284 



Notes on Boodh Gya. 



[No. 4, 



portico before described, by an arched door- way only 5 feet -wide. 

 This is faced, as shewn on the preceding page, with Boodhist bricks 

 regularly cut, and is probably built internally of bricks on edge, and has 

 been constructed on a centering, as has the inner room to which it leads. 

 This arched room is 16J feet wide ; the difference between this and 

 20 feet, which I have stated to have been the original internal width, 

 being occupied with a lining of brick on which the arching rests. 



For 12 feet in height the walls north and south are straight — at 

 this point there is a small cornice whence the arch springs, the said 

 arch being evidently built brick on edge. 



The whole of the walls to the north and south, as well as the roof of 

 the arching, is plastered white with a chess board pattern, in each 

 square of which is painted in a reddish colour a sitting Boodh. There 

 must thus be many thousands of these figures, now however, much 

 obliterated by the hand of time. 



The total height of this chamber may be 20 feet, and adding 4 or 5 

 feet for the thickness of the flooring of the upper room and of the arch, 

 the story may be allowed to count as 25 feet. 



Before ascending to the terrace, I would observe that the " Singha- 

 sun" or throne where the figure of Boodha was placed, is still left as 

 arranged at the last restoration (probably 500 A. D-) and there are 



still the holes in the stones, which 

 were formerly filled by the rivet 

 affixing gilt copper plates. 



Over the doorway and above the 

 arch of this basement chamber is 

 inserted in the wall a huge beam 

 of Saul wood, evidently of great 

 antiquity and to which allusion will be made hereafter. 



Ascending to the room above, we find 

 a repetition of the lower arched chamber 

 without the end of semicircular arched 

 recess, and with no less than three arches 

 at the entrance within one another, and all of 

 the same character. The marginal sketch 

 taken from a photograph shews these, and 

 it is difficult to understand their object. 



