1898.] M. A. Stein — New inscriptions discovered by Major Deane. 3 
ments themselves and the grouping on the map of their places of 
origin have suggested to me. 
In a separate notice I intend to discuss the few short Sanskrit 
inscriptions in Qarada characters which have reached Lahore along 
with those in unknown characters. 
The order in which the inscriptions have been shown in the follow¬ 
ing list, is chiefly based on topographical considerations which will be 
explained below. I have indicated for each inscription or group of 
inscriptions the information received regarding it from Major Deane, 
but have reserved further details regarding the position of the find- 
spots for the succeeding remarks. In each case it has been shown 
whether the stone itself or only an impression has been received. For 
purposes of subsequent reference I have given in brackets the numbers 
which the inscriptions bear in the Museum Catalogue or in my own list 
of impressions. The plates accompanying this paper show the inscrip¬ 
tions reduced, according to a simple scale, to one-half, one-fourth or 
one-eighth of the original. The actual size of the characters and of the 
written surface of a stone can thus be ascertained with ease and 
accuracy. 
In the case of all stones deposited in the Museum and in that of a 
number of impressions, the reproductions given in the plates have been 
prepared from photographs which my friend Mr. F. H. Andrews, 
Principal of the Mayo School of Arts, and Curator of the Lahore 
Museum, has most kindly placed at my disposal. For the help thus 
rendered I wish to record here my sincere obligation. 
M. Senart’s remarks, l.c. pp. 13 sqq., have already made clear the 
serious difficulty which is caused by the impossibility of determining 
in most cases the position intended for the inscription, i.e., what is to 
be considered as its top or foot. For a few inscriptions (Nos. 39, 40, 43, 
53) Major Deane has indicated the original position, and this point 
has accordingly been noted in the list. For the great mass of the 
stones and impressions, however, no direct evidence of this kind is 
available. I have accordingly been obliged to follow M. Senart’s 
example and to arrange the reproductions on the plates either with 
reference to certain peculiarities in the shape of the stones which 
suggested a particular position, or by the still less safe guidance of the 
direction of writing which the characters themselves seemed to me to 
exhibit. As I have as little as my learned predecessor succeeded in 
finding conclusive evidence for any inscription as to the direction in 
which the characters are to be read, it is scarcely necessary to point 
out that the position in which all these inscriptions are shown on the 
plates, is purely conjectural. 
I 
