Editing Aurel Stein (section)

=== The four expeditions ===

[[File:AurelSteinWithDog.jpg|thumb|left|Photograph of Aurel Stein, with his dog and research team, in the [[Tarim Basin]]]]

Stein made four major expeditions to [[Central Asia]]—in 1900–1901, 1906–1908, 1913–1916 and 1930.<ref>''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. 15th Edition. (1977). Vol. IX, p. 547.</ref> He brought to light the hidden treasure of a great civilization which by then was practically lost to the world. One of his significant finds during his first journey during 1900–1901 was the [[Taklamakan]] Desert oasis of [[Dandan Oilik]] where he was able to uncover a number of relics. During his third expedition in 1913–1916, he excavated at [[Khara-Khoto]].<ref name="Wang">{{cite book | title=Handbook to the Collections of Sir Aurel Stein in the UK | editor1-last=Wang | editor1-first=Helen | editor1-link=Helen Wang | editor2-last=Perkins | editor2-first=John | year=2008 | publisher=[[British Museum]] | isbn=978-086159-9776 | issn=1747-3640 | pages=42–44 | url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/Stein%20Handbook%20final(131108)a.pdf | access-date=4 July 2009 | archive-date=7 October 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007095210/http://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/Stein%20Handbook%20final(131108)a.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref> Later he explored in the [[Pamir Mountains|Pamirs]], seeking the site of the now-lost [[Stone Tower (Ptolemy)|Stone Tower]] which the 2nd century polymath [[Ptolemy|Claudius Ptolemy]] had noted as the half-way mark of the [[Silk Road]] in his famous treatise ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dean |first=Riaz |title=The Stone Tower: Ptolemy, the Silk Road, and a 2,000-Year-Old Riddle |publisher=Penguin Viking |year=2022 |isbn=978-0670093625 |location=Delhi |pages=130–31, 164–67 |language=English}}</ref>

[[File:Map of Central Asia from Serindia, Vol. 5, p. 98.jpg|thumb|Map of Taklamakan from Stein's ''Serindia'' 1921, vol. V.]]

[[File:Stein Letter BLAR4 MSSEURF302 51 FF13 18 16 17.jpg|thumb|Letter from Aurel Stein to [[Rudolf Hoernlé|Rudolf Hoernle]] from Kashgar. Dated 25 May 1901.]]

The [[British Library]]'s Stein collection of Chinese, Tibetan and Tangut manuscripts, Prakrit wooden tablets, and documents in [[Khotanese language|Khotanese]], [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]], [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]] and Eastern Turkic is the result of his travels through central Asia during the 1920s and 1930s. Stein discovered manuscripts in the previously lost [[Tocharian languages]] of the [[Tarim Basin]] at [[Miran (Xinjiang)|Miran]] and other oasis towns, and recorded numerous archaeological sites, especially in [[Iran]] and [[Balochistan (region)|Balochistan]].

When Stein visited [[Khotan]] he was able to render in Persian a portion of the [[Shahnama]] after he came across a local reading the Shahnama in [[Turki]].<ref name="Mirsky1998">{{cite book|author=Jeannette Mirsky|title=Sir Aurel Stein: Archaeological Explorer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q3YKfArws2QC&q=turki+merchants+gifts&pg=PA146|date=1 October 1998|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-53177-9|pages=146–}}</ref>

During 1901, Stein was responsible for exposing forgeries of [[Islam Akhun]], as well as establishing the details and the authenticity of manuscripts that had been discovered before 1896 in northwest China.<ref name="sims"/>

Stein's greatest discovery was made at the [[Mogao Caves]], also known as "Caves of the Thousand Buddhas", near [[Dunhuang]] in 1907. It was there that he discovered a printed copy of the ''[[Diamond Sutra]]'' which is the world's oldest printed text, dating to AD 868, along with 40,000 other scrolls (all removed by gradually winning the confidence and bribing the [[Taoist]] caretaker).<ref>Deuel, Leo. 1970. ''Testaments of Time'', p. 459. Baltimore, Pelican Books. Orig. publ. Knopf, NY, 1965; [http://www.caxtonclub.org/reading/2011/nov11.pdf "Collecting Aurel Stein"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603070620/http://www.caxtonclub.org/reading/2011/nov11.pdf |date=3 June 2016 }}, ''The Caxtonian'' Vol. XIX, No. 2, November 2011.</ref> He took 24 cases of manuscripts and 4 cases of paintings, decorated textiles (such as the ''[[Miraculous Image of Liangzhou]]'') and relics. He was knighted for his efforts, but Chinese nationalists dubbed him a burglar and staged protests against him, although most others have seen his actions as at least advancing scholarship.<ref>Jacobs, Justin (2010) [https://www.academia.edu/772652/Confronting_Indiana_Jones_Chinese_Nationalism_Historical_Imperialism_and_the_Criminalization_of_Aurel_Stein_and_the_Raiders_of_Dunhuang_1899-1944 "Confronting Indiana Jones: Chinese Nationalism, Historical Imperialism, and the Criminalization of Aurel Stein and the Raiders of Dunhuang, 1899–1944"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925030849/https://www.academia.edu/772652/Confronting_Indiana_Jones_Chinese_Nationalism_Historical_Imperialism_and_the_Criminalization_of_Aurel_Stein_and_the_Raiders_of_Dunhuang_1899-1944 |date=25 September 2023 }}, pp. 65–90 in ''China on the Margins''. Sherman Cochran and Paul G. Pickowicz (eds.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dean |first=Riaz |title=The Stone Tower: Ptolemy, the Silk Road, and a 2,000-year-old Riddle |publisher=Penguin Viking |year=2022 |isbn=978-0670093625 |location=Delhi |pages=128–29 |language=English}}</ref> His discovery inspired other French, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese treasure hunters and explorers who also took their toll on the collection.<ref>Larmer, Brook (June 2010) [https://web.archive.org/web/20100522094318/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/06/dunhuang-caves/larmer-text "Caves of Faith"], pp. 136–138, National Geographic Magazine.</ref> Aurel Stein discovered 5 letters written in Sogdian known as the "Ancient Letters" in an abandoned watchtower near Dunhuang in 1907, dating to the end of the Western Jin dynasty.<ref>{{multiref2|{{cite encyclopedia |title=Ancient Letters |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=December 15, 1985 |last=Sims-Williams |first=N. |pages=7–9 |volume=II |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ancient-letters |access-date=19 April 2023 |archive-date=13 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013140041/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ancient-letters |url-status=live }}|{{cite web|url= https://kimon.hosting.nyu.edu/sogdians/items/show/851|title= Sogdian Ancient Letter II|last= Keramidas|first= Kimon|website= NYU|publisher= Telling the Sogdian Story: A Freer/Sackler Digital Exhibition Project|access-date= 19 April 2023|archive-date= 25 September 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230925174224/https://kimon.hosting.nyu.edu/sogdians/items/show/851|url-status= dead}}|{{cite web |url=https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/sogdlet.html |title=The Sogdian Ancient Letters 1, 2, 3, and 5 |translator-first1= Nicholas |translator-last1=Sims-Williams |website=Silk Road Seattle - University of Washington |access-date=19 April 2023 |archive-date=15 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715220958/http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/sogdlet.html |url-status=live }}|{{cite web|url= https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=5032|title= Aurel Stein Discovers the Sogdian "Ancient Letters" 313 CE to 314 CE|last= Norman|first= Jeremy|website= History of Information|access-date= 19 April 2023|archive-date= 13 October 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231013135657/https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=5032|url-status= live}}|{{cite book|chapter=Sogdian Ancient Letter No. 3. Reproduced |editor= Susan Whitfield |title= The Silk Road: Trade, Travel, War and Faith |date=2004|page= 248}}|{{cite web |url=https://sogdians.si.edu/ancient-letters/ |first1=Nicholas |last1=Sims-Williams |title=Ancient Letters |website=THE SOGDIANS Influencers on the Silk Roads |publisher= Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019174743/https://sogdians.si.edu/ancient-letters/ |archive-date= Oct 19, 2023 }}|{{cite web |url=https://kimon.hosting.nyu.edu/sogdians/items/show/869 |title= Sogdian Ancient Letter III: Letter to Nanaidhat |last= Keramidas|first=  Kimon |website= NYU|publisher= Telling the Sogdian Story: A Freer{{!}}Sackler Digital Exhibition Project |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019174747/https://kimon.hosting.nyu.edu/sogdians/items/show/869 |archive-date= Oct 19, 2023 }}|{{cite web |url= http://ringmar.net/irhistorynew/index.php/welcome/introduction-4/from-temujin-to-genghis-khan/5-2-a-nomadic-state/5-3-how-to-conquer-the-world/5-4-dividing-it-all-up/sogdian-letters/|title= Sogdian letters |website= ringmar.net|date= 5 March 2021 |publisher=History of International Relations |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020064345/http://ringmar.net/irhistorynew/index.php/welcome/introduction-4/from-temujin-to-genghis-khan/5-2-a-nomadic-state/5-3-how-to-conquer-the-world/5-4-dividing-it-all-up/sogdian-letters/ |archive-date= Oct 20, 2023 }}|{{cite book |last= Vaissière|first= Étienne de la |date=2005 |title= Sogdian Traders: A History|url=https://brill.com/downloadpdf/book/9789047406990/BP000005.xml |series=Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 8 Uralic & Central Asian Studies|volume=10|publisher=Brill |chapter=2: About the ''Ancient Letters'' |pages=43–70 |isbn=978-90-47-40699-0|doi=10.1163/9789047406990_005}}|{{cite book |last=Livšic |first=Vladimir A. |editor1-last=Orlov |editor1-first=Andrei |editor2-last=Lourie|editor2-first=Basil |date=2009 |title =Symbola Caelestis: Le symbolisme liturgique et paraliturgique dans le monde chrétien |chapter-url= https://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/scri/5/1/article-p344_21.xml|location= Piscataway|publisher=Gorgias Press |chapter=Sogdian “Ancient Letters” (II, IV, V)|pages=344–352 |isbn=9781463222543 |via=Brill |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240710122612/https://brill.com/downloadpdf/view/journals/scri/5/1/article-p344_21.pdf |archive-date= Jul 10, 2024 }}}}</ref>

During his expedition of 1906–1908 while surveying south of the [[Ardagh–Johnson Line|Johnson Line]] in the [[Kunlun Mountains]], Stein suffered frostbite and lost several toes on his right foot.

When he was resting from his extended journeys into Central Asia, he spent most of his time living in a tent in the alpine meadow called [[Ganderbal district#Mohand Marg|Mohand Marg]] which lies at the mouth atop the [[Sind Valley]]. Years earlier, working from this idyllic spot he translated ''[[Rajatarangini]] '' from [[Sanskrit]] into English, which had then been published in 1900.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailykashmirimages.com/news-jkmhc-trekkers-trek-mohanmarg-60614.aspx |title=JKMHC trekkers trek Mohanmarg |publisher=dailykashmirimages.com |access-date=2014-05-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525200257/http://www.dailykashmirimages.com/news-jkmhc-trekkers-trek-mohanmarg-60614.aspx |archive-date=25 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.siraurelstein.org.uk/illustrated.html|title=The illustrated Rajatarangini|publisher=siraurelstein.org|access-date=2014-05-25|archive-date=23 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323033911/http://www.siraurelstein.org.uk/illustrated.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>  A memorial stone was erected in Mohand Marg on 14 September 2017 where Stein used to pitch his tent.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-07-25|title=Unexplored alpine meadow|url=https://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/opinion/unexplored-alpine-meadow/|access-date=2021-01-19|website=Greater Kashmir|language=en-US|archive-date=28 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128144108/https://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/opinion/unexplored-alpine-meadow/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The fourth expedition to Central Asia, however, ended in failure. Stein did not publish any account, but others have written of the frustrations and rivalries between British and American interests in China, between Harvard's [[Fogg Museum]] and the British Museum, and finally, between [[Paul J. Sachs]] and [[Langdon Warner]], the two Harvard sponsors of the expedition.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Brysac, Shareen Blair|url=http://archive.archaeology.org/9711/abstracts/stein.html|title=Last of the "Foreign Devils"|journal=Archaeology|volume=50|issue=6|date=November–December 1997|access-date=6 June 2014|archive-date=6 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606231705/http://archive.archaeology.org/9711/abstracts/stein.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Between 1940 and 1943, Aurel Stein undertook 2 expeditions to along the [[Ghaggar-Hakra River]] to find physical evidence of the [[Saraswati River]] described in the [[Rig Veda]]. While he didn't definitively establish the region's chronological archaeological sequence, his work significantly advanced Indian archaeology. Surveying from [[Hanumangarh]] to [[Bahawalpur]], he identified approximately 100 prehistoric and historical sites, conducting exploratory excavations at some. His observations on the geographical spread of these sites proved valuable to later researchers, including [[Amalananda Ghosh]] (3 March 1910 – 1981) and Katy Dalal. Notably, he documented sites such as [[Munda]], [[Bhadrakali Temple]], and [[Yazman|Derwar]].<ref name=ghv1>[https://theprint.in/opinion/kashmir-to-china-aurel-steins-expeditions-helped-unlock-secrets-ancient-civilisations/2508318/ From Kashmir to China—Aurel Stein’s expeditions helped unlock secrets of ancient civilisations], The Print, 24 Feb 2024.</ref>