Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-22
TURKESTAN EXCAVATIONS
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES
IN THAT REGION.
Manuscripts in Many Ancient Ian
guages Uncovered in This Rich
Field by German Explorers.
From the London Morning Post.

| From the London Morning Post.
| There has just returned to Berlin DR..
| A. Won lie Coo, the head of the small
| scientific party dispatched by order Of the
| German emperor to Chinese Turkestan in
| September, 1904, to carry on the work of
| excavation in and around the town of Tur-
fan commenced by Prof. Albert Grunwedel
| of the Berlin chronological Museum. The
| town of Turfan is situated in, roughly
speaking, latitude Az N. and longitude So
f, near to the volcano Of the same name,
| and in the extreme northeast of Chinese
Turkestan apparently on the route by
| which Persian and Indian influence
travelled toward China and Japan.
Examination of the Finds"
The results Of this expedition have
greatly exceeded all expectations. and
when properly sifted and examined by
expects possessing the necessary quaifi-
cations will probably rank as the most
important discoveries in Central Asia since
those Of Layard and Rawlinson. The
finds" are contained in about 200 large
cases, all of which are said by this time
to have arrived in Berlin, and obviously
some time will have to elapse before all
these can be thoroughly examined and
their contents made known in detail. For
the most part these discoveries consist Of
manuscript In at least ten different lam
guages and paintings on hardened mud,
plaster, and wood.
From the cursory examination that has
so far been made 1t seems certain that
these discoveries will shed considerable
light upon hitherto dark places in the his
tory Of early days. principally OF the eighth
and ninth centuries. Of Central Asia.
Chief interest in these discoveries CEN
tiers around the manuscripts, the majority
of these being written in the following
languages, or notifications Of them: Ma
gari, Brami 1.-TWO dialects), Chinese Tibe-
tan, Tangut Syriac, Manicharean, Uighur
and Turkish In addition there are several
in tongue that is declared to be utterly
unknown. These last will probably attract
the notice and interest Of ethnologists
Throughout the world. Apparently this
ing definite on this subject can be stated
at the moment.
Languages Represented.
Among the languages represented there is
much to interest the student and the man Of
science. The Tangut tongue, for instance,
is dialect formerly in existence in Tibet,
and certain traces of it are still to be dis
covered in the language spoken today in and
around Lhasa. Hitherto the only specimens
of writing known to exist in this tongue
are believed to be few inscriptions carved
on rock. The characters bear strong re-
semblance to ancient Chinese, but the pres
ent discoveries should add enormously to
the rather scanty knowledge Of this tongue
that previously existed Some of the Syriac
manuscripts run 10 COHsiueldp-e 'ch6eii oho
are in almost pure Persian, some of them
bearing clear indication OF HISTORIAN In
fuence. 1t will be seen therefore, that the
very fact Of these many and diverse writ
ings in so many languages being found In
one place-and this a spot so inhospitable
and desolate-in itself opens up very
wide question, and around which consid-
cradle controversy Is likely to take place
during the next few years. Further, it
may be added that though, has previ-
ous,y been mentioned, most of these manu-
scripts must date back to the eighth and
ninth centuries, If not even earlier, there Is
no papyrus among them, all being written
on parchment two or three kinds Of Chi
nese paper leather.