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| 0366 |
Innermost Asia : vol.2 |
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vaulting. The enclosing walls are of very solid construction and even near their top fully 6 feet
thick. At some points the circumvallation has been strengthened by oblong bastions. Apart
from small rooms built in places against the enclosing wall, the interior contains a number of
detached structures, all badly decayed. Most of these are of oblong shape and divided into rooms
of small size ; but a few at the north-eastern end are irregular ovals. Fig. 388 shows the rough
masonry of these structures, which, no doubt, served as habitations when regard for safety com-
pelled occupation of the fort. That the period of occupation was not continuous may be concluded
from indications of repeated repairs. Local tradition ascribes the fort of Hissār, like the other
defences to be noticed farther on, to ' Kāfir ' occupants of Wakhān, i. e. to pre-Muhammadan times.
Antiquity In spite of the hardness of the mud plaster in which the rough slabs of stone are set, it would
of walls. be difficult at first sight to credit this statement of great age, were it not for the extreme aridity
of the Wakhān climate, which equals that of Sarīkol.⁴ It must also be borne in mind that the con-
struction of the walls here, as at the other old Wakhān strongholds examined, rough as it looks,
is yet distinctly superior to that found in the houses or rather hovels occupied by the present popula-
tion. Here, as at the other sites, I was strongly reminded of structural features made familiar to
me by the many ruined dwellings scattered on the hill-sides in Swāt and in neighbouring parts of
ancient Gandhāra. These undoubtedly belong to Buddhist times, and for the most part show
masonry quite as rough. Yet climatic influences on the Indian North-west frontier are undoubtedly
far more destructive than those to which the ruins of Wakhān are exposed. Unfortunately at none
of these sites was it possible to secure coins or other datable relics.⁵ What scanty pottery debris
could be picked up at Hissār did not include any decorated articles. But some of the plain potsherds
showed a fine brownish surface and well-levigated clay, such as are unknown to modern local manu-
facture. To the question who are meant by the ' Kāfirs ' to whom local belief invariably attributes
these ruined fastnesses, I shall have to return farther on.⁶
Ruined fort About a mile to the west of Hissār lies Zang (about 9,700 feet above sea-level), which comprises
of Zangibār. some forty households and is the largest village on the Russian side of Wakhān. Its terraced
fields and tree-hidden homesteads stretch along a broad glen well watered by springs. To the west
of Zang a steep spur rises to close on a thousand feet above the village, and at its southern extremity
bears the ruins of a small fort forming an irregular oblong of about 60 yards by 25 and known
as Zangibār (Fig. 395). The interior, as the sketch-plan in Pl. 46 shows, is filled with the remains
of dwellings built, like the enclosing walls, of unhewn stone slabs. Up to a height of about 6 or 7
feet these are set in fairly uniform courses with hard mud plaster, while above them much rougher
stonework indicates later repairs. A small square bastion projecting on the northern face and
provided with loopholes appears to have been originally an isolated tower to which the rest was
subsequently added. The villagers attributed the construction of the fort to ' Kāfirs ', but
acknowledged that during their fathers' times it was occasionally sought as a place of refuge when
raids of Kirghiz or Shughnānis threatened. The absence of pottery debris suggested temporary
occupation for short periods only.
Wakhī The scarcity of land capable of irrigation under existing conditions, together with the oppres-
emigration. sion prevailing on the Afghān side of the valley, accounts for the numerous Wakhī emigrants to
be found nowadays to the south of the Hindukush.⁷ Most, if not all, Wakhīs belong to the Ismailia
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