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

Rows of dead Toghraks, prostrate or still upright, marked an ancient dried-up water-course Ancient
winding, at a distance of about half a mile to the south, with a general direction from south-west river-bed
to north-east. Fig. 145 shows some tamarisk-cones rising on eroded ground near this channel and and remains
still retaining here and there live bushes on their tops. Within the bed of the channel, about 25 beyond L.D.
yards wide and not more than 6 to 7 feet deep, a low growth of living tamarisks was also to be seen
in places. Afrāz-gul had found that the character of the ground, as Fig. 145 shows it, remained
much the same, as he proceeded eastwards, as far as his Camp xciva (Map No. 29. D. 3). On
his way there and on his farther journey to the north-north-east, he had picked up some fragments
of metal and stone (L.D.–L.G. 02–4, 017–20) as well as a dozen Chinese coins ; the latter include
a Huo-ch'üan piece, while the remainder are of the Wu-chu type, some retaining their inscription
but others much clipped.¹⁹ He had come across no structural remains beyond L.D. until about
three miles from Camp xciva, when he came upon the timber remains of a completely eroded
dwelling, L.G., on a Yārdang. The leg of a wooden food-tray which was found here, L.D.–L.G. 01,
closely resembles those recovered from the ancient burial-place to be discussed in Section III.
Beyond L.G. the ground changed from wind-eroded clay with remains of dead vegetation Foreshores
to a level flat of salt-encrusted soil or coarse sand. I was unable to visit this ground myself, but of dried
think it highly probable that we may place near L.G. the eastern limit of the area which, during up 'Salt
the early centuries of our era, shared the physical conditions prevailing around the Lou-lan Site L.A., Marsh'.
and was accordingly capable of permanent occupation of a settled type. It was near L.G. that
we were able to trace the easternmost extension of the Kuruk-daryā delta, in the shape of an ancient
river-bed. The salt-encrusted wastes that stretch farther east probably formed part of the barren
foreshores of the great 'Salt Marsh' ; and into this salt waste, as an early Chinese record discussed
elsewhere clearly shows, the waters that once filled the Kuruk-daryā beds used to empty themselves
in the period before the abandonment of the ancient route through the Lou-lan area.²⁰ With the
nature of this ground, more desolate even than the wind-sculptured desert of the ancient delta,
I was soon to become familiar farther to the north.

Section II.—MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS FOUND AT, OR NEAR,
LOU-LAN SITE L.A.

L.A. 01. Fr. of pottery vessel, in three pieces (joined),
with trumpet-shaped mouth and one small loop handle
(prob. two when complete), curiously flattened above and
below and evidently intended for suspension by a cord.
Round neck a zigzag band is roughly incised, and on
shoulder another line of single zigzag. Clay badly washed ;
black, burning dull red ; very hard. Diam. of mouth
4⅛″, h. 5⅛″. Pl. XXVII.
L.A. 02. Fr. of rectangular pottery framework
(several pieces now joined), made of bars forming a lattice
of holes 2″ sq. One corner and three squares intact.
Prob. 'pinjara' panel for building. Well preserved.
Length 12″, gr. width 4⅔″, depth 1⅜″ ; thickness of bars
⅜″ at back, slightly narrower on front. Pl. XXVII.
L.A. 03. Fr. of pottery, of indifferently washed clay ;
fine deep red colour. Burnt very hard. Well preserved.
3⅛″×1⅛″×⅛″.

L.A. 04. Back ridge of wooden saddle-tree ; in shape
an angular crescent, with one horn very short and broken
on upper edge. Drilled with four holes (one in each horn
and two in middle part), from which channels are worn,
on one side, to lower edge. Part of surface on under-edge
worn smooth and round by friction. Wood very hard.
Chord from horn to horn of crescent 11⅛″ ; h. in middle
3⅛″, at ends of horns 1⅝″ ; average thickness ⅝″. Pl. XVI.
L.A. 05. Fr. of bronze mirror. On back, plain raised
border ⅜″ wide, and within, one 'ripple' and fr. of scroll
band between two narrower rayed borders. Centre not
preserved. Good condition. Gr. M. 2″. Pl. XXIV.
L.A. 06. Fr. of sandstone hone, dark grey ; pointed at
end and flattened and worn at sides. 1⅞″×1⅜″. Pl. XXI.
L.A. 07. Pottery spinning-whorl ; circular disc, pierced.
Diam. 1⅜″, thickness ⅝″,

tion of the Lou-lan river in the 'Yu marshes', and for the
identity of these with the 'Marsh of Salt' or P'u-ch'ang lake
of the Shui ching and Former Han Annals ; also below, p. 293.