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| 0290 |
On Ancient Central-Asian Tracks : vol.1 |
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little scraping revealed the same fascines of reeds or brush-
wood. Before I reached our camp in the evening, I had
secured unmistakable proof that the watch-towers were
meant to guard a continuous border line. It recalled at once
those Limes lines with which the Roman Empire protected
its frontiers wherever barbarian inroads threatened them,
from Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland down to the Syrian
and Arabian marches.
It was a fascinating discovery which invited prolonged
exploration. The line could be followed two more marches
for a total distance of over fifty miles by the towers actually
passed on the caravan track or else clearly sighted at vary-
ing distances to the north. More imposing ruins, too, were
met as we moved on until the track towards the Tun-huang
oasis obliged us to turn off across the bare gravel plateau
to the south-east.
Before systematic exploration of all these remains in the
desert west of Tun-huang could be undertaken it was
essential to secure needful supplies and also labour for
excavations. So I now had to turn south to Tun-huang or
Sha-chou, the 'Town of the Sands', as its alternative name
of later origin appropriately calls it. The surroundings of
the small walled town of Tun-huang still showed plentiful
evidence of the terrible devastations the oasis had suffered
during the last great Muhammadan rising. It proved
difficult to obtain even a minimum of diggers from its
scanty and indolent population. But the two local man-
darins, both the scholarly magistrate and the military
commander, a dear old warrior, showed friendly interest
in my aims and did all they could to help me. So by
March 24 I was able to set out again for the desert with
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