1076 
THROUGH ASIA 
stable, with three stalls, i:|;, i|, 2^ feet wide respectively. j 
Altogether there were forty-nine slabs of slate, propped 
up edgewise one against another like a “house” built of 
playing-cards. The slab at the back was nearly 4^ feet 
long, and gf feet high, and overtopped the others in a 
picturesque fashion. The portion that projected above the 
roof of the structure was without any in.scription ; but 
every part of it was completely covered with ideographs 
or letter-sions both large and small. Outside it were 
other slabs, some as much as 5 feet long. All the slabs 
were quite flat, not much more than one-third of an inch 
thick, and of a dark green colour. It was astonishing how 
they could have been quarried out of the adjacent date 
mountains in such a flawless condition. The roof of the 
“stalls,” 2 feet above the ground, consisted of four slabs 
each 7|- feet long, so that they projected beyond the ten 
pieces which made the gable-ends. The front looked 
straight down the valley, that is towards the south-east. j 
The letters or ideographs, which varied from f to 4 inches 
in height, had plainly not been chiselled out, but had been ^ 
impressed upon the slate with some sharp, pointed in- 
strument; otherwise the brittle tablets — they were only 
like children’s school-slates — would not have stood the 
process. The letters were a light grey colour, and hence 
w'ere easily distinguishable against the dark green back- 
ground of the slates. 
Close beside the obo were some soot-blackened stones, 
together with charcoal and ashes, showing that nomads 
had been there not long before. Further, we discovered 
a rectangular tomb and a footpath leading to it ; and 
concluded that the place was probably an object of 
pilgrimage. 
I wms again confronted with the same question as 
before — What was it these silent stones could tell me ? ( 
In all probability the information they conveyed w^as of 
a religious nature. But whatever it was, it would no 
doubt possess some degree of interest. Perhaps it related 
some incident w’hich happened there ? At any rate the 
inscriptions must be copied ; I could get them deciphered 
I 
