Tibetan and Himalayan Library - THL

II.1. Stelae and accompanying structures: Funerary and non-funerary structures

Sana Marri DoringSa sna dmar ri rdo ring

Basic site data

• Site name: Sana Marri DoringSa sna dmar ri rdo ring
• English equivalent: Variegated Earth Red Mountain Long-stones
• Site number: C-11
• Site typology: II.1a
• Elevation: 4590 m
• Administrative location (township): ladrangBla brang
• Administrative location (county): Drongpa’Brong pa
• Survey expedition: UTAE
• Survey date: April 14, 2001
• Contemporary usage: Light grazing. Recently, some of the pillars were vandalized.
• Identifiable Buddhist constructions: None.
• Maps: UTRS XI, HAS C5
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General site characteristics

Sana Marri DoringSa sna dmar ri rdo ring is named after the low-lying ridge that hems in the east side of the site. To the west, Sana Marri DoringSa sna dmar ri rdo ring enjoys expansive views of the Yarlung TsangpoYar lung gtsang po valley. There are no structural traces of an enclosure in the proximity of the pillars. However, the way in which the pillars form a north-south oriented row (6.2 m long), with three more specimens running perpendicular to the north of them, may suggest that they were originally enclosed by walls. The sandy, somewhat sloping ground appears to have engulfed all evidence of the enclosure. Two types of light-colored rocks were used to create the pillars. A few of them may have been roughly hewn into shape. There are six pillars 50 cm to 80 cm in height and about eight others 30 cm or less in height. Most of the pillars have been broken.

Oral tradition

In this region (upper Yarlung TsangpoYar lung gtsang po drainage basin), sites such as Sana Marri DoringSa sna dmar ri rdo ring are generally thought to have been built by the ancient MönMon or to be the sanctuaries of elemental spirits.

Affiliated sites

West of Sana Marri DoringSa sna dmar ri rdo ring is Gachö GönpaDga’ chos dgon pa, a Gelukpadge lugs pa monastery of significant size, which was destroyed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.