1887.] J. F. Garwood —Ancient mounds in the Quetta District. 163 
antiquity, as that the mound must have been occupied by constant sue- 
cessions of people for an indefinite period. I am still quite puzzled to 
account for the presence of so many lumps of charred wood at con¬ 
siderable depths, most of them quite fresh and shewing the grain of the 
wood. From Sir Oliver St. John’s account the same peculiarity was 
noticed in the mound at Kila Abdullah. The charcoal of course migrht 
be of any age, being comparatively indestructible, but its existence in 
such large quantities in the aggregate is very puzzling. The buildings, 
I do not think, are likely to have been periodically destroyed by fire, as in 
some of the old Greek towns, and the presence of the lumps of charred 
wood is more probably due to some use the mound was formerly put 
to; but this of course is mere personal conjecture. 
The articles of interest, few in number, which we found in the 
Quetta Miri, have been sent to the Indian Museum at Calcutta. There 
are some fragments of pottery of an archaic type, which were found in 
the lower strata of the excavations, and also a ringstone and jasper 
corn-crusher, which the Museum authorities think are probably pre¬ 
historic. They were found on a low level, but higher than the Greek 
statue afterwards unearthed. There was also found a small bronze 
vessel which may be Greek; and at the lowest depth attained to, and 
near the centre of the mound in plan, a bronze or copper statue of 
Heracles, feet high, holding in his left hand the skin of the Nemean 
lion (see Plate X). The statue, which was much corroded but otherwise 
nearly perfect, was found standing nearly erect, bedded in hard clay. 
The ground below and around was carefully excavated to a distance of 
several feet, but nothing further was found except a few animals bones. 
At a medium level was discovered a small vase of common pottery, 
with angular markings in paint round the swell of the vase below the 
neck. I am anxious to find out the probable date of this vase, as Major 
Shepherd, R. E., found a lot of pottery with similar markings on it near 
Bellali (ten miles north of Quetta) in 1885. There is a large miri near 
Bellali, but in Major Shepherd’s absence in England I have not been able 
to ascertain whether it was in the miri or elsewhere that he found it. 
Nothing more of interest is likely to be discovered just now in the Quetta 
Miri, but in considering the comparative poverty of our findings in such a 
promising site, it must be borne in mind that the excavations only went 
down to a depth of 20 feet out of the total height of 80 feet of the mound, 
and anything of extreme antiquity would probably be found lower down. 
Our excavations having connected this district with the Greek period, 
at least ought to encourage others more competent to carry the investiga¬ 
tions of these mounds further, and Capt. Lock’s discoveries at Kila 
Abdullah in 1881 seem to have been even more interesting. 
