1834 fy General Ventura at Manikydla. 315 



package even to gratify tbe curiosity of many who wished to feast their 

 eyes on its contents. 



General Ventura's simple request is characteristic : " Je m' em- 

 presse de vous expedier mon fameux Manekiala, que vous desirez pour 

 envoyer a M. Prinsep : veuillez je vous prie, mon bon ami, vous servir 

 de cette occasion pour faire agreer mes sentimens d'estime a M. 

 Prinsep, et de le prier en meme terns de m' envoyer une description 

 £crite en Franeais de ce qu'il pourra dechiffrer des inscriptions, et em- 

 preintes de ma trouvaille." 



The package has just now reached Calcutta under charge of our 

 associate Sir Jeremiah Bryant. 



I hasten to make known its curious contents to the Society, con- 

 fining myself on the present occasion to a description of the several 

 articles in the order of their discovery, of which we have a full account 

 in the " Etat des travaux," published by Mr. Wilson, as already 

 noticed, in the As. Res. vol. xvii., page 601 : — The articles, being 

 separately and carefully packed, left no difficulty in recognizing them 

 from the circumstances there indicated. 



Description of General Ventura's operations. 



The excavation was commenced on the 27th April, 1830, at the very 

 bottom of the cupola on the south side, where having met with no- 

 thing but loose materials, the work was of necessity discontinued. 



On the 28th April, the cap of the cupola was laid open, and there 

 at the depth of three feet, six medals (or coins) were discovered. 



On the 1st May, at the depth of twelve feet, a square mass of ma- 

 sonry was found, exactly in the centre of the mound, and regularly 

 built of quarried stones, in very good preservation. On piercing 

 ten feet into this, a medal was found in the middle of a clod of earth. 



On the 6th, a silver coin and six copper coins were met with at the 

 depth of twenty feet. 



I am not able to recognize the coins discovered up to this period, 

 and I conclude they have been mixed with the general heap of scatter- 

 ed coins, all being of the same nature. 



On the 8th May, the workmen came upon a box of iron (probably 

 copper) which was broken by a stroke of the pick-axe. There was in 

 this box a second smaller box of pure gold, (fig. 1, Plate xxi.) with an 

 ornamental top, in the centre of which is inserted a stone resembling 

 the opal but friable and adhesive to the tongue like tabasheer ; it is re- 

 served for future examination : this box contained the following articles : 

 Fig. 2. One medal of gold, weighing 122 grs., or two drachmae (the 



same as was depicted from a sealing-wax impression, in the As. Res. 



vol. xvii. as No. 1. of Mr. Wilson's plate.) 

 s s 2 



