Sand Buried Ruin of Khotan 62 - North-west corner of excavated area at Yotkan, with entrance to 'yar' - Yotkan was the medieval capital and previous city prior to the shift eastward a few miles to build Khotan. The medieval city was completely destroyed and buried. In the late 19th century a chance flood of the river between them caused erosion and created a deep ditch or 'yar' in part of Yotkan. This revealed flakes of gold leaf from the medieval temples and set off a mad rush of prospectors. When the original 'yar' was exhausted the men rented land from the land owners and expanded the excavation - as seen here - Stein was not too interested in flakes of gold but highly excited to obtain any relics - potsherds, small statues, bronze items, and anything else of archeological value. |
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