Ancient Khotan : vol.1 / 127 ページ（白黒高解像度画像）

0127	Ancient Khotan : vol.1
古代コータン : vol.1

images, appear to have taken the place, *mutatis mutandis*, of the chapel courts which surround
the Stūpas of numerous ruined Vihāras in ancient Gandhāra, e.g. Jamālgarhi, Takht-i-Bahi,
Rānigaṭ, and show rows of statues, each placed in a separate niche or small chapel. The
publication of more detailed information, which may now be expected on the basis of Professor
Grünwedel's researches, will, I hope, permit us to form a definite opinion on this point ¹⁶.

Scattered over the area between the Stūpa and the mound just described are the remains
of two small square cellas, marked *D*, *E* on the plan, and of another small building, *C*, of oblong
shape. The low crumbling walls show masonry of sun-dried bricks. Those of *D* and *E* measure
outside 26 and 18 feet, respectively, on each face, while the third has a width of 15 feet. The
size of the bricks is approximately the same as noted in the Stūpa. The ruin of a fourth
small structure, *F*, forming an oblong of 27½ by 21 feet, and containing two rooms, occupies
a somewhat lower gravel terrace to the south of the Stūpa, separated by a narrow ravine
from the end of the ridge. None of the little buildings preserve indications of their original
use, whether as chapels or habitations for attendants; nor did their examination furnish guidance
as to the date of the Mauri-Tim ruins. Ancient Chinese copper coins are said to turn up in the
vicinity, but no authentic finds came to my notice. That the ruins go back to pre-Muhammadan
times, is, of course, quite certain, and is fully recognized by local tradition, which sees in the
'Gumbaz', i.e. the Stūpa, the watch-tower of the fabulous 'King of Chin and Māchīn' who
resided in the 'ancient city' of Hāsa-Tam before Hārūn Boghra Khān destroyed it.

Before closing my account of the ancient remains in the neighbourhood of Khān-ui, I must
refer to a curious structure situated on the barren 'Dasht' some three miles to the south-west
of Mauri-Tim (see Fig. 17). Walls built of clay cast in moulds, and showing a perceptible
inward slant, form an oblong, of which the western and eastern faces measure about 23 feet,
and those to the north and south about 22 feet. The walls, which still rise to a height of
16½ feet above the ground, are 3½ feet thick, and clearly show horizontal layers, about 1⅓ feet
in height, corresponding to the wooden moulds in which, after the fashion still prevailing throughout
Turkestān, the clay used in their construction was stamped. The foot of the walls, especially
at the corners, has, as the photograph shows, suffered damage owing to the erosive action of
the wind-driven sand. The structure does not appear to have ever been roofed, nor was it
provided with a door, access to the interior being now obtained by a narrow hole cut into the
east wall.

The name *Kaptar-Khāna*, 'the Pigeon House', by which the ruin is popularly known, is
derived from the little niches, surmounted by pointed arches and looking like pigeon-holes,
which line the whole of the inner sides of the walls. They are arranged in six rows, each
row containing 15 holes on the western and eastern sides, and 13 holes on the shorter sides
to the north and south. Each hole is about 11 inches high, with a width and depth of 10 inches,
and appears to have been originally intended for the reception of human bones; for the ground
inside is thickly strewn with bones, and has, according to the local information received by me,
always been seen in this condition. Nothing at or near this desolate structure afforded evidence
as to its date, though the relatively good preservation of the walls seems to preclude the assumption
of great antiquity. Its shape and apparent purpose curiously recall a columbarium. Neither
Buddhist custom as developed in India nor Muhammadanism would allow of such a disposal

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