Indian Antiquary Vol 58

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 317

MAY, 1929 )
ALEXANDER'S CAMPAIGN ON THE N.-W. FRONTIER
19
height of 8360 feet on the map, and known as Acharo-sar, there was sighted through the pines and firs the Indus valley below and the long snow-topped range of the Black Mountain beyond it. Past a very fine spring issuing below Acharo-sar we reached soon the open top of a side spur, which lower down bears the grazing plot known as “Little Una." And from this point there came into view the bare rocky peak of Una-sar, or “Mount Una” (shown on the map with the triangulated height of 8,721 feet), which I had before heard mentioned as the highest on this side of the range, and stretching away from it southward I sighted the flat-topped ridge of Pir-sar.
It was a very striking sight, this long almost level ridge, as it rose there, girt all round with cliffs, above the precipitous smaller spurs and steep ravines which were seen to run down to the Indus close on 6,000 feet below (Figs. 4, 5). At its northern end it was seen to slope down from a steep tree-clad hill, and this from where we stood, about 2 miles off to the west, appeared to join up with the main crest of the range as it continues to the east of Onagar. Pir-sar seemed near enough as I looked across the deep valley flanked by precipitous slopes which separated us from it; but in the end it took us nearly three hours more to reach it.
First we had to make our way past the steep southern face of Mount Uņa, and as lower down this falls off with sheer walls of rock, to ascend by a troublesome track to within 200 feet or so below the summit. Then it became possible to cross to the northern slope of the crest, steep too, but well timbered, and thus to descend to the small tree-girt alp of Būrimar (Fig. 6), where we found some summer huts of Gujar graziers and the fenced-in resting place of some Muhammadan saint. At first Bürimär seemed to link up with the wooded conical height marking the northern end of Pir-sar; but when the lower edge of the gently sloping alp was reached I noticed, with some dismay at the time, I confess, that a deep and precipi. tous ravine previously masked by close tree growth still separated us from that height. The descent to its bottom, which, as careful aneroid observations on two separate occasions showed, lay fully 600 feet lower, was very fatiguing owing to the steepness of the slope and the slippery nature of the ground.
When the bottom of the gully was at last reached in the gatheirng dusk it proved to be a very confined saddle, less than 40 yards long and only about 10 yards across. Fallen trees encumbered the saddle and lay thickly also in the narrow ravines descending on either side. Progress was trying, too, along the precipitous cliffs lining the south-western slopes of Bar-sar ("the top hill"), as the northern end of the Pir-sar ridge is known. It was with real relief that at last long after nightfall level ground was reached where the flat portion of the top adjoins Bar-sar. It was a strange sensation to pass for close on & mile along what the full moon shining under a cloudless sky showed to be verdant fields of young wheat. Then camp was pitched near a rudely built mosque, at an elevation which subsequent observations with the mercurial barometer proved to be fully 7,100 feet above sea level.
I have thought it expedient to describe the march which brought us to Pîr-sar in some detail, because it may help to visualize better those topographical features which lead me to believe that this remarkable ridge represents the long-sought-for site of Aornos. For the same reason I may proceed at once to record the observations gathered by a careful examination of the ridge and the surrounding ground in the course of a three days' stay. Reference to the accompanying sketch-map (Plate V), from the survey on the scale of 3 in. = 1 mi. prepared by Surveyor Tôrabaz Khân under my direct supervision, will best help to illustrate them.
Pir-sar is but one of a series of narrow spurs which the range stretching from Upal throwg out south towards the Indus, before it drops rapidly in height beyond the triangulated point 7011. There it flattens out fan-like towards the low plateau of Maira washed at its foot by the Indus. Of these spurs Pîr-sar preserves its height farthest, and, owing to the uniform level and the very fertile soil of its top, affords most scope both for cultivation and grazing. The practically level portion of the top extends at an average elevation of about 7,100 feet for over 1} miles. At its upper end this flat portion is adjoined for some distance by gentle slopes equally suited for such use (Fig. 8).