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

rosette stamped from bronze sheet. Drilled through centre. Diam. ¾″. 017. Small bronze ring. Diam. ¼″, width 3⁄32″. 018. Fr. of cast bronze buckle. Edges chamfered on outer side, stopped near corners, which are square. 1 1⁄16″×1⁄8″. 019. Fr. of thin bronze wire ring. Diam. ½″.

N. 021. Bronze arrow-head, with three cutting surfaces arranged round tapering tubular centre. Each blade barbed at lower end. Tubular centre pierced with long triangular slits between the barbs. Well made; well preserved. 1¼″×¾″. Pl. XXIII.

N. 022. Strip of bronze, doubled upon itself; four holes drilled in the single corners, and two larger holes in each doubled half. 1″×1⅛″.

N. 023. Small bronze (?) disc, with broken loop for hanging. Completely corroded. Diam. ¾″.

N. 024. Fr. of metal ornament (?) of very irregular shape; two small cones connected by their broad ends by arched stem from which rise two excrescences. From point of one of the cones extends a wire (broken off). All much corroded; prob. silver. ⅞″×⅞″.

N. 025. Fr. of cast-iron cauldron, with one claw-shaped foot, and loop handle placed horizontally and inclined upwards. A band formed by two slightly projecting lines, 1″ apart, runs round just below handle. Horizontally the form is circular and approximately 12″ in diam. Vertically, globular, rather flattened. Surface oxydized and burnt below. Cf. N. xli. 01, Pl. XXVII. Span of handle 4″. Gr. M. 8¼″.

N. 027. Rectang. double-tablet; brought by Ibrāhīm to Khotan, opened. Cov.-tablet (6⅝″×3 1⁄16″): Obv. seal cav. (2¼″×1¼″), strings and sealing lost. Traces of 1 l. Khar. across one end. Rev. 5 ll. Khar., uppermost almost effaced. Under tablet: Obv. 8 ll. Khar., mostly clear. Rev. blank. One corner broken off but writing almost intact. 9″×3 1⁄16″×¼″ to 1″. Wood hard and clean. Pl. XVIII.

OBJECTS EXCAVATED AT RUIN N. III

N. iii. 01. Square billet of wood, deeply channelled on one side; perhaps a bolt. Rather perished and split. 4¼″×1⅛″×1⅛″. Pl. XVI.

N. iii. 02. Fr. of wood; orig. prob. square in section; now one side split off, and broken at one end. Two intact edges chamfered. Weathered. 7⅛″×2⅞″×2″.

N. iii. 03. Loop handle of large pottery vessel, with potsherd attached. Loop approximately semicircular on curved wall or neck. Red clay, fairly clean and well burnt. Length 6¼″, breadth 3¼″. Outer diam. of handle at body 4″, projection 2¼″, breadth 1⅝″, thickness ⅝″. Pl. XXVII.

N. iii. 04-5. Two specimens of apple wood; 05 with bark on. Gr. fr. (05), 1″ 4⅛″×2¼″.

N. iii. 06. Wooden scantling, probably from building. Plain, oblong section; with tenon 2⅛″ long, 2¼″ deep, and 1¼″ wide, projecting from one end. One edge roughly levelled. Good condition. 2′ 2¼″×7¼″×3⅛″.

N. iii. 07. Carved wooden baluster or short pillar, with tenon at each end for fitting into rail or base. One end of shaft globe-shaped, the globe drawing into neck cut in simple round moulding, and expanding again into short circular head cut back flat on top. At other end same shape repeated, but globe elongated. Short plain neck or groove, ¾″ long, between the two. Roughly cut. Wood hard, but much cracked. ll. of whole, with tenons 2′ 2″, without 1′ 8¼″; diam. of globes c. 7″, of necks 4″ to 3″. Pl. XV.

N. iii. x. 1. Rectang. cover-tablet; with very deep seal cav. Obv. seal cav. (1⅝″×1 5⁄16″×1″), strings and seal lost. Faint traces of 2 Khar. chars. in one corner. Rev. blank. Wood hard and well preserved. 6¼″×4″×¼″ to 1¼″.

N. iii. x. 2. Wedge cover-tablet; hole through pointed end. Obv. 1⅛″ from sq. end, seal cav. (1 5⁄16″×1 3⁄16″); seal lost but strings preserved in orig. crossings. Between seal and sq. end, 5 or 6 Khar. chars., faint. Rev. blank. Wood hard and well preserved. 9¼″×1 3⁄16″×c. ⅛″ to 7⁄16″.

N. iii. x. 3. Rectang. cover-tablet. Obv. seal cav. (1⅝″×1 7⁄16″), strings and seal lost. 2 short ll. Khar. across one end: first chars. chipped off, with edge of tab.; otherwise well preserved. Both ends look as if they had borne earlier writing which has been shaved off. Rev. blank. 5 7⁄16″×3″×c. 7⁄16″ to 7⁄16″.

N. iii. x. 4. Rectang. under-tablet. Obv. 9 ll. Khar., slightly obscured by sand-encrustation. Rev. blank. 8⅝″×3⅛″×⅛″ to 1″. Pl. XVII.

N. iii. x. 5. Rectang. under-tablet. Obv. 8 ll. rather fine small Khar., considerably sand-encrusted, but clear underneath. Rev. blank. 7¼″×2¼″×⅛″ to ¼″. Pl. XVIII.

N. iii. x. 6. Rectang. under-tablet. Obv. 10 ll. Khar., almost effaced. Rev. blank. Wood in good condition. 7¼″×3 1⁄16″×¼″ to 7⁄16″.

N. iii. x. 7. Rectang. cover-tablet; chipped at one end. Obv. seal cav. (1⅝″×1¼″), strings and seal lost. One l. Khar. across one end, and short line (word) of 2 or 3 chars. below. Rev. blank. 6¼″×3⅛″×1⁄16″ to 7⁄16″.

N. iii. x. 8. Rectang. cover-tablet, with deep seal cav. Obv. seal cav. (1 5⁄16″×1″×⅝″), seal lost, traces of strings preserved in place. Faint traces of 3 (?) ll. Khar. across one end, almost effaced by white discoloration. Rev. blank. Wood hard and in good condition. 5 1⁄16″×2⅝″×3⁄32″ to ⅝″.

N. iii. x. 9. Tablet made of a cleft stick, with bark trimmed off, ends roughly pointed and one end pierced. On flat side, one short l. Khar., faint, near unpierced end. Rounded side, blank. 9″×1⅛″×(gr. thickness) ⅝″.

N. iii. x. 10. Rectang. under-tablet. Obv. 8 ll. Khar., somewhat blotted in places. Rev. blank. Probably belonging to N. iii. x. 14. 6″×2¼″. Pl. XVII.