Tibetan and Himalayan Library - THL

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

Tratsang DoringKhra tshang rdo ring

Basic site data

• Site name: Tratsang DoringKhra tshang rdo ring
• English equivalent: Hawk Nest Long-stones
• Site number: C-116
• Site typology: II.1b, II.2b
• Elevation: 4940 m
• Administrative location (township): TratsangKhra tshang
• Administrative location (county): TsochenMtsho chen
• Survey expedition: HTCE
• Survey date: June 17, 2002
• Contemporary usage: Light grazing.
• Identifiable Buddhist constructions: A manima ṇi wall.
• Maps: UTRS VII, UTRS XI
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General site characteristics

Tratsang DoringKhra tshang rdo ring is located in the upper TratsangKhra tshang valley and locally, it is simply known as DoringRdo ring. The site is situated on the left side of the valley above the marshy bottomland. The views are fairly open in all but the eastern direction, which is constricted by the ridge on the opposite side of the TratsangKhra tshang valley. The terrain is well drained, sandy and gravelly. In addition to two pillars there is still at least one funerary enclosure at the site.

Oral tradition

According to local elders, Tratsang DoringKhra tshang rdo ring magically sprang into existence in primordial times.

Site elements

Enclosure

The enclosure is now highly fragmentary. There is a 3 m long fragment of the west wall (50 cm thick) still in place, which is situated 60 cm west of the pillars. This double-course wall segment is composed of stones 20 cm to 25 cm in length, which are flush with the ground surface. East of the pillars there are two east-west oriented wall fragments, the most southerly of which may have been part of the enclosure’s south wall. A 5 m length of this wall is in situ and it is of the same construction as the west wall. The other east-west wall fragment is located 50 cm north of the south wall fragment. This seems to be an uncharacteristic placement for a wall in this monument typology. This inner east-west wall fragment (2.4 m long, 40 cm wide) is composed of upright stones, 15 cm to 25 cm in length.

Pillars

The two unhewn pillars of Tratsang DoringKhra tshang rdo ring are spaced 35 cm apart. The intact, four-sided specimen measures 80 cm (height) by 1.1 m (basal girth). The other specimen is broken (30 cm by 90 cm). These pillars are made of a white rock that has turned red in certain places. The area in front of the pillars moderately slopes down to the east, in the direction of the valley bottom. When the pillars were originally installed, this ground is liable to have been much more level.

Outlying funerary structure

There is a rectangular enclosure (4.5 m by 2.3 m) situated 17 m north of the two pillars on moderately sloping ground. Its partially intact double-course walls (40 cm to 50 cm thick) are composed of cobbles and blocky stones (10 cm to 50 cm long). The larger stones project upwards of 15 cm above the ground surface. A small manima ṇi wall is found 14 m north of this funerary enclosure. One can only wonder if it was created from stones extracted from other funerary enclosures of the site.