SCHISTOSE AREAS, 25 



stone in the ease of a small bed of that rock at Kalpatti, in Trichinopoly 



■district K 



A graphitic gneiss was noted in one place within our gneissic area. 

 This place is situated at the northern end of the 

 rocky ridge south-east of Amravati (Umarawutty), 



close to the village of Peddamadur and a mile south of the Kistna 



river. The gneiss which contains the graphite in form of spangles is a 



decomposed quartzose rock. 



The last variety of gneissic rock which demands our special attention 



is one occurring only in the extreme north-eastern 

 Bezwada group. 



corner of our gneissic area ; but it there occurs in 



considerable beds, and forms the main mass of the group of hills on the 



right bank of the Kistna, opposite Bezwada. This variety of gneiss is 



a rather fine-grained quartzo-micaceous felspathic schist, containing 



several accessory minerals, chief of which are garnets of small size, 



but occurring in great numbers, and a reddish-brown felspar, forming 



small quasi-nodular aggregations, is also of common occurrence in the 



schist. The schist weathers considerably at the surface and becomes 



there of a rather powdery texture, or else coats itself with a close highly 



polished surface very like serpentine in appearance. This serpentinous 



mineral often shows various colours, and is then of considerable beauty. 



It is well seen on top of the westernmost ridge, south of the famous 



old Buddhist vihara at Undavilli, 3 also on the Mangalagiri hill. 



The beds forming the Sitanagram and Undavilli ridges are continued 

 across the river and form the Bezwada hills, in which they are also 



1 Mem. Geol. Survey of India, Vol. IV, p. 275. 



2 This very interesting relic of the Buddhist period is cut into this singular schistose 

 rock at the north-western side of the extremity of the high ridge, close to the edge of the 

 alluvium, and ahout half a mile from the right bank of the Kistna. The excavation was 

 made without any reference to the strike of the rock, which it cuts diagonally ; owing to this 

 the weather action on the detached pillars, &c, has been much greater than had they been 

 cut square to the planes of bedding. 



The basement story of the vihara has lately been exposed by the very successful 

 excavations proposed to, and carried out for, Government by Mr. Robert Sewell, M. C. S. 

 An extensive .rubbish heap had previously hidden great part of the front of the vihara. 



( 25 ) 



