Evening star., 1901-12-14
CHINESE TURKESTAN.
Cities Buried Under Land Reveal An
cfent Civilization.

Cities Buried Under Land Reveal An
cfent Civilization.
From the London News.
In interview with Reuters representa-
tive, DR.. NJ. A. Stein, who is returning to
India this week after making a preliminary
arrangement of the remarkable finds
brought to light during his recent expedi-
ton in Chinese Turkestan, said that the
cursory examination that has so far been
possible within the short time available re-
veaIs in a striking manner and for the first
time many points bearing on the culture
and daily life of localities which for many
centur;es-some for nearly 1000 years
have been buried under sea of sand and
whose history has hitherto been practically
a blank. Speaking on this point DR.. Stein
said:
"a full investigation of the sculpture
freSco painting, objects of industrial art and
seals, etc, which were dug out Of the tenn
pies and dwelling houses of sand-buried
sites Will help us to resuscitate the civflfza-
ton of region which has played an i'm
portant part in history as the link between
ancient China, India and the classical west.
Now for the first time have been brought to
light some aspects of the everyday life, the
home industries and arts of the inhabitants
Of the villages and settlements of Chinese
TurkeStan which were abandoned in the
early centuries after the beginning of the
Christian era, and have since been buried
under moving sand dunes. AS showing the
extent to which the desert had advanced 1
may say that some of the settlements / eX-
cavated are situated fully a hundred miles
beyond the edges of the present cultivated
area. The great lifeless desert is naturally
regarded with much superstition by the
people who live in the scanty settlements
along the desert edge, and the difficulty Of
carrying sufficient supplies and water has
luckily kept the native 'treasure-Seekers'
from visiting and exploiting the more dis
Cif
which have now been systematically eXplor-
ed for the first time under the auspices of
the Indian government No doubt can be
entertained" continued the doctor, that the
inhabitants of these places were in posses
sion of culture mainly derived from In
dia, and that they were Buddhists. My ex-
cayations go to prove that their culture was
highly advanced, and that the art influences
of Greece and Rome were felt even at that
great distance from the centers Of classical
culture. Khotan is l should say, about
half way between Pekin and western Eu-
rope. Possibly the most striking eXcava-
tions I made were at a site in the heart of
the desert north of Niya, where one settle
ment was exposed, covering with fits scat
tered dwelling houses and Shrines an area
of about six miles by four. Until digging
began all that was visible were weird
looking rows of bleached timber pieces
projecting in various places like the frame
work of q wrecked ship from between the
sand dunes. Even with all the interesting
work on hand the utter desolation of the
place made itself felt most keenly during
prolonged stay, and the uncanny surround
ings specially affected my people.
''Of special interest were the refuse heaps
which we unearthed near some ruined
houses, once apparently tenanted by village
officials-kinds of waste paper baskets
containing hundreds of documents, beauti-
fully written on wooden tablets and care
fully tied and sealed. Owing to the pre-
seryative nature of the sand many of these
were in splendid condition-the ink as black
and the seals and string as perfect as If
they We're only few weeks old AS these
documents are in a known Indian script
their deciphering can be expected to reveal
in a fascinating manner many of the de-
tails of the ancient village life.