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

pitched within easy reach of the extensive old site, noticed by previous travellers,
the survey of which was to close our season's work in the field.

Following from Hūkird the steep bank of an ancient riverine terrace north-
ward for a mile the south-eastern extremity of a great debris area is reached.
The site is locally known as Shahr-i-Dāqianūs, by the name which Muhammadan
legend connected with the story of the Seven Sleepers ascribes to many a ruined
site of Asia.³ It stretches, as the sketch plan (Plan 16) shows, for fully 2½ miles
to the north-west along the edge of the terrace overlooking the flood-bed of the
Halīl Rūd. Its greatest width from east to west is close on a mile. Near the
south-eastern end of the site and adjoining the precipitous bank of the terrace I
was able to trace the remains of a roughly quadrangular circumvallation, marked
by much decayed ramparts, and of a wide fosse running outside three of the
sides. Judging from the masses of small burnt bricks overlying the ramparts,
solid brick walls must have formed part of the defences. This circumvallation,
measuring about 470 by 400 yards, obviously represents a citadel, or arq, within
the town.

Broken pottery and fragments of burnt bricks, together with rough stones
evidently from decayed structures, thickly cover the ground within a radius of
about half a mile from the outside of the fort, except on the side towards the
river, where the narrow belt below the terrace bank is occupied by the fields and
walled date plantation of Kehru hamlet. A portion of the debris-covered ground
has been brought under cultivation by the people of Behkird, whose huts occupy
mounds rising above the general level of the debris area at a distance of about
1,000 yards from the fort. Beyond this the cover of debris becomes gradually
thinner; but pottery is found for a mile farther to the north-west, right up to
another portion of the village of Behkird. Above this, by the bank of the river,
rises a low ridge of gravel bearing the conspicuous ziārat of Shu'aib.

It is clear that the site is that of a considerable town, and from the abundance
of decorated glazed pottery and relief-ornamented ware it can be concluded with
certainty that it was occupied right down to the period of Mongol domination.
Judging from the relative thickness of debris it appeared to me very probable
that the area extending for half a mile or so to the north and west of the fort had
been the most populous portion of the town. The rest of the pottery-strewn
ground is likely to have been occupied by suburbs and isolated residences, such
as are still to be found nowadays around most cities of Persia and India.