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Chapter 02
Three Field Trip Reports
areas. Because of these physical factors, and possibly physiological constraints as well, permanent human habitation did not take root above 5500 m anywhere in Upper Tibet.
4. Dharma King Norsang
East of the Gyangdrag amphitheatre there is a relatively long and narrow valley, which is accessible from Gyangdrag by traversing a series of steep slopes. At the head of this valley is an outlier called Dharma King Norsang (Tib. Chos-rgyal nor-bzang). During our reconnaissance, Ms. Walkerman and I reached a highpoint in the middle of the Dharma King Norsang valley (31° 01.09' N. lat. / 81° 19.62' E. long. / 5500 m). From our vantage point high above the valley we could survey rectangular summit structures, identified by Dr. Thakker on an earlier expedition as possible anthropogenic remains. These structures turned out to be natural rock formations. Other formations in the Dharma King Norsang valley proved just as unpromising. Unlike places where archaeological traces are found, there are no local accounts of man-made remains in the Dharma King Norsang valley. According to the oral tradition of the native residents of Mount Kailash (known as Kangriwa), this valley was left undeveloped in ancient times. The lack of sites with cultural and historical value in the locale is reflected in the absence of walking trails and Tibetan religious monuments (such as stupas, cairns and mani walls). For reasons that are not entirely clear, the ancients ignored the Dharma King Norsang valley. founding their permanent residences in alternative locations. One factor may be that direct views of the Kailash massif are not available from here.
On the basis of an examination of rather low resolution satellite imagery it was also suggested by Dr. Thakker that a location among the glaciers of Dharma King Norsang could be a possible site of the Shri Ashtapad temple ruins. On KM-III this was deemed highly unlikely given the impossible nature of the terrain and climatic conditions. As noted, the ceiling of ancient permanent habitation at Mount Kailash and all of Upper Tibet is below 5500 m. The extremely high elevation and harsh conditions of the upper Dharma King Norsang valley are not and were not amenable to human colonization. This permanently frozen zone of moraines and ice is geologically unstable and practically devoid of vegetation. The climatic trend in the Late Holocene (4000 years before present to recent times) in Tibet has been to drier conditions. Glaciers have been generally receding, and this holds true for the Mount Kailash region, as the geological evidence demonstrates. In the past, the glaciers and ice fields of Mount Kailash were more extensive than they are today, rendering permanent settlement in the heads of the branch valleys impracticable.
5. Drira Phuk
After completing the reconnaissance of the inner circuit of Mount Kailash, four expedition members embarked on a round of the outer circuit. On several past expeditions, I surveyed Zhang Zhung ruins situated around the outer circuit near Choku, Dzutrul Phuk, Menla Phobrang and other locations. These sites are all composed of Dokhang, the signature architectural form of ancient Upper Tibet.
On the KM-III expedition, as time was limited, it was decided that Ms. Walkerman and I would reconnoiter the area around Drira Phuk (Tib. = 'Bri-ra Phuk), something left undone on previous
A reconnaissance mission to locate the Ashtapad Temple
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