国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

chirāgh a couple of miles farther on was found to comprise a loop-holed enclosure
with a decayed keep within. This ruin, too, is not likely to date back farther than
the last two or three centuries. More interesting was a visit to the large arq
of Bam (Fig. 54), once considered the strongest fortress of Persia. Since its
abandonment in the last century it is slowly crumbling to ruin. The picture pre-
sented by the interior, closely packed with vaulted mud-brick houses in all stages
of decay, was suggestive of the process through which many an ancient town of
Īrān is likely to have passed before finally being reduced to a mere mound.
On April 23rd the arrival of lorries dispatched by the British Consulate from
Kermān allowed us to leave Bam after a hearty farewell to the Sultān Āghā
Ḥusain Anṣārī, the ever-obliging and helpful commandant of our escort. He, too,
felt gladdened by the prospect of reaching a cooler climate and enjoying a good
rest at Khwāsh after the eleven desert marches which still lay before him and his
hard-tried men. There was nothing of interest to detain us on the road, which,
as far as Mahūn, passed almost wholly over wastes of gravel and stone. But as
our lorries, owing to constant break-downs, did not manage to cover the 140
miles or so to Kermān before 6 a.m. on the day following our start, we had
ample time to become familiar with certain aspects of modern travel on the high
roads of Īrān.
At Kermān we had a very hearty welcome from the late Mr. E. Richardson,
the officiating British Consul, who, though seriously ill, had kindly arranged
comfortable quarters near the Consulate for the accommodation of our party.
This allowed us to make full use of our time for the careful repacking of our
antiquities and for many other matters which needed attention before our start
westwards. Visits to the Governor-General of the province and to the Com-
mandant of the military forces were intended to assure needful facilities to Sur-
veyor Muhammad Ayūb Khān for his reconnaissance surveys during the summer.
In addition to their intrinsic topographical value, these surveys were intended to
furnish guidance for the archaeological work I wished to resume by October.
The pressure of work necessary for the completion of our arrangements left
little time for a close examination of the ruined fort of Qal'a-i-dukhtar (Fig. 53),
which rises on a steep rocky ridge above Kermān town and forms a very con-
spicuous feature in the landscape. The suggestion of an exact survey did not
meet with encouragement on the part of the local authorities. But since Dr.
Fābri's and my own visit to the ruined stronghold did not disclose any definite
evidence on the surface of pre-Muhammadan occupation this difficulty gave less
cause for regret. Local tradition, reproduced in historical texts, attributes the
construction of the castle to Ardashīr Pāpakān, the founder of the Sasanian
dynasty. The massive remains of structures crowning the hill are built with