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

On April 8, 1904, the hill was attacked simultaneously at two points—on the
plateau-shaped summit and on the northern declivity. At the height of +50 feet
there was laid out, in the direction of the longitudinal axis, a large excavation
25 feet wide by 42 feet long, with two exits for the removal of the débris. By
means of terracing this was sunk to the level of +21 feet 2 inches, and was named
the upper digging. By means of a shaft sunk from this level (shaft C), it was
possible to determine the culture-strata in the heart of the hill to the depth of — 20
feet. On the northern declivity of the hill an excavation was made (terrace A),
15 feet wide by 30 feet long, and sunk to +21.25 feet; but here there appeared
sloping layers, owing to the transition from the summit of the hill to the tongue-
shaped extension above mentioned, while the strata were horizontal in the upper
digging. Therefore, in the course of our observations, terrace A was necessarily
of importance in the problem of the relation existing between the tongue-shaped
extension and the hill itself.

To settle this question, an excavation was laid out 10 feet wide by 22 feet
long in an east-west direction on the northwest edge of this extension and called
the "outer digging." At a depth of — 1 foot a terrace was made and the excavation
was continued to −4 feet. It was shown by this excavation that the plateau had
been formed during the youngest period of the development of the hill and that
it corresponds to the uppermost layers of the hill.

On the other hand, horizontal strata were more to be expected in those declivi-
ties which were steeper and where the hill had been subjected to greater deformation
through the external influence of sun, rain, and wind than on the north side.
Therefore, on April 11, a third excavation, 19 feet wide, terrace B, was made on the
southern declivity. The horizontal layers of the heart of the hill came to light
immediately after the removal of the superficial loose earth. The exposure on
April 15 of a threshold lying in situ at +27.5 feet, and on April 18 of a child's
skeleton at a level of +25 feet, prompted an extension of the excavation. Terrace
B was widened toward the outside and deepened. Simultaneously a third terrace
(C), 22 feet wide, was started at another point to the southeast. Both places
were destined to become the most productive points opened.

Terrace B yielded seven skeletons, vessels in situ, a peculiar quadrangle
or chest of clay, and lastly, below these, at the level of +20 feet, more or less
well-preserved walls of sun-dried bricks.

In terrace C, between +26 feet 2 inches and +18 feet 5 inches there were
found in several layers, lying one below the other, hearths and ashes, a skeleton
grave, and the remains of a pithos in situ.

On the whole, the analogy of the finds in both terraces to the northern kurgan
seems complete. Dwellings built one above the other contained skeleton graves;
but the whole culture equipment pointed to a younger age than that of the north-
ern kurgan.

The lowest culture-strata of the southern kurgan, like those of the northern
one, could be examined only through shafts. This purpose was served by shaft C
in the upper digging; by shaft A, which was begun on April 13, on the southern