2G0 A. Cunnningham —Belies from Ancient Persia in Gold. [No. 3, 
middle in very hold relief is represented a man riding a Sea Lion, or Lion 
with a Fish’s tail. The photograph is only one half of the original size. 
On Greek and Phoenician coins the Hippocamps or Sea-Horses, are 
usually represented with wings,* unless when attached to the Car of 
Poseidon. But I can find no examples of Sea Lions. These animals, 
however, are found in the old Indian sculptures of the Asolta Buddhist 
Railing at Mahabodhi, or Buddha Gaya.f There are no holes or loops of 
any kind on the back to suggest what may have been the possible use of 
this large plaque. The other plaque with the representation of a hunting 
scene (already published with my second notice, p. 64) has four holes near 
its middle boss, as if for the purpose of fastening it by nails to some plain 
back ground. The Sea-Lion plaque might perhaps have formed the breast 
ornament of a king’s or noble’s dress, such as is seen on an Assyrian royal 
robe in the sculptures of Nimrud. [See Rawlinson’s Ancient Monarchies, 
Vol. I, p. 399.] But there are no holes round the edge by which it could 
have been sewn on. 
The third gold ornament is an Antelope represented in the act of 
leaping, with its forelegs doubled up, and its hind legs outstretched. See 
Fig. G of Plate XXI. It weighs 3,020 grains, and its intrinsic value is 
about 350 Rupees. The photograph is only one half of the original size. 
The hind legs rest upon an upright flat tablet, one inch and a half in height 
and one inch broad, with a highly ornamented border on each face. There 
is an oblong hole under the stomach, half an inch by one quarter, which 
looks as if it had been intended for the insertion of some slight staff or 
handle. In this case it might have been carried in the hand as the symbol 
of some order, just as the Fish (or Main Maratib) is carried at the 
present day. 
After the above had gone to press, I met a man at Simla who has 
several times visited the spot where these Oxus relics were found. The 
place is one stage to the North of the Oxus, and is called Kaivadian, a large 
ancient town on the high road to Samarkand. The guess that I made in 
my first paper on these relics that the find-spot was the old town of 
Kobadian of the Arab Geographers turns out to be correct. I have heard 
also that the owner of the land has now sold the right of exploration to a 
single speculator. 
* Due de Luynes, Satrapies, PL XV, figs. 44—45 and XV, 46. 
t Archaeological Survey of India, Yol. Ill, PI. 29. 
