JAVA 131 



riiins of the aucient city of ]\Iajapahit cover miles 

 of ground, and consist of paved roads, walls, tombs, baths, 

 and gateways, while sculptures of Hindu gods and 

 goddesses in hard trachytic rock are often found in 

 the forest, or remain in situ in the temples. Some of 

 these buildings were of brick, and in their ruins show 

 a degree of perfection of workmanship perhaps not 

 equalled in any other part of the world. The bricks 

 are exceedingly fine-grained and hard, with very flat 

 surfaces and sharp angles. They are laid together with 

 the greatest accuracy without any perceptible mortar 

 or cement, yet often joining so closely that a penknife 

 cannot be inserted between them. The surfaces seem, 

 in fact, to adhere together in some incomprehensible 

 manner. These brick buildings were richly ornamented 

 with mouldings, projecting courses, recessed panels, and 

 bold cornices, so as to produce a very fine architectural 

 effect. The great temples and religious buildings, how- 

 ever, some of which remain in a sufficiently perfect state 

 to give an idea of their size and beauty, were much more 

 remarkable, and a short sketch of some of them will not 

 be out of place. 



One of the most extensive collections of sacred 

 buildings is at Brambanam, near the centre of Java, 

 between the native capitals of Jokjokarta and Surakarta. 

 One set, called Loro-jongran, which has lately been fully 

 excavated, consisted of twenty separate buildings, six 

 large and fourteen small, the larger supposed to have 

 been 90 feet high. They were all constructed of solid 

 stone, everywhere decorated with carvings and bas-reliefs, 

 and adorned with numbers of statues, many of which 

 still remain entire. At Chandi Sewu — the " Thousand 

 Temples " — in the same neighbourhood, are many colossal 

 figures. Captain Baker, who surveyed these ruins, said 



