Aurel Stein
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Sir Marc Aurel Stein (26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia.
Stein led four British expeditions through Central Asia to document and collect artifacts from the lost cultures of the ancient Silk Road.[1]
- Stein’s greatest discovery was made at the Dunhuang caves in northwest China. There, he came across a hidden library cave (Cave 17) containing over forty thousand scrolls, many of which he sent back to England for study. The Stein collection at the British Library contains over thirty thousand manuscripts and printed documents in languages as varied as Chinese, Tibetan, Sanskrit, Mongolian, Tangut, Khotanese, Kuchean, Sogdian, and Uighur.[1]
His collection of books and manuscripts from Dunhuang is important for the study of the history of Central Asia and the art and literature of Buddhism.
Stien wrote several volumes on his expeditions and discoveries which include Ancient Khotan, Serindia and Innermost Asia.
Further reading
Aurel Stein, Wikipedia
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Robert E. Buswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: 2014), s.v. Stein, Sir Marc Aurel