Innermost Asia : vol.1 / 321 ページ（カラー画像）

0321	Innermost Asia : vol.1
極奥アジア : vol.1

Section III.—RELICS OF AN ANCIENT BURIAL-GROUND

During the four days we had so far spent with our base established at the Lou-lan station, Atmo-
the weather had favoured our labours. The temperature had indeed kept very low, with minima spheric
down to 44 degrees F. below freezing-point. But the cold, in the absence of any wind except conditions.
occasional gentle breezes from the north-east, was not felt severely, and the clearness of the
atmosphere had made reconnaissances easy. For most of the time the barren southern hill ranges
of the Kuruk-tāgh showed their reddish-brown outlines quite clearly to the north, above the yellow
expanse of Yārdangs and the grey flat of the gravel glacis. On the evening of February 12th
and again on the following morning I could also make out distinctly the snowy heights of the
K'un-lun far away to the south, stretching apparently from the vicinity of Bāsh-kurghān to the
head-waters of the Jahān-sai.¹ This encouraged me greatly to hope that it might be possible later
on, either in this or the subsequent winter, to obtain 'rays' with the theodolite to previously triangu-
lated points in this section of the northernmost K'un-lun range and thus to secure a base for
extending our triangulation from that side right across the Lop desert to the Kuruk-tāgh.

Unfortunately Lāl Singh was not with us to take advantage of atmospheric conditions favour- Arrival of
able for the measurement of angles with the theodolite. His prolonged absence from our appointed Lāl Singh
rendezvous was causing me serious anxiety. The big bonfires I caused to be lit evening after delayed.
evening at the top of the ruined Stūpa in order to help in locating our camp failed to produce
any sign of his approach from the side of the Kuruk-daryā. Whether this delay was due to diffi-
culties of transport encountered on the desert journey or to the effect of direct Chinese obstruction,
the uncertainty as to his progress seemed seriously to threaten the execution of my further plans.

This weight of doubts could not, however, be allowed to interfere with my immediate task, Start for
the exploration of the ancient remains to the north-east, revealed by Afrāz-gul's successful recon- exploration
naissance, and for these I decided to set out on February 15th. The camels, it is true, were not to NE.
expected to return from their rest at Āltmish-bulak for another three days; but the lack of trans-
port animals was not permitted to delay our move. A couple of Loplik labourers whom the preced-
ing fatigues and hardships had brought on the sick list were left behind at our base under the care
of faithful Ibrāhīm Bēg, who would also keep an eye on our ice depot. The rest of the men were
taken along and just sufficed to carry the minimum of indispensable baggage and the necessary
supplies of food and ice.

Our march, which started at daybreak on a cloudy and somewhat windy morning, was made March to
easier by the fact that its direction to the north-east was more or less parallel to the general trend L.C. Mesa.
of the Yārdang terraces. These for about a mile were very sharply sculptured and rose to 12 feet
or more in height. Farther on their height somewhat diminished, and in the gradually widening
trenches between them I noticed the appearance of coarse, almost gravel-like sand, which supplies
a most effective instrument for the relentless erosive action of the winds. Like the small pieces
of gypsum and fragments of chalk which soon began to be frequent, it had been obviously carried
here from ground farther away to the north-east. Small pieces of pottery were plentiful for a dis-
tance of about two and a half miles from L.A., and small fragments of bronze and a few stone imple-
ments (L.A.–L.C. 01–9) were also picked up en route. Beyond an old bed marked by fallen
Toghraks half a mile farther on, the Yārdang terraces were found singularly bare of remains
of dead vegetation, while potsherds were still occasionally met with in small patches. Finally the
pottery debris became again more abundant as after about six miles of march we approached the
conspicuous terrace, L.C. (Fig. 158), where Afrāz-gul had come upon indications of ancient burials.

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

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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

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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