to in the Introduction. At Niya, on the site of ancient

buildings, he made the momentous discovery of documents dated from the first

and second centuries A.D., written on wooden tablets, mostly in the ancient

Kharosthi script, but many in Chinese; a considerable number of the hundreds

found bearing their original clay seals with figures of Athene, Eros, and portrait

heads, both Indian and Chinese. Endere, Rawak, and other sites were explored,

revealing archaeologically valuable material in coins, seals, pottery, textiles, wood-

carvings, and other objects. He returned to Khotan in April and came to London

via the Trans-Caspian railway, arriving on 2 July 1901.

His next expedition into Central Asia started in 1906. Travelling by way of

Swát and Dir, the Upper Oxus, over several difficult passes past Kiz-kurghán (the

Princess's Tower)—whereof an ancient legend tells of a ChineseP rincess who, on

her way to be married to the King of Persia, being detained here owing to military

b

operations on the road, was visited by a divine person who came riding on horse-

back from the sun, with romantic consequences he reached Kásh ar and `the

hospitable roof' of the late Sir George   -   g

   ge Macartney. . From Ka-   he proceeded to

the oasis of Khotan, the base for his expedition. The full record of thisg reat

I See plate xxj.
V 111