1899.] Introduction. xv 
remains of the city wall are still extant. The wall is from 10 to 12 
feet high, and is made of square unburnt bricks (20 X 20 X 4 inches). 
On most of these bricks one of the following marks is to be 
found, Other bricks, again, have on them the prints of 
the human foot. The section of the wall is shown in Woodcut No. 1. 
Only about 25 feet of the wall can now 
be seen. About the middle of it there 
is an opening which must have been once 
occupied by a gate. The ground out¬ 
side the wall is trough-shaped, and shows 
that Aq Sapil was once surrounded by a 
ditch. Near the gate and on the further 
side of the ditch, the remains of two towers 
(stupas?) are visible. They are filled with sand inside, and made of 
earth on the outer side. Regarding the interior of the city the remark¬ 
able thing is that although no houses are left, yet the thoroughfares and 
the places where the houses had once been can be easily distinguished 
on whatever spot has not been overwhelmed by the sand. 10 The ground 
occupied by the streets is particularly hard owing to its having formerly 
been constantly trodden upon, and the same observation applies to 
the interior of the houses, but the comparatively soft soil on which 
the house walls stood has been scooped out and forms a hollow. This 
curious fact may possibly be attributed to the action of sandstorms 
which have had less corroding effect on the trodden ground than on 
the once wall-protected soil. The whole of the interior of the city, 
where it is not covered with sand, is overstrewn with fragments of 
pottery. The ground at one spot has the form of a couple of reversed 
amphitheatres, there being two elevated circular stands, slightly 
hollowed out like ponds, surrounded by terraces descending in widening 
circles. This is illustrated by Woodcut No. 2. Treasure-seekers would 
appear to have worked a great 
deal amongst the debris of Aq 
Sapil as evidenced by the heaps 
of sifted earth, which may be 
seen here and there.” The 
exact spot where the manu¬ 
scripts M. 1, Set II were found 
by Islam Akhun is not known. 
It is only stated that “ the MSS. 
• 
9 These letters might be Kharosthi, and might mean da-di-de-sa. 
10 By way of illustration I may quote Dr. Bellew’s description of the sand- 
buried “ city of Nucta Rashid ” about 36 miles south-east of Yangi Hisar: “ It 
