Since effecting the exploration of ancient sites around Khotan and in the Taklamakan, of which a brief preliminary notice was given in the last number of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, I have moved eastward to Keriya and Niya. Certain indications had led me to look for archaeologically interesting remains in the desert north of the shrine of Imām Jafar Sadik, where the Niya River loses itself in the sands. The excavations I have been able to carry on there for the last three weeks have more than justified my expectations.