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

5. A. It was built on the same principle as 5. B and 5. C. Length 2.3 m., width at the
middle 42 cm. Ox-hides had covered the lid, and the wood looked very fresh. Most
of the coffin was filled with sand, and it contained no objects. The corpse was
apparently dragged out through the open end, and such objects accompanying it as
were of no interest to the plunderers were left lying around. There we picked up ob-
jects such as a small basket (5. D: 2), the rear part of a reed arrow-shaft with three-
winged feathers (5. D: 3), two complete and two fragmentary arrow-shafts with
two tufts of feathers and decorated with small incised triangles (5. D: 4—7), one
half of a wooden object that has been wound round with strings, Pl. 8: 9, the two
halves of an object in the shape of an animal's leg, Pl. 8: 3, a long feather wound with
red wool probably a part of the adornment of a head-dress, and several bunches of
cut Ephedra twigs tightly wound with woollen yarn, Pl. 11: 6. The latter as well as the
two last-mentioned wooden objects must have some symbolical or ritual significance,
which will be discussed in the following.

*Coffin 5. E.*

Near the western side and the southern end of the big palisade a coffin of the
same kind as 5. A was buried in an E—W direction lying between an oar-shaped
monument and a big pole. Only the western end of the lid was intact. Length of
coffin 2.4 m., width at middle 40 cm., height 30 cm.
The corpse was not totally destroyed by the plunderers; for instance, were the
mummified legs and the footgear still in place, the latter was taken by us as a sample
(5 E: 2), being of the typical shape. They had been tied with long, thick cords of
brown wool. The mantle was of coarse brown wool. It has two short red stripes
just like the mantle in 5. A. At the right side of the corpse there was a red-painted
arrow, Pl. 7: 11, too crooked to have been suitable for shooting which would seem
to indicate its symbolical meaning. Grains of wheat, twigs of Ephedra, a second
arrow, and the wooden object Pl. 8: 4 were also recovered from inside the coffin.
The legs of the corpse were hairy (brown colour), and below each knee was tied
a string.

*Coffin 5. F.*

Immediately to the west of coffin 5. E was another coffin situated in N 60° W—
S 60° E, the head placed towards the last-mentioned direction. Length of coffin,
which was identical with 5. A, 2.6 m., largest width at top 45 cm., height of side
boards 35 cm. The eastern end had been opened by treasure-seekers, and half of
the lid was gone. It had been covered with hides. The head was missing on the
poorly mummified corpse, which was wrapped in a coarse grey mantle. Near the
upper end the edge was tied into three small bags, two of which contained Ephedra

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