敦煌石窟考古【英】

archaeology on the grottoes in Dunhuang

定义

考定敦煌石窟时代、年代及塑像、壁画内容的实践。其对象为敦煌石窟的崖质及窟外建筑、窟前遗址、崖面遗迹、洞窟形制、塑像和壁画。考古手段包括: (1)美术考古（2）传统金石学考古（3）现代考古学（4）文献学考证（5）利用佛经内容及译经时代考古（6）物理、化学测定。敦煌石窟考古是一项综合性的工作，有其特殊性及复杂性，利用单一手段，每有不准确之处，故多数都以两项或多项手段进行综合考察、分析。

It is a practice to research and decide what time and era the grottoes in Dunhuang belong to and what meanings the sculptures and the frescoes there may convey. The objects of the research include the quality of the cliffs where the grottoes are cut, the buildings outside the grottoes, the ruins in front of the grottoes, the relics on the cliff face, the shape and structure of the grottoes, the sculptures and the frescoes in the grottoes. The methods for the research include (1) art archaeology, (2) traditional studies on ancient bronze ware and stone inscriptions, (3) modern archaeology, (4) philology research, (5) archaeology from the Buddhist scriptures and the time of their translations and (6) physical and chemical analysis. Archaeology on the grottoes in Dunhuang is a comprehensive practice with its own particularity and complexity and studies made by way of any single method may result in inaccuracies, so in most cases two or more methods are applied to do comprehensive examinations and analyses.