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

Inner Asia. The development of this art is dependent on the presence or absence of
rock faces suitable for the reception of the figures. Thus it is hopeless to expect to
find any rock pictures in the granite hills in regions with desert climate, as the sur-
face of this kind of rock is much weathered and easily peels off.

2. SHINDI.

A. Watch-station.

On the top of a small hill at the mouth of the Shindi river or Buyantu-bulaq there
are some very small remains of a watch-tower guarding the entrance to the valley
from the north. Stein has already observed this small ruin. At the foot of the hill,
on the SW side, there are traces of quarters. A square wall, totally covered by
earth, is 4×4.7 m. At a depth of 50 cm. there was a layer containing few pieces of
charcoal, animal bones and horse droppings. The walls had been built of brushwood.
Several houses were lying close together. In one room were found remains of the
fallen-in reed roofing, and a hearth made of three stones placed edgewise, filled
with charcoal and ashes. Some cows' bones were also found in this room.
When studying a photo of the place I discerned a low rampart surrounding the
whole place to form a compound. This wall is so low and decayed that I did not
notice it when on the spot.

B. "Tash-öi".

High up on the mountain-side to the west of the Shindi river and not very far
south of the village, Abdurahim showed me a 'Tash-öi' (stone hut). The main
structure is shown in Pl. XIX b. As seen on the plan Fig. 38 it consists of a rectan-
gular enclosure, open towards the precipice on the eastern side. A smaller room,
which has the south wall common with the enclosure, has about one metre high walls
of slate slabs joined with mortar. The outer wall is a dry-stone wall. Inside the
door at the eastern side of the room there was a hearth of small stones and earth,
23 cm. in diam. and about 25 cm. below the surface. The loessic earth was inter-
mixed with ashes to a depth of 70 cm., and also contained a few animal bones.
In front of this main structure but about 8 m. below the SE corner there is a
small outwork. About 40 m. east of the main structure and about 15 m. below
there are remains of a shelter with two (three?) rooms in a row, close to a steep
cliff. Here I found a couple of potsherds in a layer of ashes, charcoal and animal
bones which reached 50 cm. below the floor.
On a level with this house and straight below the outwork mentioned above I saw
some remains of masonry strengthened with logs and branches.

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