1847.] Notice on the Antiquities of BhopaL 747 



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one foot in that height. A berm or pathway of six feet is then left 

 all round and form this basement springs the " Tope" itself with a 

 diameter of 106 feet or thereabouts. Its height is 28 feet, or including 

 the basement 42 feet ; the hemisphere is not perfect if indeed any such 

 geometrical figure was, ever intended, and the top forms a circular flat of 

 34 feet in diameter. The Tope is encircled by a stone colonnade, or 

 rather railing or balustrade 10 feet high, at a distance also of 10 feet 

 from the basement while at opposite sides, corresponding with the 

 cardinal points, are four entrances into the passage formed round the 

 monument by the railing in question. Within the passage, and oppo- 

 site the entrances are images of Buddha with their backs to the base- 

 ment. The image at the southern entrance is erect, i. e. it has been 

 cut in an erect position ; and opposite the southern entrance also are 

 ramps or slopes leading up to the berm or pathway. The Tope was 

 originally surmounted by a kind of cupola, or at least by a circular 

 railing of stone supporting one large central ornament or " Kullus," 

 but the exact description of the upper work cannot now be ascertained. 

 It further seems certain from fallen remains that the pathway sur- 

 mounting the basement had a balustrade of stone on its outer edge 

 about two feet high. The Tope was apparently built solid, a thick 

 column or shaft of brickwork being first raised, to serve probably as a 

 foundation for the upper cupola, and then encompassed with stone work, 

 the outer blocks having their faces dressed, although they were not 

 jointed with lime. The whole building was then cased in mortar to a 

 thickness of about four inches. 



The smaller Tope corresponds in plan with the larger, but its lower 

 base is only about 48 feet in diameter and its upper about 37 feet. 

 The ramp also leading to the pathway above the basement is opposite 

 the eastern entrance instead of the southern, and the lofty gateways in 

 the encompassing stone railing which distinguish the larger Tope are 

 wanting in the smaller. The accompanying plan and section of the 

 larger Tope will however sufficiently illustrate the characteristics of 

 both buildings. 



Adjoining the northern and southern entrances stood two columns 

 of stone, and perhaps more. One of these is about 2^ feet in diamete r 

 at the base, and the other about 3 feet, with a shaft of a single block 

 33 feet in length. At the southern entrance there would indeed appear to 



