National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

first day of our stay. The 'stone gate' to which keen guides first took us at a
point about 2 miles to the east of the lower end of the oasis proved, indeed, only
a chalky rock with a natural fissure closed by a large block, behind which local
imagination pictured treasure. But when I was subsequently guided across the
stony peneplain to the debris area, here also known by the name of the 'Forty
Daughters', situated about a mile to the north-east of the uppermost point of
the oasis, I soon recognized remains of a distinctly ancient site. It lies by the
left bank of an affluent of the Aiminī stream which descends from an eastern
portion of the Lāshār range, and less than a mile farther up supplies irrigation
for the fields and date-palms of the outlying hamlet of Magūn.
The debris area, covered with stones from completely decayed walls of
dwellings and plentiful potsherds, stretches for about half a mile from north-east
to south-west with a width scarcely less. Near the southern end there rises to
a height of some 80 feet a rocky hillock, the slopes and top of which are covered
by the much-decayed remains of stone-built walls of ruined dwellings. The
narrow crest, about 110 yards long, is crowned by modern sangars. These stone
breastworks were erected during a time when fighting was carried on with Dōst
Muḥammad Khān, the late ruler of Bampūr. The pottery comprises a fair pro-
portion of painted ware, decorated with designs in black, pink, and buff, closely
recalling patterns found on ware of British Balūchistān sites which I have pro-
visionally classed as 'late prehistoric'.² The specimens, Fan. Q. 57, 64, 66, 67,
76, 85, 89, reproduced in Pl. XXV, will help to illustrate the resemblance.
This is further strengthened by the association of this painted ware with plenty
of 'ribbed' and relief-decorated pieces, such as Fan. Q. 1, 4, 5, 15, and 7, 12,
respectively (Pl. XXV). Among the plain ware fine fragments showing a dark
terra-cotta slip, well polished, also deserve notice.³ On the other hand, very few
fragments of glazed ware, including some of ninth- and tenth-century types, could
be found, and these, too, mainly on the fortified hillock. The occasional occupa-
tion of this portion of the site, owing to its advantages for defence, is likely to
have continued down to late times.
A site of familiar character was found at a place known by the significant
name of Dambān, and situated on the left bank of the Rāmpk stream, about
4 miles west-north-west of Fanūch. There a succession of roughly constructed
cairns extends close to the edge of a terrace overlooking the bed of the small
stream and bordered on the other side by the foot of a low rocky hill chain. I