82 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 



Some 70 or 80ft. below the level of the summit, and about 20 yards 

 to the north of the Maskeliya-para, is a cave formed by an over- 

 hanging rock, along the whole length of which is cut a drip ledge. 

 The cave, which faces east, is 40 ft. long, 8 to 9 ft. broad, and 

 varies from 7 ft. in height at the front to 2 ft. at the back. Part of 

 the back wall, however, is higher, and on this there are two rock-cut 

 inscriptions, one shorter and seemingly more modern than the other. 

 The larger is written on ruled lines ; it contains thirteen lines of 

 writing, each 5 ft. 2| in. in length. The smaller is unruled, and 

 contains only seven lines, each 8 in. long. Both are in the 

 Sinhalese character. Forbes, in his " Eleven Years in Ceylon," 

 mentions this cave by the name of Bliagawalena. 



A little below this and on the south side of the path there are 

 three small caves, the two further of which are reached by means of 

 notches cut in the stems of the rhododendron trees. 



These caves show no sign of ancient occupation, but recently one 

 of them was occupied by a Chinese devotee ; he is said to have lived 

 in the same cave for seven years as a penance. There are Chinese 

 letters scraped on the wall of the cave and gilded ; these are quite 

 modern to my certain knowledge. It is possible to climb past these 

 caves, but nothing is to be gaiiaed, as one is brought up short by a 

 steep slope ending in a precipice. 



I climbed along the ledges of the eastern cliffs wherever it was 

 practicable and found four more small caves, none of which were 

 of interest. In one place a ledge ceases suddenly, and to proceed 

 it is necessary to climb along the tops of the rhododendrons. 



About 150 ft. below the summit and just to the right of the path 

 there is a pool and spring, evidently used for generations. The 

 spring just below the summit, which is reached by a path that 

 descends from the " beKry " in the south corner, shows no signs 

 of workmanship either ancient or modern. 



The rock on which the shrine is placed has a number of short 

 inscriptions on it, some in Sinhalese, a few in Tamil, and some in 

 Chinese. The latter I know to be modern ; some of the Sinhalese 

 ones may be old, but they do not look so. 



There are a few stone lamps in the shrine, very similar in shape to 

 those found in Anuradhapura, but I am told they are modern. 



The only piece of stonework on the summit that seems old is one 

 of the steps up to the shrine on the western side ; this step is formed 

 of what looks like a pillar alternately square and octagonal. The 

 footprint is edged with cement, and two Muhammadan pilgrims 

 told me that when they visited it several years ago the length of 

 the footprint was 4 inches more than at present, owing to the 

 improvement of the toes by cement. This would account for the 

 various sizes different authors ascribe to it. Several writers mention 

 a metal case which used to fit into the footprint, and which was 

 kept there in the pilgrim season. In the course of five visits to the 



