146 GEOLOGY OF TRICHINOPOLYj &0. [ChAP. VIII. 



elaborate patterns is as clear and sharp as the day it left the sculptor^s 

 hands : it is justly an object of great pride to the people of Tanjore. 

 Some of the finest carvings in the great temple of 

 Sri-Rungum (Seringham) are executed in fine- 

 grained pinkish coloured quartzo-felspathic gneiss^ containing a few small 

 crystals of magnetic iron. 



The entrance to the Rock Pagoda at Trichinopoly may likewise be 

 mentioned as showing some fan* examples of large- 



at Tricliinopoly, . i -n d 



Sized carved pillars oi gneiss. 



Close to the '' Travellers^ Bungalow" at Volcondapooram stands a 

 fine old pagoda, now rapidly falling into ruins, the base of whose goparam 

 or entrance tower, and adjoining mundapum, as well as a small deep tank 

 surrounded by a covered terrace, show some very beautiful carvings in 

 gneiss on a large scale, and are well worth a visit from any traveller 

 stopping at or passing by that place. 



At Chellumbrum Pagoda (the scene of a hard fight in the war 

 with Hyder Ali in 1781,) there are some very gracefully-carved piUars 



of gneiss to be seen in the inner quadrangle, 



at Chelltimbrum, ,. ,i f n • • , i 



supporting the roots ot various minor temples. 



Some of these roofs are made of copper scales, overlapping each other. 

 An immense quantity of stone has been used in the construction of this 

 huge pagoda, all of which must have been brought from a distance 

 of 30 or 40 miles at the least, showing how highly the stone was appre- 

 ciated for building at the time when the religious fervour of the people 

 showed itself in the building and maintaining of temples. Even at 



Trivalur, near Negapatam, at the eastern extremity 



at Trivalur, , t\ m p,i/->i ■> nn •■, 



01 the great Delta ot the (Jauvery, nearly 60 miles 



from the nearest gneiss quarries, the gTcat pagoda and tank are sur- 

 rounded by walls of massive gneiss. 



As an instance of the peculiar susceptibility of gneiss to fine carv- 

 ing, the rings appended to the drooping comers of 



at Strimustrum, ,, n n ^ ^ ^^ -,■ -, 



the roots ot some pagoda buildings may be 



( 368 ) 



