古代和田是我国著名的佛教中心之一,自古便被称为西天佛国。东亚佛教汉语的“佛”字便翻译自古代和田语,中国佛教早期所谓的西天取经也只是到于阗——这个西天而已。这里的佛教教义、佛教艺术深远地影响了东亚佛教,虽然千年香火断绝,但是其影响一直延续至今。现代和田绿洲附近的塔克拉玛干沙漠中也保存了塔里木盆地数量最多的各类佛教建筑遗址群。其中尤属达玛沟(Damago)所在区域在数量、规模、分布广泛、重要性等方面首屈一指。20世纪初至今,沿达玛沟水系从南到北先后发现了数十处著名佛教遗址群。本文重点介绍近10年达玛沟新发现佛寺遗址考古发掘最新收获。

Ancient Khotan, once China's most famous Buddhist center, has long been called "Buddhist Kingdom in the West". The character "佛" in Chinese language is translated from ancient Khotanese. In the early records of Buddhism in China, Buddhists who pilgrimaged to the West to bring back scriptures only reached as far as Khotan. The Buddhist Doctrine and art in Khotan has influenced East Asian Buddhism greatly, and the effects remain until the present day despite the fact that Buddhism there was taken over by Islamism about one thousand years ago. In Taklimakan Desert that borders contemporary Hotan Oasis, there remain the greatest number of Buddhist architecture settlements in Tarim Basin. The settlements discovered in Damago area are second to none in terms of quantity, scale, distribution, and importance. From the beginning of the 20th century to this day, dozens of famous Buddhist temple settlements were discovered along Damago waters from south to north. This article focuses on the latest archaeological findings of Buddhist temple ruins discovered in the past ten years in the Damago area.