98 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 1 10 



eastern corner. Water apparently flowed into the reservoir both 

 through pipes and trough. 



In clearing the northern lateral pavilion of the palace, alabaster 

 was found, together with pieces of colored glass, parts of an alabaster 

 grating, and decorative, oval-shaped glass medallions (5-7 cm. in 

 diameter and 2-5 mm. in thickness) molded from green or reddish 

 glass. The pictures in relief on the obverse of these medallions refer 

 to eight different subjects : 



1. An eight-petaled rosette in a double circle, consisting of a center 

 and a row of closely set pearls. 



2. A medallion with a Kufic inscription, with floral ornament 

 around the letters and at the edges, the faint inscription reading either 

 "king" or "kingdom." 



3. The figure of an animal shown running to the left, encircled by 

 an Arabic inscription which reads "for the most high Sultan Abdul 

 Muzafar Bahram Shah" ; this inscription may refer either to the ruler 

 of Ghazni, Emin Addaula Bahram Shah or Masaud ibn Ibrahim 

 (1118-1157), or to Bahram Shah, the son of Imad ad-Dinam, ruler of 

 Termez in 1205. 



4. A bird of prey clawing some small animal to pieces. 



5. A bird of prey holding an animal in its claws. 



6. A lion in a circle. 



7. A woman standing beside a horse. 



8. A rider mounted on a horse, holding the reins in his right hand, 

 and with a hunting bird on his left hand ; the rider wears a crown 

 surrounded by a halo. 



Several of these depictions — the l)ird of prey clawing an animal, 

 the bird holding its prey in its claws, and the rider with a hunting 

 bird — are akin in subject to the pictures on ancient eastern metal ware 

 found in the vicinity of the Urals. 



One of the groups of the Termez Expedition was entrusted with 

 the task of making preliminary investigations on that part of the site 

 where piles of metal and ash promised interesting finds. The results 

 led to the surmise that this was an artisans' quarter, most probably 

 that of the metal craftsmen of Old Termez. Situated 550 paces from 

 the northeastern corner of the citadel, the metalcraftsmen's quarter 

 occupied an area of 8 hectares, on which there were traces of build- 

 ings of unburnt brick, streets, squares, and water reservoirs. Two 

 streets could be traced, one along the eastern and the other along the 

 southern boundary of the quarter. The street to the east divided the 

 quarter from the other section of the site, where the excavations 



