1896.] V. A. Smith and W. Roej— Buddhist Sutras. 101 



No. I, til at sent in by Pandit Ramgharib Caube, is about 10| 

 inclies long, by 4| broad, and one inch tliick. Unluckily it was broken 

 in transit, bat, notwitlistandini^ the fi'acture, very few letters have been 

 lost. Tlie characters are about quarter of an inch in height, and are 

 inscribed on both sides of the brick, nine lines on the front, and ten on 

 the back. The wilting was evidently incised before the brick was 

 baked. Tlie moulding was roughly done, and the surface is conse- 

 quently uneven, and the letters are often irregularly formed. 



We have obtained a faifly satisfactory facsimile of the text of this 

 brick by pencilling over a paper estampage, which is submitted here- 

 Avith, In its present state the brick would not yield a clear photograph, 

 but if it were soaked for a long time, and the letters very carefully 

 cleared of mud, a tolerably distinct photogi'aph might be obtained. 

 One side of one of Dr. Hoey's bricks has thus been cleaned. 



The bricks Nos. II and III are perfect, except for some minute 

 chippings. 



No. II measures ll| by 4| inches, and has twelve lines of writing 

 on one side, and ten on the other. 



No. Ill measures 9j by 4| inches and has twelve lines of writing on 

 each side. 



No. IV (fragments A, B, C) is in bad condition. It measured ori- 

 ginally abont 9 inches by 5, and had twelve lines of vvi'iting on one side, 

 and six on the other. 



No. V is a small fragment of a brick, the rest of which has been 

 lost. 



The fragments of Nos. IV and V were recovered by Dr. Hoey nenr 

 the indigo vats, into which several of the inscribed bricks have probably 

 been built. Others are believed to be still in the villagers' hands. 



The discovery of these brick records seems to us to be of much 

 interest and importance. So far as we are aware, no similar discovery 

 has ever before been made in India, and it is startling to find the Indian 

 Buddhists using brick, as the Assyrians did, to preserve long documents. 



The characters of the inscriptions, which use throughout the triden- 

 date form of unattached y, belong to the Northern alphabet of the third 

 or fourth century. The coins associated with the bricks indicate that 

 the earliest possible date should be assigned to the inscriptions. ^ 



Anc. I. p. 93, PI. is, 14, 15) to Surya Mitra. It seems to us iraiDossible to read the 

 characters as Surya, although Ayu gives no sense. The characters for A and S are 

 quite distinct. 



1 The inscriptions on bricks found at Sh6rk5t in the Jhaijg district of the Pan- 

 jab are merely masons' marks, notes to indicate the proper laying of the bricks. 

 (Cunningham, Reports, v, 102.) Bricks inscribed with the name of Qrl Kumar a 

 Ovpta have been found at Bhitarl in the GhilzTpur district (ihid. I, 97, PI. xxx.) 



