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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books
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Sand-Buried Ruins of Khotan : vol.1 |
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the ground in the photograph opposite) had bleached and partly
effaced the fully exposed writing of the topmost tablets.
My first task was to put a guard over the place where Ibrahim
had scattered these precious finds, so as to prevent further injury
or abstraction. Then the men were set to work to clear the room
where he had first come upon them. It was an easy matter, as
the room measured only 14 by 16 feet, and the sand which covered
its floor was not deep. On the north side, near the eroded slope,
it only lay to a depth of about 2 feet, which increased to about
4 feet towards the south wall. While this clearing proceeded, I
had time to examine more carefully the character of the whole
structure. It was essentially one based on the use of timber, which
the forest land along the river and the plantations of 'Terek' or
white poplar subsequently traced at many points of the ancient site
must have supplied in abundance. Massive wooden beams, which
surprised my workmen by their thickness and perfect finish, formed
a kind of foundation. On this were set wooden posts about
4 inches square, which supported the roof and at the same time
served as a frame for the walls. These and smaller intermediary
posts, fixed at regular intervals of about a foot, were joined by light
cross-beams, of which some were still found in position. To this
framework was fixed a strong kind of matting of tamarisk branches
woven diagonally, which again was covered on each side with layers
of hard, white plaster of varying thickness. The walls had com-
pletely decayed where not actually covered by sand, but most of the
posts originally holding them, now bleached and splintered, still
rose high above the surface.
As the room was gradually cleared, about two dozen inscribed
tablets were found at various points of the original floor and on the
raised platform that flanked the fireplace on the west. There was
nothing to indicate whether they had been separated from the main
deposit of documents which Ibrahim had lighted upon in the recess
at the south-west corner of the room. The careful search which I
then made myself for the scattered remains of his find, resulted in
the recovery of no less than eighty-five tablets, and as the clearing
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12
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22
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32
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42
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52
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62
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72
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82
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92
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102
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112
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122
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132
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142
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152
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162
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172
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182
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192
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202
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212
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222
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232
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242
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252
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262
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272
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282
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292
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302
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312
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322
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332
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342
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352
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362
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372
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382
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392
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402
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407
408
409
410
411
412
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422
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432
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442
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452
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462
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472
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482
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492
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502
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512
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522
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532
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542
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552
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563
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573
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582
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