96 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. IIO 



the Amu-Darya River. Ancient written sources do not mention this 

 place, but judging by the facts that the ruins cover an extensive area 

 and that the artifacts unearthed here are of skilled workmanship, 

 this must have been a settlement of considerable size. The site com- 

 prises an elevated portion (250 x 100 m.), bounded on three sides 

 by D-shaped, clay walls ; the fourth side is contiguous with the steep 

 bank of the Amu-Darya. The ruins of the settlement, also enclosed 

 by walls, are directly adjacent to this elevated portion of the site. 



The excavations were concentrated on the southwestern part of 

 the elevated portion of the site. Several buildings, belonging to a single 

 edifice, constructed of large, unburnt bricks were unearthed here. 

 Those chambers in which a sculptured cornice, fragments of reli- 

 quaries, and of an alabaster statue of Buddha were found during the 

 first excavations on the site undoubtedly served for cult purposes. 



The adjacent premises, with several hearths and large clay pots 

 (khumi) for storing food and water, constituted in all probability the 

 sanctuary kitchen. Two floors, dating from different periods, were 

 unearthed in this sanctuary. Parts of the walls between the two 

 floors were covered with a fine layer of alabaster plastering, differing 

 greatly from the rough clay plaster still preserved above the upper 

 floor. 



Thus, two different periods have been established for this building, 

 the first of which was dated by a bronze coin of an unnamed ruler, 

 referring to the first century of our era. Excavations carried on at 

 a still greater depth beneath the lower floor brought to light cultural 

 strata attributed to the latest centuries before our era, in which thin- 

 walled pottery of dark-rose clay coated in red engobe, fired-clay tiles, 

 one of which is stamped' with a picture of a deer, were found. 



The excavations and the material raised to the surface at Airtam 

 yielded a large number of fragments of clay vessels; thick-walled 

 khumi, fired-clay kettles for boiling food, jugs, plates, bowls, saucers, 

 conical vessels for lampions, and other forms. The prevailing type 

 was engobe pottery of brown, cream, and red tones, for the most part 

 without ornament, often superbly burnished and made of a thin mass 

 of clay ; there were also specimens of colored, varnished pottery. 



The ornaments found on the pottery fall into five categories: 

 stamped, molded, burnished, painted, and incised. The majority of 

 the vessels had been made on a potter's wheel. In several parts of 

 this site were unearthed fragments of pottery-firing ovens and a large 

 mass of clay slag, testifying to the extensive development of local 

 pottery manufacture. 



In addition to a rich collection of pottery fragments, the investiga- 



