CAVE DWELLINGS OF MEN. 



33 



tion of their ornamentation, which, like that of the cave temples 

 generally, seems to be designed to imitate constructions of wood. 

 Those of A junta consist of four temples and twenty-three monas- 

 teries, built in the face of an almost perpendicular cliff. They 

 were begun about 100 B. c, and have remained in the condition in 

 which they are now seen since the tenth century. They are ex- 

 cavated en suite in the amygdaloid of the mountain, and are de- 

 scribed as being of grand aspect, upheld by superb columns with 



Fig. 5. Plan of the Temples of Ktlas. 



curiously sculptured capitals and adorned with admirable frescoes 

 reproducing the ancient Hindu life. The temples of Ellora are 

 of different construction. Built in a sloping hill, it was neces- 

 sary, in order to obtain a suitable height for the facade, to make 

 a considerable preliminary excavation. In the group of these 

 temples known as the Kylas, according to M. Albert Tissandier, the 

 excavation has been carried around three sides, so as to isolate in 

 the center an immense block, in which a temple with annexed 

 chapels has been cut. The buildings are thus all in the open air, 

 carved in the form of pagodas. Literally covered with sculptures 

 composed with consummate art, they form a unique aggregate. 

 They appear to be placed upon a fantastic sub-base on which all 

 the gods of the Hindu mythology, with symbolical monsters and 



