A bundle of string netting in a paper bag

Currently wrapped in brown paper with original Stein no. tag still attached. The netting is of buff coarse string, tied with knots approx. 40 mm apart (in the area that can be seen). The string is 2 ply, S twisted and approx. 1.5 to 2mm wide. Possibly made of wool. Some sandy reside remains.

Stein Textile Loan Collection. On loan from the Government of India and the Archaeological Survey of India. Copyright: Government of India.

The item was lost and not originally catalogued with other items from the Stein collection.

The Miran fort lies midway along southern Silk Road, at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains. When Tibetan troops occupied the area in the late eight century AD, they built the fort as part of a defensive network in and effort to control the surrounding area, which included a nearby mountain pass into Tibet, and the Qinghai route of the Silk Road into China. The fort was abandoned at the end of the 9th century, and had declined into a small farming community by the time Sir Aurel Stein visited the area. In 1907, Stein excavated rubbish heaps at the fort and found wood slips, dating from the eight to the ninth century AD, which provided early examples of Tibetan writing. He also found fragments of wool rugs in bright colours and pieces of silk.

Currently wrapped in brown paper with original Stein no. tag still attached. The netting is of buff coarse string, tied with knots approx. 40 mm apart (in the area that can be seen). The string is 2 ply, S twisted and approx. 1.5 to 2mm wide. Possibly made of wool. Some sandy reside remains.

LOAN:STEIN.19