TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION E. 443 



MONDAY, AUGUST 25. 



The following Papers were read : — 



1. Afghan War — The Jellalabad Region. By William Simpson, Special 

 Artist of ' The Illustrated London News' 



Having been attached to the Peshawur Field Force under General Sir Samuel 

 Browne, the author accompanied it from the Khyber as far as C4unduniuck. The 

 troops were quartered for over three months at Jellalabad, and during that time he 

 had opportunities for making himself acquainted with the region. The tendency 

 of his explorations, beyond his own proper sphere as an artist, was rather archaeo- 

 logical than geographical. Still, the ancient remains of a country belong un- 

 doubtedly to its geography, and have in all cases to be considered as a portion of 

 our knowledge of any locality under consideration ; and no account of the Jellalabad 

 Valley would be complete without some notice of the Buddhist remains to be 

 found there. Mr. Simpson was aware previously of the existence of these remains, 

 but what astonished him was the vast quantity of them still to be seen. On all 

 sides are extensive mounds and heaps, that being the condition in most cases of 

 these remains. Here and there structures may be found, which, although in 

 ruins, yet bear on them some traces of architecture. At Hada, about five miles 

 south of Jellalabad, are some elevated ridges, extending to a considerable distance ; 

 these are in the present day a mass of undulating heaps, marking the site of a city 

 of monasteries and shrines, which was celebrated in the Buddhist period. This is 

 about the only one of these Buddhist groups which has retained its ancient 

 name: it was called Hi-lo, or Hidda, by Fah Hian. Here, we know from 

 the Chinese Pilgrims, was exhibited in a most costly shrine the skull-bone 

 of Buddha; and not far from this was a cave with a miraculous shadow 

 of Buddha, a spot which the Buddhist devotees all visited. At the 

 western end of the valley, on the south of the road to Kabool, there 

 are some low hills of conglomerate ; here for a number of miles are caves, 

 mounds, and topes — the remains of what have been Buddhist monasteries. The 

 western end of the Jellalabad Valley is terminated by the Siah Koh, or ' Black 

 Mountain ' range, and along the base of this rocky mass, towards Duranta, is 

 another extensive collection of similar ruins. Here some of the topes are not so 

 dilapidated, and their architectural features can still be traced. Crossing the 

 Kabool Eiver we find, on the left bank, about a mile or so from Duranta, another 

 very large group of mounds, topes, and caves. This group extends for about three 

 miles. On the same side of the river are the districts of Besoot and Kamah. 

 Although not so familiar with them, still, in an expedition which the author accom- 

 panied against the Momonds, he noted the existence of Buddhist remains on the 

 lower ridges of the hills; as a rale, elevated ground seems generally to have been 

 selected for these religious establishments, and they all commanded good views of 

 the valley. At Mirza Kheyl, which is in the Kamah district, and close on the 

 eastern end of the valley, is a mass of white rock covered with remains. Near this 

 is an island in the river called Girdao, with the ruins of an extensive monastery. 

 This list of the larger groups is far from being exhaustive, on account of numerous 

 remains of lesser importance scattered about. 



One point is apparently clear, that in the Buddhist period the population of the 

 Jellalabad Valley must have been much more numerous than at present, and that the 

 area of cultivation must have been also more extensive. The topes were large and 

 elaborate architectural structures, and the author believes the same might be said 

 of the monasteries, for the explorations produced sculptures and plaster figures in 

 great quantities, which had been all painted with bright colours, and in many cases 

 thickly gilt. The wealth necessary to construct such a mass of buildings, as well 

 as the maintenance of them, and the large population of monks who lived in these 

 places, must have been great. The scanty number of people in the region at this 

 day would be quite insufficient to support them. The Buddhist ascetic priests- 



