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

> > > >
Color New!IIIF Color HighRes Gray HighRes PDF   Japanese English
0176 On Ancient Central-Asian Tracks : vol.1
On Ancient Central-Asian Tracks : vol.1 / Page 176 (Color Image)

New!Citation Information

doi: 10.20676/00000214
Citation Format: Chicago | APA | Harvard | IEEE

OCR Text

CHAPTER VI

THE NIYA SITE REVISITED AND THE REMAINS OF ENDERE

When I left in February 1901 that fascinating ruined site
beyond where the Niya river is now lost in the sand, it was
with a firm wish and hope for its further exploration. So a
fresh visit to it was duly planned and prepared by the time
when my second expedition had, at the close of the summer
1906, brought me back once more to Khotan, as related
above in Chapter III. I had often thought in the interval
how great a help it might be if a search could be made from
the air for more ancient dwellings hidden away amidst the
dunes. But neither the use of a man-carrying kite nor of a
balloon could be thought of for obvious practical reasons,
which would equally have applied to the aeroplane if it
had then been invented. So I had arranged for my former
'treasure-seeking' guide Ibrahim to go out to the site as
soon as the summer heat had passed and to try tracing ruins
that had before escaped us.

When, after prolonged excavation work in the vicinity of
Domoko between Khotan and Keriya, I had reached the
Niya oasis again by October 15, 1906, it was encouraging
to learn from Ibrahim that his search had been fruitful.
Equally pleasing it was to see how readily my old Niya
diggers rejoined me. I was resolved this time to take out as
96