See this most valuable paper,
The Pamirs and the Source of the Oxus, reprinted from the Geographical
Journal of 1896, in 1896, 1898, and 1899.
[Illustration: Some of the objects found by Dr. M.A. Stein in Central
Asia.]
6. - PEIN. (Vol. i. p. 192.)
Dr. M.A. Stein, of the Indian Educational Service, appears to have
exactly identified the site of Pein, during his recent archaeological
researches in Central Asia; he writes (Prel. Report on a Journey of
Archaeological and Topog. Exploration in Chinese Turkestan, Lond., 1901,
pp. 58-59): "Various antiquarian and topographical considerations made me
anxious to identify the position of the town of Pi-mo, which
Hiuen-Tsiang describes as some 300 li to the east of the Khotan capital.
It was probably the same place as the Pein, visited by Marco Polo. After
marching back along the Keriya River for four days, I struck to the
south-west, and, after three more marches, arrived in the vicinity of
Lachin-Ata Mazar, a desolate little shrine in the desert to the north of
the Khotan-Keriya route. Though our search was rendered difficult by the
insufficiency of guides and the want of water, I succeeded during the
following few days in tracing the extensive ruined site which previous
information had led me to look for in that vicinity. 'Uzun-Tati' ('the
distant Tati,') as the debris-covered area is locally designated,
corresponds in its position and the character of its remains exactly to the
description of Pi-mo.
