User:Samvs/sandbox

Mazar Tagh is the site of a ruined hill fort in the middle of the Taklamakan desert, dating from the time of the Tibetan Empire. Like the Miran site, its excavation has yielded hundreds of military documents from the 8th and 9th century, which are among the earliest surviving Tibetan manuscripts. The site is now located north of the modern city of Hotan in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.

History
Mazar Tagh was part of the ancient Kingdom of Khotan during the first millennium AD. Before the Tibetan army built a fort there, it seems to have been a Buddhist pilgrimage site known locally as "the Hill". The modern Turkic name Mazar Tagh means "Hill of the Sacred Shrine".

Archaeology
Mazar Tagh was excaved by Aurel Stein in 1907 during his second Central Asian expedition, and again in 1913 during his third expedition. As well as excavating the fort, Stein discovered a large refuse heap on the north and northeast slopes of the hill, which contained hundreds of discarded Tibetan miltary documents on paper and wood.