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| 0314 |
Sand-Buried Ruins of Khotan : vol.1 |
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the excavated area, the banks worked immediately below the
houses of Khalche, where the proceeds in antiques, such as
terra-cotta figurines, seals, &c., are richest, show a "culture-
stratum" 13 to 14 feet thick. It is evident that this varying
depth is due to the different length of the periods during which
particular localities were occupied, and to the different character
of the uses to which they had been put. The frequency of pottery
fragments and of bones also varies at different points.
But in one respect all portions of the "culture-strata" exposed
show a regrettable uniformity: nowhere did I come upon traces of
remains of buildings, nor could I hear of such having been found
during previous excavations. This is easily accounted for by the
fact that, owing to the total absence of suitable stone, sun-dried
bricks and clay supplemented by timber must have been in old days,
just as now, the only obtainable materials for the construction of
houses in the Khotan region. Whatever of the mud walls of build-
ings had not crumbled into dust, was bound to decay completely in
the course of the centuries during which the site was taken up for
cultivation and the soil kept constantly moist by the percolation
of irrigation water. The same fate overtook whatever of the wood
once contained in the buildings had not been extracted and utilised
by successive occupiers of the soil. It might have been different
if the old town had been overwhelmed by some sudden catastrophe
and its site left deserted. Then we should expect to find under
the ruins the original materials preserved in a recognisable form.
But there is nothing to support the assumption of such a catastrophe.
The strata containing the old remains are everywhere covered
by a considerable layer of alluvium from 9 to 20 feet thick at
various points. This layer, which by its light colour is easily
distinguished from the "culture-strata" below and is absolutely
free from remains indicating subsequent occupation of the site,
interested me greatly. Some of the earlier European visitors
to Yotkan have hazarded the assumption that the thick cover of
earth under which the relics of the old town are hidden was due
to a great flood, and they accordingly attributed its destruction to
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