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

wise wholly barren valley. From there I proceeded, on November 27th, to visit the ruined hill Ruined
fastness of Ghāla-kōh, of which I had first heard from my host, the Naib of Dastgird. It proved stronghold
a distinctly interesting site of undoubted antiquity. Starting from our camp near the southern of Ghāla-
end of the oasis at an elevation of about 4,000 feet, we moved SE. up the gentle scrub-covered kōh.
gravel glacis of the range for about 5½ miles to the foot of the bold isolated peak of Ghāla-kōh.
It had stood out as a conspicuous landmark throughout the previous day's march. Ascending
by a steep rocky path above the narrow gorge through which the much-eroded slopes drain south-
ward, we arrived, half a mile farther on, at a small spring just below the steep NW. scarp of the
mountain, at an elevation of about 4,800 feet. From there the ascent, made trying by the steepness
of the slope and the masses of loose rubble covering it, leads up, as the sketch-plan in Pl. 51 shows,
towards the northern end of the rugged crest. At a point about 400 feet above the spring our guide,
an old herdsman familiar with the ground, first pointed out remains of a walled-up bridle-road which
had once led up to the top. Higher up we came upon frequent traces of well-graded terraces over
which this road had been carried. In places the outer revetment wall still stood to a height of
about 8 feet.

Where this track, recalling the so-called 'Buddhist roads' across the Malakand and other passes Approach to
into the Swāt valley, reaches a narrow terrace on the northern extension of the mountain top at hill-top.
a height of about 5,800 feet, we passed a small cistern, about 8 feet across, excavated from the red
sandstone rock. From here the track zigzags up above precipitous cliffs to the rocky crest, and
follows this right up to the northern wedge of the triangular top of the mountain. Along this last
portion of the ascent the slope is thickly strewn with loose stones, the remains of disintegrated
rough masonry. On the top, for which the aneroid indicated a maximum height of about 6,200
feet, the remains of ruined structures are found in three groups as shown by the sketch-plan
in Pl. 51.

These structures are all composed of small rooms arranged mostly on a quadrangular plan. Ruined
They are built throughout of rough stonework set in plaster of cement-like hardness. The best- structures
preserved portion is a complex of quarters near the western angle of the area, i, comprising a number on Ghāla-
of rooms, from about 11 to 12 feet square, and a large rock-cut cistern within the court formed by kōh.
them. The outer walls to the east and north are here intact to about 5 feet from the present ground
level and show carefully arranged courses of masonry 1′ 8″ high, divided by layers of hard plaster
2″ thick. The thickness of the walls is 1′ 8″. In the court here, and also in other places, there were
found hard-burnt bricks, 8–9″ square and 2″ thick, lying among the stone debris. They may possibly
have served to collect and drain rain-water into the cistern. This is of oval shape, about 18 feet
along its longer axis and 12 across. Its rock-cut sides were originally faced with cemented stone-
work and an outer layer of hard plaster. Its present depth does not exceed 7 feet, but is obviously
reduced by the accumulation of debris. Smaller cisterns were traced also in two other places, ii, iii.
A line of quarters stretching along the southern face of the top, iv, was less clearly traceable, perhaps
owing to the steepness of the slope on which they were built. At the highest point the foundations
of what appears to have been a square tower, v, could be made out. At the bottom of a small
gully draining the plateau top to the NE., vi, a hollow, measuring about 21 feet by 15, has been
excavated in the rock, probably for use as a reservoir to hold water. But as there is no masonry
facing, this could never have been finished for use.

The very precipitous rock walls with which the mountain top falls off on all sides make Ghāla- Antiquity
kōh a natural fastness easy of defence. But the difficulty of access and still more the comparative of strong-
rarity of pottery fragments to be found there suggest that it probably served only as a temporary hold.
place of refuge and not as a place of permanent occupation. I had occasion to make the same
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