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On Ancient Central-Asian Tracks : vol.1 |
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to the conditions of life that prevailed along it for centuries.
All that the finds and observations on the spot and the
interpretation of the hundreds of documents have disclosed
has been fully recorded in my Serindia. Glimpses at char-
acteristic ruins and brief references to the finds which they
yielded must here suffice.
On the edge of the bare gravel plateau along which the
westernmost section of the wall extended, there rose at vary-
ing intervals some of the best-preserved watch-towers (Fig.
84). They were invariably built solid, whether with bricks or
stamped clay, and on a base from twenty to about twenty-
four feet square; they tapered towards the top. This had
once borne a small look-out room or platform protected with
a parapet. In most cases the top could be reached only by
clambering up ropes, holes still visible in the brick-work
serving as footholds.
The position for the towers had invariably been chosen
with a sharp eye for the natural advantages which the
ground offered both for defence and for look-out. Hence
significantly enough the distances between the towers varied
considerably as the ground outside the line could easily be
kept under observation or not. In the same way advantage
was invariably taken of any elevated position which might
offer facilities for the transmission of optical signals. A care-
fully organized system of transmitting information by fire
signals at night and smoke signals by day was maintained
along the whole line. This is proved both by references in
the documents and by actual evidence of the materials
which I found provided for such signals.
Considering that two thousand years had passed since
those towers were built, I might well have wondered at
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578
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