Description
The journey described in these pages was carried out in the year 190001, under the auspices of the Government of India. Its main object was the systematic exploration of ancient remains about Khotan and in the adjoining parts of the great desert of Chinese Turkestan. The fresh materials thus brought to light for the study of the early history and culture of those regions were so extensive that his full scientific report must, by reason of its bulk and cost, necessarily remain beyond the reach of the general public. The author has therefore gladly availed himself of the permission accorded to him to publish independently the present narrative, which is intended to record for a wider class of readers his personal experiences and observations, as well as the main facts concerning his antiquarian discoveries. The idea of archaeological work about Khotan first suggested itself to him in the spring of 1897, in consequence of some remarkable antiquarian acquisitions from that region. He has spared no trouble to render his account of the latter accurate in its details and yet thoroughly intelligible to the nonOrientalist. It has been his hope to attract his interest to a fascinating chapter of ancient history which witnessed interchange between the civilisations of India, China, and the Classical West in that distant part of Central Asia, and which seemed almost completely lost to them. The book contains numerous illustrations to delineate the subject properly.
