Innermost Asia : vol.1 / 289 ページ（カラー画像）

0289	Innermost Asia : vol.1
極奥アジア : vol.1

Camp 121.⁷ It clearly proves, as already pointed out in Serindia, that a wide belt of ground here,
stretching from west to east, must have been fit for at least nomadic occupation during a prolonged
period in prehistoric times. A variety of physical circumstances connected with the effects of
wind-erosion makes it impossible to draw definite conclusions as to the chronology of this pre-
historic occupation.⁸ But there can be no doubt that it presupposes the presence of running water Prehistoric
in the several ancient river-beds traced here, though not necessarily in all of them at the same occupation.
period. The considerable geographical interest of these ancient river courses, which the surveys
of my second and third journeys in the Lop Desert have shown to be all derived from the Kuruk-
daryā, has been briefly indicated already in Serindia and will claim our special attention farther on.⁹

It is from this geographical point of view that particular importance attaches to the definite Occupation
antiquarian evidence furnished by the exploration of the L.M. site. This evidence, as recorded contem-
above, clearly proves that a regular settlement, approximately contemporary with the Lou-lan porary with
station L.A., must have existed at the site during the early centuries of our era. That it was at that of L.A.
least partly agricultural cannot be doubted, considering the character and distribution of the ruins
and the fact that cereals have been picked up at one of them.¹⁰ It is equally certain that the settle-
ment obtained its water-supply from the river course, the dry bed of which was clearly traced within
the area occupied by the ruins.

That this water came from the Kuruk-daryā was established by the discovery made by Afrāz- Ruins L.R.
gul a year later, on his journey from the Chainut-kōl lagoon to the Yārdang-bulak springs at the and old
foot of the Kuruk-tāgh. An abstract of the observations recorded by him on this journey is river-bed
given below in Chapter XX. But it will be convenient to anticipate here the result of the search NW. of L.M.
that he made, in accordance with my previous instructions, on March 9, 1915, for other ruins in
the vicinity of L.M. Starting from our old camping-place near L.M. III he made an extensive
reconnaissance to the east and north-east without coming either upon ruins or dry beds. But
after resuming his original direction of march to the north-west for about two miles he found a group
of three dwellings substantially built in timber and wattle after the manner of those at L.M. In
two of these ruins, as his sketch-plan of L.R. showed, the arrangement of the quarters was still
partly traceable. But the rooms left exposed held much sand, while others to the west appeared
to be completely covered by it. Afrāz-gul, having only three companions and little time to spare
in view of the trying desert crossing before him, was unable to clear any of the quarters. But the
small objects in bronze, iron and glass (see List under L.R.) which were picked up on the eroded
slopes near them clearly show these ruins to be of the same date as L.M. A mile beyond the ruins,
Afrāz-gul's farther route to the north-west crossed a well-marked river-bed about 100 yards wide
with a depth attaining to 50 feet, but partly filled with dunes. As his plane-table survey shows
(Map No. 29. c. 4), this old river course was last seen by him winding from north to south-east
at a point about 2 miles from L.R. Farther on, high dunes covered the ground to an increasing
extent and observation of underlying features became very difficult or impossible.

When considered in conjunction with what the examination of the ground from near L.K. Southern
has shown us, the supplementary evidence thus gathered at L.R. appears to me to prove con- limit of
clusively that a string of small sites stretched, in the early centuries of our era, from L.R. to L.K. Kuruk-
along a line nearly ten miles in length. These clearly mark a southernmost extension of the Kuruk- daryā delta.
daryā delta which, in the period preceding the abandonment of the Lou-lan Site and of the early

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