Loulan

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Loulan is an ancient town founded in the second century on the north-eastern edge of the Lop Desert. Loulan, also known as Kroran or Krorayina, was an ancient kingdom along China's Silk Road in Xinjiang. In 77 BCE it became known to the Chinese as Shanshan, though the town at the northwestern corner of Lop Nur retained the name of Loulan. The ruins of town of Loulan are on what were the western banks of Lop Nur, in the Bayin'gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, now completely submerged in the desert

History

A 3,800-year-old female mummy (circa 1600 BCE), the first of a series of mummies now known as the Tarim mummies, was discovered in Loulan in 1980, indicating very early settlement of the region.

The first historical mention of Loulan was in a letter from the Chanyu of the Xiongnu to the Chinese Emperor in 126 BCE in which he boasted of conquering the Yuezhi, the Wusun , Loulan, and Hujie, "as well as the twenty-six states nearby." In 126 BCE, the Chinese envoy, Zhang Qian described Loulan as a fortified city near Lop Nur.

Because of its strategic position on what became the main route from China to the West, during the Former Han and Later Han, control of it was regularly contested between the Chinese and the Xiongnu. The Hanshu informs that: "it lay close to Han and confronted the White Dragon Mounds. The locality was short of water and pasture, and was regularly responsible for sending out guides, conveying water, bearing provisions and escorting or meeting Han envoys. In addition the state was frequently robbed, reprimanded or harmed by officials or conscripts and found it inexpedient to keep contact with the Han. Later the state again conducted espionage for the Hsiung-nu, often intercepting and killing Han envoys. The Xiongnu repeatedly contested the Han Chinese for control of the region until well into the 2nd century CE, and is recorded as a dependent kingdom of Shanshan in the 3rd century Weilüe.

A military colony of 1,000 men was established at Loulan in 260 CE by the Chinese General So Man. The site was abandoned in 330 CE due to lack of water when the Tarim River, which supported the settlement, changed course and the military garrison was moved 50 km south to Haitou. The fort of Yingpan to the northwest remained under Chinese control until the Tang Dynasty.

Archaeology

Sven Hedin

Loulan was rediscovered by Sven Hedin in 1899, who excavated some houses and found a wooden Kharosthi tablet and many Chinese manuscripts from the later Han dynasty (third century A.D.).

Aurel Stein

Aurel Stein made further excavations in 1906 and 1914, investigating the town's packed-earth and straw wall. It was over on each side, and thick at the base. Stein also recovered a wool-pile carpet fragment, some yellow silk, and Gandharan architectural wood-carvings.

Modern expeditions

Reported in the Washington Times, 2005, are discoveries made in 1979 and 1980 by a Chinese architectural team in the area. They discovered a man-made canal, deep and wide, running through Loulan from northwest to southeast; a high earthen dome-shaped Buddhist stupa; and a long by wide home apparently for a Chinese official, housing 3 rooms and supported by wooden pillars. They also collected 797 objects from the area, including vessels of wood, bronze objects, jewelry and coins, and Mesolithic stone tools ( Washington Times, 2005).

Other reported (2003) finds in the area include additional mummies and burial grounds, ephedra sticks, a string bracelet that holds a hollowed jade stone, a leather pouch, a woolen loincloth, a wooden mask painted red and with large nose and teeth, boat-shaped coffins, a bow with arrows and a straw basket ( Washington Times, 2005).

References

External links

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Last updated on Sunday January 27, 2008 at 05:19:34 PST (GMT -0800)
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