1928,1022.3
Overview
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figure
Date
750 to 860
Find site
Measurement
height 9.3 centimetres, width 5.2 centimetres
Language / script
Description
Scope and content : Clay votive plaque. The ovoid plaque shows a Buddha seated before a mandorla and on a lotus throne. His hands are held in his lap in the Dhyana mudra (meditation pose). The whole object is very roughly done, so details are hard to discern.
Institution
Historical information
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Find site identifier
MazTa.
Stein site number
M.Tagh.07
Find site description
The Tibetan army built this fort when they occupied the area in the mid-8th century AD. On top of a hill overlooking the Khotan River in otherwise flat land it is in a excellent strategic position, controlling the route from Khotan to the south to the kingdoms of the northern Tarim. Many of the Tibetan woodslips and other items which survived from Tibetan times were discovered among the piles of rubbish from the stable block which still cover the slope below the fort. There is a small shrine next to the fort, hence the name Mazar-tagh or 'Hill of the shrine'.
Short description : A military fort from the Tibetan period.
© British Museum
The British Museum Reproduced by kind permission of the Trustees of the British Museum