Sir Aurel Stein’s text-based geographical and archaeological discoveries in South Asia

Sir Aurel Stein’s name is best known for his archaeological discoveries along the Silk Road, and among Indians he is famous primarily as a Sanskrit scholar. However, the fact that during his research career Stein also made significant archaeological discoveries in South Asia is less known to the broader public, and less discussed in the scholarly literature. Between 1888 and 1943, Stein led several expeditions to South Asia with the goal to examine some historical geographical or archaeological question and, in many cases, he formulated his research question based on some written source. The goal of the following article is to discuss Aurel Stein’s geographical and archaeological expeditions in South Asia based on the nature of his written sources. An overview of these expeditions will allow a general description of Stein’s scholarly work in South Asia as well as a presentation of his role in the history of Indian archaeology.

Keywords: history of archaeology, India, Sir Aurel Stein, South Asia, textual sources