Aurel Stein 21051 222922411 2008-07-01T19:24:56Z 66.183.175.33 Added reference for monk at Tun Huang being Taoist, not Buddhist, added the reference to further reading as well. [[Image:AURAL sTEIN.jpg|thumb|200px| Stein in Central Asia (February 1929)]] Sir '''Marc Aurel Stein''' ({{lang-hu|Stein Aurél}}) ([[26 November]] [[1862]] &ndash; [[26 October]] [[1943]]) was a Hungarian [[archaeologist]]. He was also a professor at various [[India]]n universities. Stein was inspired by [[Sven Hedin]]'s 1898 work, ''Through Asia''. == Early life == Stein was born in [[Budapest]] in a Jewish family. His parents had him and his brother, Ernst Eduard, baptised as [[Lutheran]]s, while his parents and sisters remained Jews (a common way at the time to ensure one's sons get easier ahead in society).<ref>Mirsky, Jeannette. 1977. ''Sir Aurel Stein: Archaeological Explorer'', pp. 3-4, 32. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. Paperback edition, 1998.</ref> He later became a [[United Kingdom|British]] citizen and made his famous expeditions under British sponsorship. == Expeditions == Stein made four major expeditions to [[Central Asia]] - in 1900, 1906-8, 1913-16 and 1930.<ref>''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. 15th Edition. (1977). Vol. IX, p. 547.</ref> [[Image:AurelSteinWithDog.jpg|thumb|250px|Photograph of Aurel Stein, with his dog and research team, in the [[Tarim Basin]].]] The [[British Library]]'s Stein collection of Chinese, Tibetan and Tangut manuscripts, Prakrit wooden tablets, and documents in [[Khotanese]], [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]], [[Sogdian]] and Eastern Turkic is the result of his travels through central Asia during the 1920s and 1930s. Stein discovered manuscripts in the previously lost [[Tocharian languages]] of the [[Tarim Basin]] at [[Marin (China)|Marin]] and other [[oasis]] towns, and recorded numerous archaeological sites especially in [[Iran]] and [[Balochistan (region)|Balochistan]]. Stein's greatest discovery was made at the [[Mogao Caves]] also known as "Caves of the Thousand Buddhas", near [[Dunhuang]]. It was there that he discovered the [[Diamond Sutra]], the world's oldest dated printed text, along with 40,000 other scrolls (all removed by gradually winning the confidence of the [[Taoist]] <ref>Deuel, Leo. 1970. ''Testaments of Time'', p. 459. Baltimore, Pelican Books. Orig. publ. Knopf, NY, 1965.</ref> caretaker). In 1901 Stein was responsible for exposing forgeries of [[Islam Akhun]]. During his expedition of 1906&ndash;1908 while surveying in the [[Kunlun]] mountain range in western [[China]], Stein suffered [[frostbite]] and lost several toes on his right foot. When he was resting from his extended journeys into Central Asia, he spent most of his time living in a tent in the spectacularly beautiful [[alpine meadow]] called [[Gulmarg]] (or 'Meadow of Roses'). Except for his latest dog (which was always called "Dash"), he lived alone here. He died and is buried in [[Kabul]]. The art objects he collected are divided between the [[British Museum]], the [[British Library]], the [[Srinagar]] Museum, and the [[National Museum]], New [[Delhi]]. His collection is important in the study of the history of [[Central Asia]] and the art and literature of [[Buddhism]]. ==Publications== * Stein, Aurel M. 1898. ''Detailed Report on an Archaeological Tour with the Buner Field Force'', Lahore, Punjab Government Press. * Stein, Aurel M. 1900. ''{{IAST |Kalhaṇa's Rājataraṅgiṇī}} – A Chronicle of the Kings of {{IAST |Kaśmīr}}'', 2 vols. London, A. Constable & Co. Ltd. Reprint, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1979. * Stein, Aurel M. 1905. ''Report of Archaeological Survey Work in the North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan'', Peshawar, Government Press, N.W. Frontier Province. * Stein, Aurel M. 1907. ''Ancient Khotan: Detailed report of archaeological explorations in Chinese Turkestan'', 2 vols. Clarendon Press. Oxford. [http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/creator/marc_aurel_stein.html.en] * Stein, Aurel M. 1912. ''Ruins of Desert Cathay: Personal Narrative of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China'', 2 vols. London, Macmillan & Co. Reprint: Delhi. Low Price Publications. 1990. * Stein, Aurel M. 1921a. ''Serindia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China'', 5 vols. London & Oxford, Clarendon Press. Reprint: Delhi. Motilal Banarsidass. 1980. [http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/creator/marc_aurel_stein.html.en] * Stein, Aurel M. ''The Thousand Buddhas : ancient Buddhist paintings from the cave-temples of Tung-huang on the western frontier of China.'' [http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/creator/marc_aurel_stein.html.en] * Stein Aurel M. 1921b “A Chinese expedition across the Pamirs and Hindukush, A.D. 747.” ''Indian Antiquary'' 1923.[http://www.pears2.lib.ohio-state.edu/FULLTEXT/TR-ENG/aurel.htm] * Stein Aurel M. 1928. ''Innermost Asia: Detailed Report of Explorations in Central Asia, Kan-su and Eastern Iran'', 5 vols. Oxford, Clarendon Press. Reprint: New Delhi. Cosmo Publications. 1981. [http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/creator/marc_aurel_stein.html.en] * Stein Aurel M. 1929. ''On Alexander's Track to the Indus: Personal Narrative of Explorations on the North-West Frontier of India''. London, Macmillan & Co. Reprint: New York, Benjamin Blom, 1972. * Stein Aurel M. 1932 ''On Ancient Central Asian Tracks: Brief Narrative of Three Expeditions in Innermost Asia and Northwestern China''. Reprinted with Introduction by Jeannette Mirsky. Book Faith India, Delhi. 1999. * Stein Aurel M. 1940 ''Old Routes of Western Iran: Narrative of an Archaeological Journey Carried out and Recorded'', MacMillan and co., limited. St. Martin's Street, London. * Stein Aurel M. 1944. "Archaeological Notes from the Hindukush Region". [[Royal Asiatic Society|''J.R.A.S.'']], pp. 1-24 + fold-out. A more detailed list of Stein's publications is available in "Sir Aurel Stein: A Bibliography" in Helen Wang (ed.) ''Handbook to the Stein Collections in the UK'', pp.49-61. ==Footnotes== {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== * Baumer, Christoph. 2000. ''Southern Silk Road: In the Footsteps of Sir Aurel Stein and Sven Hedin''. White Orchid Books. Bangkok. * Deuel, Leo. 1965. ''Testaments of Time; the Search for Lost Manuscripts and Records''. Knopf, New York, 1965. paperback reprint: Pelican, Baltimore, 1970. * Falconer, John et al. 2002. ''Catalogue of the Collections of Sir Aurel Stein in the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences''. Budapest, LHAS and British Museum. ISBN 963-7451-11-0. *Falconer, John et al. 2007. "Supplement to the Catalogue of the Collections of Sir Aurel Stein in the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Budapest, LHAS. ISBN 963-508-545-3. * Hopkirk, Peter. 1980. ''Foreign Devils On The Silk Road''. John Murray (Publishers). Paperback edition, University of Massachusetts Press 1984. ISBN 0-87023-435-8. * Mirsky, Jeannette. 1977. ''Sir Aurel Stein: Archaeological Explorer''. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. Paperback edition, 1998. * Walker, Annabel. 1999. ''Aurel Stein: Pioneer of the Silk Road''. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-97730-2. * Wang, Helen (ed.). 1999. ''Handbook to the Stein Collections in the UK''. British Museum Occasional Paper 129. ISBN 0-86159-129-1. * Wang, Helen (ed.). 2002. ''Sir Aurel Stein in The Times''. London, Saffron Books. ISBN 1-872843-29-8. * Wang, Helen (ed.). 2004. ''Sir Aurel Stein. Proceedings of the British Museum Study Day, 2002''. British Museum Occasional Paper 142. ISBN 0-86159-142-9. * Whitfield, Susan. 2004. ''Aurel Stein On The Silk Road''. Serindia Publications. ISBN 1-932476-11-3. ==External links== *[http://www.siraurelstein.org.uk/ siraurelstein.org.uk] A website dedicated to his life and works *[http://idp.bl.uk/ The International Dunhuang Project] Website of the project to conserve, catalogue, digitise and research the artifacts found in the Dunhuang Caves *[http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/language/en.html.en Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books] Digital versions of books by Marc Aurel Stein *[http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/avenue/xha71/Stein.htm http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/avenue/xha71/Stein.htm] A page about Marc Aurel Stein in Hungarian * [http://stein.mtak.hu/index-en.html Aurel Stein and the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas.] An exhibition of his archive photos in the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 2007 * http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/publications/online_publications/sir_aurel_stein.aspx ''Sir Aurel Stein, proceedings of the British Museum study day, 23 March 2002'' (online publication) {{DEFAULTSORT:Stein, Marc Aurel}} [[Category:1862 births]] [[Category:1943 deaths]] [[Category:British archaeologists]] [[Category:British explorers]] [[Category:Hungarian explorers]] [[Category:Explorers of Central Asia]] [[Category:People associated with the British Museum]] [[Category:Central Asian studies]] [[de:Aurel Stein]] [[es:Marc Aurel Stein]] [[eo:Marc Aurel Stein]] [[fr:Aurel Stein]] [[hu:Stein Aurél]] [[lt:Marc Aurel Stein]] [[ja:オーレル・スタイン]] [[ru:Стейн, Марк Аурель]] [[fi:Marc Aurel Stein]] [[zh:马尔克·奥莱尔·斯坦因]] [[ko:오렐 스타인]]