- Dandan Oilik
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Dandan Oilik is a deserted historical town and desert oasis in the Taklamakan Desert of China. Dandan Oilik was an important (though small) centre of local Buddhism and trade on the Silk Road.[1] Its name means 'Houses of / with Ivory' and has been the site of a small number of significant archeological finds.[2]
Having been many abandoned hundreds of years ago, the oasis was found and lost to shifting desert sands several times. Most recently, a German expedition led by Christoph Baumer found the city based on the accounts of previous explorers such as Sir Aurel Stein, and uncovered relics dating to the 7th and 8th Century.[3] They also marked its GPS position, and the city is now being studied by Chinese archeologists.
References
- ^ Silk (from University of Washington website. Retrieved 2007-12-01.)
- ^ Painted wooden panel showing riders with bowls (from the British Museum website. Accessed 2008-10.25.)
- ^ Publications (from the Society for the Exploration of Eurasia website. Retrieved 2007-12-01.)
Categories:- Former populated places in Xinjiang
- Defunct Buddhist monasteries
- Archaeological sites in China
- Populated places along the Silk Road
- Oases of China
- People's Republic of China geography stubs
- Buddhism stubs
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