DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.36954#0031
Therefore, the valleys on both sides of the Indus must have been
a series of seasonal "waiting rooms" for travellers. Southbound
traffic started in June, northbound traffic in October. The "wait-
ing rooms" were linked by paths which had to pass the Indus
valley, and they were also needed for choosing the right exit.
So the Indus valley was in strategic position, situated at a place
where the distance between the ranges in the north (Karakorum)
and those in the south (Himalaya) was minimal. A shortcut be-
tween Central and South Asia was possible, partly compensating
for the dangers and strains.
The data gained during the expeditions were stored in an archive,
located at present at the South Asia Institute, Heidelberg. It con-
tains notebooks, official reports, plaster casts, maps and draw-
ings, and the main part comprises colour-slides (most of them
24 x 36 mm), supplemented by photographs in colour or/and
black and white.
Sir Aurel STEIN (1944: 18) has already foreseen that colour-
photographs might be the best documentation. He was perfectly
right when he wrote about the basic necessities in the future "for
any safe attempt at decipherment. Such is not likely to become
possible until these inscriptions are studied on the spot by a fully
qualified Indian epigraphist or else adequate reproductions are
secured through an expert photographer provided with the
requisite aids such as colour sensitive plates (or films) and special
scaffolding where the position of the inscriptions makes its
employment indispensible" (STEIN 1944: 17).
He also clearly recognized that the petroglyphs are "not proper-
ly speaking engraved, but like a sort of graffiti produced by
'bruising' on the smooth but exceedingly hard surface of the
detached rocks and huge boulders." They are perfectly visible
by their lighter colour, but "this method applied to the very
dark patina like surface" of the rock "does not permit anywhere
(of) useful estampages being taken."
In Baltistan the situation is different; rocks with important
carvings and reliefs are covered with moss and lichens, so a care-
ful cleaning and a tracing by more complicated techniques are
XXVII
a series of seasonal "waiting rooms" for travellers. Southbound
traffic started in June, northbound traffic in October. The "wait-
ing rooms" were linked by paths which had to pass the Indus
valley, and they were also needed for choosing the right exit.
So the Indus valley was in strategic position, situated at a place
where the distance between the ranges in the north (Karakorum)
and those in the south (Himalaya) was minimal. A shortcut be-
tween Central and South Asia was possible, partly compensating
for the dangers and strains.
The data gained during the expeditions were stored in an archive,
located at present at the South Asia Institute, Heidelberg. It con-
tains notebooks, official reports, plaster casts, maps and draw-
ings, and the main part comprises colour-slides (most of them
24 x 36 mm), supplemented by photographs in colour or/and
black and white.
Sir Aurel STEIN (1944: 18) has already foreseen that colour-
photographs might be the best documentation. He was perfectly
right when he wrote about the basic necessities in the future "for
any safe attempt at decipherment. Such is not likely to become
possible until these inscriptions are studied on the spot by a fully
qualified Indian epigraphist or else adequate reproductions are
secured through an expert photographer provided with the
requisite aids such as colour sensitive plates (or films) and special
scaffolding where the position of the inscriptions makes its
employment indispensible" (STEIN 1944: 17).
He also clearly recognized that the petroglyphs are "not proper-
ly speaking engraved, but like a sort of graffiti produced by
'bruising' on the smooth but exceedingly hard surface of the
detached rocks and huge boulders." They are perfectly visible
by their lighter colour, but "this method applied to the very
dark patina like surface" of the rock "does not permit anywhere
(of) useful estampages being taken."
In Baltistan the situation is different; rocks with important
carvings and reliefs are covered with moss and lichens, so a care-
ful cleaning and a tracing by more complicated techniques are
XXVII