16 On the Antiquities of the Peshawur District. [No. J, 
should then have the form avaranas. One of the commonest modes 
in which the Sanscrit syllable va reappears in other languages, is in 
the form of the vowel o. Thus 
Sanscrit dvdr = English door, German thor. 
53 vakshas = ,, ox. 
a svan— = Latin son—. 
3 svasar = 5, soror: 
5 Suati— OOK 
a svarna = Hindi sona. 
In Greek some such change is doubly necessary on account of the 
absence of the sound v from the language (from the kxowy, at any 
rate) ; hence svas corresponds to és, s being replaced by the breath- 
ing; vék, becomes oz-, etc. Then there is that immense class of 
perfect participles, which in Sanserit are formed with the suffix vdt,* 
corresponding to the Greek form in or-, and many other instances. 
On this principle avaranas becomes copvos, losing one vowel neces- 
sarily by the recession of the accent. 
We should therefore have to look for Aornos opposite Atok. With 
reference to this locality General Court has observed “ that a rock 
exists opposite Atok, with all the peculiarities described by Q. Cur- 
tius, on a mountain that is topped by a castle, attributed to Rajah 
Hody. It cannot be ascended but on the side of the Indus, by a steep 
passage hewn through the rock, and enclosed by two walls of defence, 
running up zigzag according to the protuberances of the mount. The 
space inclosed by these walls is filled with ruins of habitations gradu- 
ally rising from the brink of the river up to the castle. Those works 
are all entire, and have the appearance of great antiquity.” 
Much of this is true even now, though it is highly probable that 
many of the “ habitations,” of which General Court speaks, as well 
as the “ castle” itself, have been removed to build Sikh Forts in the 
same locality, since he saw the place, if he saw it at all himself. 
There are ruins of buildings, but they are few. However, the outer 
wall of the whole Fort is distinctly traceable. It runs down to the 
river on two sides ; the space enclosed is at least three times as large 
as the Fort Atok, and the wall to the west, north, and south evident- 
ly overhung steep places. The walls are smooth and even, and in 
general appearance allied to the Buddhist remains in Yusufzai. 
[* As in dadri’svdt—and tetvpor.—EDS. | 
