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

ch'êng or ' Stone Town ' of the T'ang Annals.² Similarly as regards an earlier period, I have
shown it to be very probable that the town of I-hsün 伊 循, which in the Han Annals and
in Li Tao-yüan's commentary on the Shui-ching is mentioned as a chief place of the kingdom of
Shan-shan or Lou-lan and the site of a Chinese military colony established in 77 B. C., must be looked
for within the present oasis of Charkhlik.³

Ancient
remains at
Charkhlik. Though the length of my renewed stay at Charkhlik was directly due to the practical difficulties
above referred to, I was fortunately able to apply it also to profitable archaeological work. Within
the oasis itself, indeed, the only ancient structure traceable, beyond the remains already described
in Serindia, was a small mound of solid brickwork, about 15 feet in diameter and situated near
the centre of the ruined circumvallation or sipil. By its shape and the large size of its sun-dried
bricks, about 18″ × 9″ × 3⅜″, it suggested the base of a Stūpa. As it was adjoined on two sides by
modern dwellings no closer examination was possible. But to the south of the cultivated area
I was able to explore two small sites that had before escaped my attention, and these proved of
some interest. Both had been visited in 1910–11 by Mr. Tachibana, the Japanese traveller, and
the remains of both showed evidence of having been superficially searched in places.

Following the right bank of the main bed of the Charkhlik river for about a mile beyond the
southern edge of the present cultivated area, I reached a small ruined enclosure known as Koyumal,
standing on the bare, gravel-covered, alluvial plain. Its much-decayed walls, built of sun-dried
bricks about 8 feet thick, appear to have formed a somewhat irregular quadrangle of which the
eastern face measures approximately 218 yards (see plan, Pl. 8). As the west wall had been carried
off completely by an encroachment of the river, the lengths of the other sides could not be exactly
determined. It therefore remains doubtful whether the enclosed area was intended for a square
or an oblong. Near its centre rise the remains of what undoubtedly was a Stūpa base, 28 feet
3 inches square, to a height of about 14 feet. The sun-dried bricks used for its masonry measured
as elsewhere 17 × 9 × 4 inches. A passage, a little over 4 feet in width, was traceable on the north,
south, and east between the Stūpa base and a much-decayed enclosing wall (see inset, Pl. 8).

Site of
Koyumal. On the west there stood, at a distance of about 9 feet from the base, what appear to have been
two small Vihāra chapels, each about 20 feet long and 9 feet wide ; between them stairs about
8 feet broad seem to have led up to the foot of the Stūpa proper. But as all the masonry to the west
of the base had decayed to within a foot or so of the floor level, the constructive details could not
be determined with certainty. The remains of five small niches, separated by stucco pilasters and
each retaining the feet of a standing stucco figure, could, however, be traced along the east wall of
each chapel (Fig. 111). In the niche nearest to the north side of the stairs the legs of a robed figure
in stucco were preserved up to the knees, i. e. to a height of 14 inches. In each of the chapels there
survived near the foot of the stairs an oblong pillar base in wood, measuring about 16 inches by 10,
with a raised circular socket.

Remains
recovered
at Stūpa. From the debris covering the floor of these chapels numerous fragments of painted plaster
emerged (Koy. I. 05–46), which had undoubtedly once formed part of a large floral background
in the mural decoration. Most of the fragments show lotus-petal or acanthus-like imbrications.
The fragment of painted wood marked Koy. i. 03, showing plant motifs, may possibly have
belonged to one of the wooden pillars of which the bases were found in situ. Among several
fragments of carved wood may be mentioned one from an open-work detail, Koy. 01 (Pl. XVI),
and part of a gilded right hand, of life-size and well modelled, Koy. I. 02 (Pl. XVI), which, by the
clearly shown web between the fingers, is proved to have belonged to a Buddha figure. Among
the stucco relief fragments, some of which may have belonged to the figures already mentioned,