Ixx 



Report of the Archaeological Survey. 



and a half, the whole circuit being only 1 furlong less than 4 railed 

 The fort stands on a rocky height, and is built of massive blocks of 

 -stone, so large and heavy, that they must have been quarried on the 

 spot. The largest stone which I observed measured 14 feet in length 

 by 2 feet 2 inches and 1 foot 10 inches in breadth and thickness, and 

 must have weighed rather more than 6 tons. The short faces to the 

 west, north, and east, are protected by a deep ditch, and the long face 

 to the south by a large sheet of water, which is held up by an embank- 

 ment at the south-east corner. On this side the rock is scarped, and 

 above it the main walls rise to a mean height of 40 feet, with a 

 parapet of 7 feet, behind which rises another wall of 15 feet, the whole 

 height above the low ground being upwards of 90 feet. In the south- 

 west angle is the citadel, which occupies about one-sixth of the area 

 of the fort, and contains the ruins of an extensive Palace. The 

 ramparts are raised, as usual, on a line of domed rooms, which rarely 

 communicate with each other, and which, no doubt, formed the quar- 

 ters of the Troops that garrisoned the fort, The walls slope rapidly 

 inwards, even as much as those of Egyptian buildings. The rampart 

 walls are pierced with loop-holes, which serve also to give light and 

 air to the soldiers' quarters. The parapets are pierced with low slop- 

 ing loop-holes, which command the foot of the wall, and are crowned 

 with a line of rude battlements of solid stone, which are also provided 

 with loop-holes. The walls are built of large plainly dressed stones, 

 and there is no ornament of any kind. But the vast size, the great 

 strength, and the visible solidity of the whole give to Tughlakabad an 

 air of stern and massive grandeur that is both striking and impressive. 



130. The fort of Tughlakabad has 13 gates, and there are three 

 inner gates to the citadel. It contains 7 tanks of water, besides the 

 ruins of several large buildings, as the Jama Masjid and the Birij 

 Mandir. The upper part of the fort is full of ruined houses, but the 

 lower part appears as if it had never been fully inhabited. Syad 

 Ahmad states that the fort was commenced in A. D. 1321 and finish- 

 ed in 1323, or in the short period of two years. It is admitted by all 

 that the work was completed by Tughlak himself ; and as his reign 

 lasted for only four years, from 1321 to 1325, the building of the fort 

 must have been pushed forward with great vigour. 



131. The fine tomb of Tughlak Shah was built by his soa 

 Muhammad, who is not without suspicion of having caused his father's 



