Sir Marc Aurel Stein, ( hu, Stein Márk Aurél; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

universities. Stein was also an ethnographer, geographer, linguist and surveyor. His collection of books and manuscripts bought from

Dunhuang Dunhuang () is a county-level city in Northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Dunhuang was a major s ...

caves is important for the study of the history of

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

and the art and literature of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

. He wrote several volumes on his expeditions and discoveries which include ''Ancient Khotan'', ''Serindia'' and ''Innermost Asia''.

Early life

Stein was born to Náthán Stein and Anna Hirschler, a Jewish couple residing in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...

. His parents and his sister retained their Jewish faith but Stein and his brother, Ernst Eduard, were baptised as

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

s. At home the family spoke German and Hungarian, Stein attended Catholic and Lutheran gymnasiums in Budapest, where he mastered Greek, Latin, French, and English before going on for advanced study at Universities of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

and

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...

. He graduated in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

and Persian and received his PhD from Tübingen in 1883. In 1884 he went to England to study oriental languages and archaeology. In 1886, Stein met the Indologist and philologist Rudolf Hoernlé in Vienna at a conference of

Orientalists In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...

, learning about an ancient mathematical manuscript discovered in Bakhshali (

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

). In 1887 Stein went to India, where he joined the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

as Registrar. Later, between 1888 and 1899, he was the Principal of Oriental College, Lahore. During this time, under his supervision Raghunath Temple Sanskrit Manuscript Library at Jammu was established which treasures 5000 rare manuscripts.

Expeditions

Genesis

Stein was influenced by Sven Hedin's 1898 work ''Through Asia''. In June 1898, he sought the help of Hoernle and a collaboration to find and study Central Asian antiquities. Hoernle was enthusiastic as he had already deciphered the

Bower Manuscript The Bower Manuscript is a collection of seven fragmentary Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit. treatises found buried in a Buddhist memorial stupa near Kucha, northwestern China. Written in early Gupta script (late Brahmi script) on birch bark, it is var ...

and Weber Manuscript by then, found these to be respectively the oldest known birch bark and paper manuscripts of ancient India at the time, had received more artefacts and manuscripts but was concerned about the circumstances of their discovery and their authenticity. He recommended that Stein prepare an expedition proposal and submit it to the Governments of Punjab and India. Stein sent a draft proposal to Hoernle within a month. Hoernle discussed it with Lt Governor of Punjab (British India), who expressed enthusiasm. Stein then submitted a full proposal to explore, map and study the antiquities of Central Asia as per the recommendations of Hoernle, who personally petitioned both the Government of Punjab and Government of India, lobbying for a quick approval. Within weeks, Stein's proposal was informally approved. In January 1899, Stein received the formal approval and funds for his first expedition. Stein thereafter received approval and support for additional expeditions to Chinese Turkestan, other parts of Tibet and Central Asia where the Russians and Germans were already taking interest. He made his famous expeditions with the financial support of Punjab government and the British India government.

The four expeditions

Stein made four major expeditions to

—in 1900–1901, 1906–1908, 1913–1916 and 1930. He brought to light the hidden treasure of a great civilization which by then was practically lost to the world. One of his significant finds during his first journey during 1900–1901 was the

Taklamakan The Taklimakan or Taklamakan Desert (; zh, s=塔克拉玛干沙漠, p=Tǎkèlāmǎgān Shāmò, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Такәламаган Шамә; ug, تەكلىماكان قۇملۇقى, Täklimakan qumluqi; also spelled Taklimakan and Te ...

Desert oasis of Dandan Oilik where he was able to uncover a number of relics. During his third expedition in 1913–1916, he excavated at

Khara-Khoto Khara-Khoto (; mn, Khar Khot; "black city") is an abandoned city in the Ejin Banner of Alxa League in western Inner Mongolia, China, near the Juyan Lake Basin. Built in 1032, the city thrived under the rule of the Western Xia dynasty. It has been ...

. Later he explored in the Pamirs, seeking the site of the now-lost Stone Tower which the 2nd century polymath

Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importa ...

had noted as the half-way mark of the

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...

in his famous treatise

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

Stein Letter BLAR4 MSSEURF302 51 FF13 18 16 17

The

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

's Stein collection of Chinese, Tibetan and Tangut manuscripts, Prakrit wooden tablets, and documents in Khotanese, 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 The Tocharian (sometimes ''Tokharian'') languages ( or ), also known as ''Arśi-Kuči'', Agnean-Kuchean or Kuchean-Agnean, are an extinct branch of the Indo-European language family spoken by inhabitants of the Tarim Basin, the Tocharians. Th ...

of the

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hyd ...

Miran Miran may refer to: Places * Miran (Xinjiang), an ancient oasis town in Ruoqiang County, Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, southeastern Xinjiang, western China * Miran fort, a ruined defensive structure built by the Tibetan Empire, located ...

and other oasis towns, and recorded numerous archaeological sites especially in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

. When Stein visited Khotan he was able to render in Persian a portion of the Shahnama after he came across a local reading the Shahnama in Turki. During 1901 Stein was responsible for exposing forgeries of

Islam Akhun Islam Akhun was a Uyghur con-man from Khotan who forged numerous manuscripts and printed documents and sold them as ancient Silk Road manuscripts. Since the accidental discovery of the Bower Manuscript in 1889 such texts had become much sought ...

, as well as establishing the details and the authenticity of manuscripts that had been discovered before 1896 in northwest China. Stein's greatest discovery was made at the

Mogao Caves The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu p ...

also known as "Caves of the Thousand Buddhas", near

in 1907. It was there that he discovered a printed copy of the '' Diamond Sutra'', the world's oldest printed text, dating to AD 868, along with 40,000 other scrolls (all removed by gradually winning the confidence and bribing the

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...

caretaker). He took 24 cases of manuscripts and 4 cases of paintings and relics. He was knighted for his efforts, but Chinese nationalists dubbed him a burglar and staged protests against him, although others have seen his actions as at least advancing scholarship. His discovery inspired other French, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese treasure hunters and explorers who also took their toll on the collection. During his expedition of 1906–1908 while surveying south of the Johnson Line in the

Kunlun Mountains The Kunlun Mountains ( zh, s=昆仑山, t=崑崙山, p=Kūnlún Shān, ; ug, كۇئېنلۇن تاغ تىزمىسى / قۇرۇم تاغ تىزمىسى ) constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending for more than . In the bro ...

, 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 alpine meadow called Mohand Marg which lies at the mouth atop the Sind Valley. Years earlier, working from this idyllic spot he translated ''

Rajatarangini ''Rajatarangini'' ("The River of Kings") is a metrical legendary and historical chronicle of the north-western part of India, particularly the kings of Kashmir. It was written in Sanskrit by Kashmiri historian Kalhana in the 12th century CE. Th ...

'' from

into English, which had then been published in 1900. A memorial stone was erected in Mohand Marg on 14 September 2017 where Stein used to pitch his tent. The fourth expedition to Central Asia, however, ended in failure. Stein did not publish any account, but others have written of the frustrations and rivalries between British and American interests in China, between Harvard's

Fogg Museum The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

and the British Museum, and finally, between

Paul J. Sachs Paul Joseph Sachs (November 24, 1878 – February 18, 1965) was an American investor, businessman and museum director. Sachs served as associate director of the Fogg Art Museum and as a partner in the financial firm Goldman Sachs. He is recogniz ...

and

Langdon Warner Langdon Warner (1881–1955) was an American archaeologist and art historian specializing in East Asian art. He was a professor at Harvard and the Curator of Oriental Art at Harvard’s Fogg Museum. He is reputed to be one of the models for Ste ...

, the two Harvard sponsors of the expedition.

Personal life

Stein was a lifelong bachelor, but was always accompanied by a dog named "Dash" (of which there were seven). He became a

British citizen British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...

in 1904. He died in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...

on 26 October 1943 and is buried there in the

Sherpur Cantonment Sherpur Cantonment, or the British Cemetery, is located in Kabul, Afghanistan. The area was a British military camp or cantonment and the site of the 1879 Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment in the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Now officially called t ...

Great Game

Stein, as well as his rivals Sven Hedin, Sir Francis Younghusband and

Nikolai Przhevalsky Nikolay Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky (or Prjevalsky;; pl, Nikołaj Przewalski, . – ) was a Russian geographer of Polish descent (he was born in a Polish noble family), and a renowned explorer of Central and East Asia. Although he never reac ...

, were active players in the British-Russian struggle for influence in Central Asia, the so-called

Great Game The Great Game is the name for a set of political, diplomatic and military confrontations that occurred through most of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century – involving the rivalry of the British Empire and the Russian Empi ...

. Their explorations were supported by the British and Russian Empires as they filled in the remaining "blank spots" on the maps, providing valuable information and creating " spheres of influence" for archaeological exploration as they did for political influence. Textile fragment from Loulan Xinjiang China

Textile fragment from Loulan Xinjiang China

The art objects he collected are divided between the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, the

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its ...

Museum, and the

National Museum, New Delhi The National Museum in New Delhi, also known as the National Museum of India, is one of the largest museums in India. Established in 1949, it holds a variety of articles ranging from pre-historic era to modern works of art. It functions under ...

Honours

Stein received a number of honours during his career. In 1909, he was awarded the Founder's Medal by the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

'for his extensive explorations in Central Asia, and in particular his archaeological work'. In 1909, he was awarded the first Campbell Memorial Gold Medal by the Royal Asiatic Society of Bombay. He was awarded a number of other gold medals: the Gold Medal of the Société de Géographie in 1923; the ''Grande Médaille d’or'' of the

Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the e ...

in 1932; and the Gold Medal of the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

in 1935. In 1934, he was awarded the Huxley Memorial Medal of

Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...

. In the 1910 King's Birthday Honours, he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) for his service as Inspector-General of Education and Archaeological Surveyor in the

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followi ...

. Two years later, in the

1912 Birthday Honours The 1912 Birthday Honours were appointments in the British Empire of King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were p ...

, he was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) for his service as Superintendent of the Archaeological Department, North-West Frontier Circle. He was made an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

(DLitt) by the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1909. He was made an honorary

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

(DSc) by the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1910. He was made an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

(LLD) by the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in 1939. In 1919, Stein became a foreign member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

. In 1921, he was elected

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # ...

(FBA).

Publications

* 1896. "Notes on the Ancient Topography of the Pīr Pantsāl Route." ''Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal'', Vol. LXIV, Part I, No. 4, 1895. Calcutta 1896. * 1896. ''Notes on Ou-k'ong's account of Kaçmir.'' Wien: Gerold, 1896. Published in both English and German in Vienna. * 1898. ''Detailed Report on an Archaeological Tour with the Buner Field Force'', Lahore, Punjab Government Press. * 1900. '' – A Chronicle of the Kings of '', 2 vols. London, A. Constable & Co. Ltd. Reprint, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1979.
1904 ''Sand-Buried Ruins of Khotan'', London, Hurst and Blackett, Ltd.
Reprint Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, Madras, 200
Sand-Buried Ruins of Khotan: vol.1
* 1905. ''Report of Archaeological Survey Work in the North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan'', Peshawar, Government Press, N.W. Frontier Province.
1907. ''Ancient Khotan: Detailed report of archaeological explorations in Chinese Turkestan'', 2 vols. Clarendon Press. Oxford.
ref name="dsr.nii.ac.jp

at dsr.nii.ac.jpAncient Khotan: vol.1Ancient Khotan: vol.2

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
Ruins of Desert Cathay: vol.1Ruins of Desert Cathay: vol.2
* 1918. "Routes from the Panjab to Turkestan and China Recorded by William Finch (1611)." ''The Geographical Journal'', Vol. 51, No. 3 (Mar., 1918), pp. 172–175. * 1921a. ''Serindia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China'', 5 vols. London & Oxford, Clarendon Press. Reprint: Delhi. Motilal Banarsidass. 1980.Serindia: vol.1Serindia: vol.2Serindia: vol.3Serindia: vol.4Serindia: vol.5
* 1921b. ''The Thousand Buddhas: ancient Buddhist paintings from the cave-temples of Tung-huang on the western frontier of China.''The Thousand Buddhas: vol.1
* 1921c. "A Chinese expedition across the Pamirs and Hindukush, A.D. 747". ''Indian Antiquary'' 1923.
1923 Memoir On Maps Of Chinese Turkistan
* 1923
Memoir on Maps of Chinese Turkistan and Kansu: vol.1
' * 1925 ''Innermost Asia: its geography as a factor in history''. London: Royal Geographical Society. Geographical Journal, Vol. 65, nos. 5-6 (May- June 1925) * 192
''Alexander’s Campaign On The Indian North-west Frontier''. The Geographic Journal, (Nov/Dec 1927)
* 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.Innermost Asia: vol.1Innermost Asia: vol.2Innermost Asia: vol.3Innermost Asia: vol.4
* 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. * 1932 ''On Ancient Central Asian Tracks: Brief Narrative of Three Expeditions in Innermost Asia and Northwestern China''. Reprinted with Introduction by

Jeannette Mirsky Jeannette Mirsky Ginsburg (September 3, 1903 – March 10, 1987) was an American writer who was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1947 for her biographical writings on the history of exploration. Early life and education Jeannette R. Mirsky ...

. Book Faith India, Delhi. 1999. * 1933
On Ancient Central-Asian Tracks: vol.1
' * 1937
Archaeological Reconnaissances in North-Western India and South-Eastern Īrān: vol.1
' * 1940 ''Old Routes of Western Iran: Narrative of an Archaeological Journey Carried out and Recorded'', MacMillan and co., limited. St. Martin's Street, London. * 1944. "Archaeological Notes from the Hindukush Region". ''J.R.A.S.'', pp. 1–24 + fold-out. A more detailed list of Stein's publications is available in ''Handbook to the Stein Collections in the UK'', pp. 49–61.

Footnotes

References and further reading

* Baumer, Christoph. 2000. ''Southern Silk Road: In the Footsteps of Sir Aurel Stein and Sven Hedin''. White Orchid Books. Bangkok. * Brysac, Shareen. "Sir Aurel Stein’s Fourth 'American' Expedition."
Archeology Archive
Viewed 21 December 2014. * 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. . * 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. . * Hansen, Valerie. 2012. ''The Silk Road: A New History'', Oxford University Press . *

Hopkirk, Peter Peter Stuart Hopkirk (15 December 1930 – 22 August 2014) was a British journalist, author and historian who wrote six books about the British Empire, Russia and Central Asia. Biography Peter Hopkirk was born in Nottingham, the son of Frank St ...

. 1980. ''Foreign Devils on the Silk Road''. John Murray (Publishers). Paperback edition,

University of Massachusetts Press The University of Massachusetts Press is a university press that is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts a ...

1984. . * Ikle, Frank W. "Sir Aurel Stein. A Victorian Geographer in the Tracks of Alexander", ''Isis'' 59, no. 2 (1968): 144-55. Accessed March 24, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/228275. * Kelecsényi, Ágnes, 2004. "Stein Aurél (1862–1943) És a Magyar Tudomány Kapcsolatok a Magyar Tudományos Akadémiával – Stein-gyűjtemények a Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Könyvtárában" hD thesis: Aurel Stein and Hungarian academia* * * Morgan, Joyce; Walters, Conrad, ''Journeys on the Silk Road: a desert explorer, Buddha’s secret library, and the unearthing of the world’s oldest printed book'', Picador Australia, 2011, . * Pandita, S.N., ''Aurel Stein in Kashmir: Sanskrit of Mohand Marg''. Om Publications, 2004. . * Walker, Annabel. 1999. ''Aurel Stein: Pioneer of the Silk Road''. University of Washington Press. . * Wang, Helen (ed.). 1999. ''Handbook to the Stein Collections in the UK''. British Museum Occasional Paper 129.
fully available online
* Wang, Helen (ed.). 2002. ''Sir Aurel Stein in The Times''. London, Saffron Books. . * Wang, Helen (ed.). 2004. ''Sir Aurel Stein. Proceedings of the British Museum Study Day, 2002''. British Museum Occasional Paper 142.

* Wang, Helen (ed.). 2012. ''Sir Aurel Stein, Colleagues and Collections'', British Museum Research Publication 184, . (This an online publication only
fully available online
* Wang, Helen and Perkins, John (eds). 2008. ''Handbook to the Collections of Sir Aurel Stein in the UK''. British Museum Research Publication 129 (updated and expanded edition of ''Handbook to the Stein Collections in the UK'', 1999). . * Wang Jiqing, Photographs in the British Library of Documents and Manuscripts from Sir Aurel Stein's Fourth Central Asian Expedition.http://www.bl.uk/eblj/1998articles/pdf/article3.pdf * Susan Whitfield, Whitfield, Susan. 2004. ''Aurel Stein on the Silk Road''. Serindia Publications. ; also: The British Museum Press, London. .

External links

Central Asian Antiquities
at the National Museum of India, New Delhi.
Aurel Stein in Kashmir
, Kashmir Bhawan Center, Luton, United Kingdom.
The International Dunhuang Project
Website of the

project A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

to conserve, catalogue, digitise and research the artefacts found in the Dunhuang Caves.
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books
Digital versions of books by Marc Aurel Stein.

A page about Marc Aurel Stein in Hungarian

An exhibition of his archive photos in the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 2007.

A Hong Kong exhibition of his archive photos and documents conserved in the Oriental Collection of the LHAS, 2008. Preliminary articles on the web publication

an

British Museum – Sir Aurel Stein
at www.britishmuseum.org ''Sir Aurel Stein, proceedings of the British Museum study day, 23 March 2002'' (online publication)

*
The Collections of Sir Aurel Stein at the British Museum
* * *
Aurel Stein
in ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Stein, Marc Aurel 1862 births 1943 deaths Hungarian people of Jewish descent British people of Hungarian-Jewish descent British archaeologists British explorers Hungarian explorers Explorers of Central Asia Fasori Gimnázium alumni Central Asian studies scholars Hungarian Lutherans Fellows of the British Academy University of Vienna alumni Leipzig University alumni University of Tübingen alumni University of the Punjab faculty Writers from Budapest Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom People associated with the British Museum People from Lahore Oriental College faculty Austro-Hungarian emigrants to England Hungarian emigrants to England Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Burials in Afghanistan