File:Ruins of desert Cathay - personal narrative of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China (1912) (14803017983).jpg

Identifier: ruinsofdesertcat01stei (find matches)
Title: Ruins of desert Cathay : personal narrative of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China
Year: 1912 (1910s)
Authors: Stein, Aurel, Sir, 1862-1943 Archaeological Survey of India
Subjects:
Publisher: London : Macmillan
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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to be kept under their original fastening in order that incase of need their validity might be established in court.As long as the clay seal impressed in the centre of thecovering tablet, and the string passing under it and holdingthe under and covering tablets tightly together, remainedunbroken, all chance of tampering with the text written onthe inner surfaces was precluded. Here was a large seriesof documents exactly in the same condition, carefullyhidden away as deeds, bonds, and the like would be, andall of them bearing docketings which were clearly not ofthe usual address style. Were they deeds or agreementswhich the official residing in the house had in safe keeping,or did they refer to land or property of his own ? Only a full decipherment of the documents, not to behoped for till years hence, could give the answer. But inthe meantime I noted that the very exceptions seemed tosupport my conjecture. For when late that evening Iexamined the two letters on wood which alone in the
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^ o Q - o f CH.XXIV KHAROSHTHI TABLETS 283 whole series had turned up open, I found that both wereprivate letters addressed in due form to the HonourableCojhbo Sojaka, whose sight is dear to gods and men.That this worthy officer had resided in the house I hadalready ascertained, from the address invariably borne bythe office orders on the wedge-shaped tablets whichhad come to light in such numbers during the afternoonfrom above the floor of the same room. I wondered whatthe contents of those two letters might have been to induceCojhbo Sojaka to keep them along with the deeds, etc., aspapers of value. I felt like a real * treasure-seeker as I extracted in thegrowing dusk, and later on by the light of a candle, onewooden document after another. But as the operationrequired much care in order to save the clay sealings fromany risk of damage, I realised that my task could not befinished that night. So in order to protect the depositagainst any attempt at clandestine digging on the part of

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