Ball — A Oeologisfs Contribution to the History of India. 93 



and hence probably arose the well-known fable about the injury 

 to shipping caused by the loadstone rocks. The surf boats, how- 

 ever, have no iron in their construction, simply because bolts or 

 nails would render them too rigid; nor have the vessels of the 

 Laccadives and Maldives, because iron ores do not occur in coral 

 islands. 



The identity of Argyre (where, according to Ptolomey, there 

 were mines of silver), Chryse chersonestis, Chryse chora, and Chal- 

 kitis have recently been discussed by Colonel Yule.^ 



The first he proves to be Arakan, where, however, there are 

 no silver mines; and considering the geological structure of the 

 country, it is almost certain there never were any. I have been 

 recently informed by Greneral Sir Arthur Phayre that Argyre is 

 probably a transliteration of an ancient Burmese name for Arakan. 

 It seems likely, therefore, that it was from putting a Greek interpre- 

 tation to this name that the story of the silver mines owed its origin. 

 According to Colonel Tule, the Arabs probably adopted their ideas 

 from the Ptolemaic charts. With regard to the other localities, he 

 says, " The golden Chersonese is specifically the protuberant delta 

 of the Irawadi, Pegu, the Siwarna bhumi, or golden land of Ancient 

 India, whilst the golden region behind is Burma, the oldest pro- 

 vince of which, above Ava, is still formally styled in State docu- 

 ments, Sona paranta, " G-olden frontier." Ptolomey's Chaikitis, 

 also, or copper region, approximates curiously to the Tampa-dipa, 

 or Copper Island of the Burmese State phraseology, "a region 

 which embraces Ava and the ancient capital Pagan." 



These identifications remove from the region of probability what 

 has sometimes been urged, that Argyre and Chryse were countries 

 which supplied India with large quantities of silver and gold. 



Arrian [Circa, a. d. 146.) — The first part of Arrian's Indika 

 was founded on the works of Megasthenes and Eratosthenes, and 

 the second on an account of the voyage made by Nearchos the 

 Kretan from the Indus to the Pasitigris. The parts of this com- 

 pilation which bear upon our present subject have already been 

 anticipated in the description of Megesthenes' writings, and need 

 not, therefore, be repeated. 



The authors whom I have consulted with reference to the 



Proceedings of the Eoyal Geographical Society, 1882, p. 654. 

 12 



