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

possible, to save them from total destruction. The removal was skilfully done by
his two assistants Naik Shamsuddin and Miān Afrāz-gul Khān, who carefully
packed the sections in over a hundred large cases, which safely reached New
Delhi, where I reassembled, mounted, and set them up in the Central Asian
Antiquities Museum. Some of these are reproduced on plates XII to XXXI.

A visit between 18 December and 3 January to Urumchi the provincial capital,
mainly on diplomatic business, interrupted survey work. Returning to Murtuk,
Turfān, certain ruined structures were examined and a few painted fragments
were collected (M.C. IV, plate VIII).

The ancient burial-ground north of the village of Astāna, near Kara-khōja, was
the next site to be explored; and here the results were indeed rich in archaeological
matter. Although extensive plundering had already gone on for a long time, the
silks and various trappings buried with the bodies, still remaining, provided
material of intense interest for the archaeologist, historian, artist, and craftsman.
They are fully described in Innermost Asia.

At this time disquieting information indicated the possibility of official obstruc-
tion to further archaeological activities by local Chinese representatives of 'Young
China', on the ground of spoliation of China's ancient inheritance. So it was
decided to move after ensuring the dispatch of the 145 cases of antiquities. Leav-
ing the region of Turfān on 16 February 1915, the journey back to Kāshgar was by
way of Singer, Ying-p'an, and along the glacis of the Kuruk-tāgh to Korla. From
here to Kāshgar Stein travelled 938 miles in 55 days, along the foot of the T'ien-
shan range to Kuchā, through Ak-su and Marāl-bāshi, arriving at Kāshgar on
31 May.

At Kāshgar, 'my familiar base', the collection of antiques was repacked—a long
and tedious business—for their 'long and difficult journey across the Kara-koram
to Ladāk and thence to Kashmir'.

This done, Stein now made arrangements for his long-projected journey over
the Pamīrs—the 'Roof of the World'—towards the Trans-Caspian railway, north-
eastern Persia, and Sīstān, 'by the route which the ancient silk trade may be
assumed to have followed'. Permission to pass through Russian territory had
been obtained from the Russian Government by the Foreign Department of the
Indian Government.

As this fresh expedition, fully reported in Innermost Asia, did not furnish any of
the paintings reproduced in this work it is not proposed to record its progress here.

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