1834.] the Topes or Tumuli at Mdnikydla. 559 



opening. At ten feet lower down, or at ten from the level of the 

 ground, we met with a cell in the form of a rectangular parallelogram, 

 built in a solid manner, with well dressed stones, firmly united with 

 mortar. The four sides of the cell corresponded with the four cardinal 

 points, and it was covered with a single massive stone. Having 

 turned this over, I perceived that it was covered with inscriptions. 



In the centre of the hollow cell stood a copper urn, encircling which 

 were placed symmetrically eight medals of the same metal, which were 

 completely corroded with verdigris. The urn itself was carefully 

 enveloped in a wrapper of white linen, tightly adhering to its surface, 

 and which fell into shreds when I opened the urn*. The copper urn 

 enclosed a smaller one of silver : the space between them being filled 

 with a paste of the colour of raw umber (terre d'ombre), in which the 

 verdigris had begun to form. This pasty matter was light, without 

 smell, and still wet. On breaking it, I discovered a thread of cotton 

 gathered up into a knot (ramasse en au seul point), and which was re- 

 duced to dust on handling it. When I attempted to remove the silver 

 urn from within the outer cylinder, its bottom remained attached to 

 the brown sediment, and I remarked that the silver was become quite 

 brittle from age, crumbling into bits between the fingers. Within the 

 silver urn was found one much smaller of gold, immersed in the same 

 brown paste, in which were also contained seven silver medals, with Latin 

 characters. The gold vessel enclosed four small coins of gold of the 

 Graeco-Scythic or Grseco-Indian type ; — also two precious stones and 

 four pearls in a decayed state ; the holes perforated in them prove them 

 to have been the pendents of earrings. 



From the position in which these several urns were found, an allusion 

 was possibly intended to the ages of the world. The four gold coins 

 were of far inferior fabrication to those of silver. The latter are worn 

 as if they had been a long time in circulation. Whether they are Greek 

 or Roman, I cannot venture to affirm. I would only remark, that if the 

 Greeks before the reign of Philip used the Latin alphabet, it might be 

 probable that there were Greek coins, and that they were brought into 

 the country by the army of Alexander. If, on the contrary, they are 

 Roman, they may be of the epochs when the kings of India sent 

 embassies to the Roman emperors Augustus or Justinian. Or, it is pos- 

 sible that they are brought into the country through the ordinary 

 channel of commerce by the Red Seaf. 



* The exterior of the copper cylinder of M. Ventura's tope has the marks of 

 a cloth wrapper well defined on the corroded surface. — Ed. 



f While correcting the press of this passage we are put in possession of M. 

 Court's drawings of the coins, which we will make the subject of a postscript. — Ed. 



