A Philological Investigation of the Old Uyghur Pilgrim Inscriptions Recently Discovered in the Cave NK 10 in the Tuyoq Grottoes of Turfan
A Philological Investigation of the Old Uyghur Pilgrim Inscriptions Recently Discovered in the Cave NK 10 in the Tuyoq Grottoes of Turfan

Summary/Abstract: Among the discoveries of excavations carried out by a joint team of Chinese archaeologists between the autumn of 2010 and the early summer of 2011 in the Tuyoq Grottoes in Turfan, 22 pilgrim inscriptions in Old Uyghur script were found in the Northern Cave 10 (NK 10). All of them are notes made by Buddhists who made a pilgrimage to the cave. Although the photo of these inscriptions has been published twice in recent years, an edition of them is still missing. This paper presents results of philological investigation on 20 of these pilgrim inscriptions. One inscription is briefly discussed in the general description as its structure is difficult to recognise, whereas an edition of another inscription, the one on the upper side of the left wall, is reserved for further research, as the inscription is not clearly visible in the available photo.

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