310 Essay on the Avian Order of Architecture. [Sept. 



of them have a transverse wall exactly in the centre of the building ; 

 while the fourth, that of Avantiswami, has this cross wall nearer to the 

 outer end than to the inner one. Each of these cross walls had a door- 

 way in the centre, which must once have been closed by a wooden door. 

 The gateways were thus divided into two open porches, of equal size, in 

 the first three temples ; but differing in the last, of which the outer 

 apartment was only half of the size of the inner one. 



5. — The interior decorations of the gateways were also similar to 

 those of the temples : as all the side walls of the four existing examples 

 are ornamented with trefoil-headed niches covered by pediments. All 

 of these must once have held statues or sculptures of some kind, ex- 

 cepting only, those of the gateway leading to Zein-ul-ab-ud-din's tomb. 

 But these last were certainly never completed, as each of the niches 

 is filled by a square mass of rough stone, which was no doubt destined 

 by the architect to be carved into some divine form, or some mytho- 

 logical group. 



XXVIII.— Enclosures. 



1 . — Rani Didda, the Messalina of Kashmirian history, is recorded* 

 to have repaired the ruinous surrounding walls of some temples and to 

 have erected new enclosures around others. Thus every Kashmirian 

 temple would appear to have been surrounded by a wall of some kind, 

 more or less decorated according to the magnificence of the enclosed 

 shrine, and larger or smaller according to the means at command. 

 There are however only three existing enclosures in the valley itself; 

 namely, those of Marttand, Avantipura, and Zein-ul-ab-ud-din's tomb, 

 all of which have suffered considerably by the hands of the spoiler. 

 But in my accounts of the temples themselves I have given grounds for 

 supposing that those of Pathan and Pandrethan must once have pos- 

 sessed enclosing walls of some kind ; and I have no doubt that a minute 

 research would discover the traces or remains of a surrounding wall to 

 the temple of Payach. Of the temples in the Barahmula Pass beyond 

 the valley, two still have their enclosures somewhat perfect. The third 

 I have not seen ; and Vigne unfortunately does not notice this point. 

 * Raja Tarangini, B. 6— v. 307. 



