﻿3U 
  

  

  OLDHAM: 
  GREAT 
  EARTHQUAKE 
  OF 
  1897. 
  

  

  ID 
  

  

  JU 
  

  

  ifflffi 
  

  

  7T 
  

  

  F'g 
  39< 
  Flooring 
  in 
  Nawab's 
  

   Palace, 
  Murshidabad. 
  

  

  north-south 
  and 
  east-west. 
  The 
  buildings, 
  whose 
  longer 
  axis 
  runs 
  north 
  and 
  south 
  

  

  are 
  generally 
  more 
  injured 
  than 
  those 
  whose 
  

   principal 
  direction 
  is 
  east- 
  west. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Nawab's 
  new 
  palace 
  nothing 
  has 
  

   been 
  left 
  standing 
  but 
  the 
  outer 
  walls. 
  This 
  

   building, 
  which 
  is 
  made 
  of 
  bricks, 
  faces 
  the 
  

   west, 
  and 
  has 
  an 
  upper 
  story 
  ; 
  there 
  were 
  no 
  

   wooden 
  or 
  iron 
  beams: 
  the 
  ceilings 
  consisted 
  

   of 
  shallow 
  arches. 
  

  

  As 
  these 
  were 
  held 
  in 
  their 
  place 
  merely 
  by 
  

   the 
  resistance 
  of 
  the 
  outer 
  vertical 
  walls 
  with- 
  

   out 
  any 
  buttresses 
  to 
  oppose 
  this 
  exceptional 
  

   stress, 
  they 
  must 
  have 
  given 
  way 
  easily. 
  

   In 
  another 
  building 
  of 
  this 
  same 
  palace 
  a 
  clock-tower, 
  facing 
  west, 
  fell 
  west 
  by 
  

   a 
  little 
  south. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  stables, 
  which 
  were 
  large 
  and 
  well 
  built, 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  ceilings 
  have 
  

   collapsed. 
  The 
  building 
  was 
  a 
  large 
  quadrangle, 
  the 
  north-east 
  «side 
  of 
  which 
  

   consisted 
  of 
  a 
  double-storied 
  habitation. 
  The 
  outer 
  wall 
  of 
  this 
  habitation 
  facing 
  

   N 
  40 
  E 
  collapsed 
  entirely. 
  

  

  The 
  only 
  building 
  which 
  is 
  comparatively 
  little 
  damaged 
  is 
  the 
  old 
  palace. 
  It 
  

   is 
  a 
  very 
  large 
  three-storied 
  building 
  with 
  its 
  longest 
  dimension 
  in 
  an 
  east-west 
  

   direction. 
  It 
  is 
  very 
  massive 
  and 
  well 
  built,, 
  largely 
  of 
  Chunar 
  sandstone. 
  The 
  

   damage 
  is 
  that 
  caused 
  by 
  the 
  rocking 
  to 
  and 
  fro 
  of 
  the 
  walls. 
  The 
  shorter 
  waifs, 
  

   those 
  that 
  run 
  north 
  and 
  south, 
  are 
  not 
  damaged, 
  except 
  for 
  some 
  slight 
  cracks 
  near 
  

   the 
  upper 
  corners. 
  The 
  longer 
  walls 
  running 
  east 
  and 
  west 
  are 
  not 
  cracked 
  either, 
  

   but 
  have 
  been 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  displaced 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  vertical 
  ; 
  the 
  porticoes 
  and 
  pediments 
  

   have 
  especially 
  been 
  detached 
  from 
  the 
  building, 
  but 
  none 
  of 
  them 
  have 
  fallen. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Durbar 
  hall, 
  a 
  large 
  circular 
  room 
  covered 
  with 
  a 
  dome, 
  the 
  masonry 
  of 
  

   which 
  has 
  remained 
  quite 
  intact, 
  there 
  are 
  recesses, 
  in 
  which 
  two 
  large 
  candelabra 
  

   were 
  situated. 
  They 
  were 
  firmly 
  secured 
  in 
  their 
  place 
  by 
  wires. 
  The 
  cande- 
  

   labrum 
  placed 
  in 
  the 
  north-west 
  recess 
  fell 
  south-east, 
  breaking 
  all 
  three 
  wires. 
  

   The 
  one 
  in 
  the 
  south-east 
  recess 
  vibrated 
  sufficiently 
  to 
  break 
  the 
  south-west 
  wire, 
  

   but 
  it 
  eventually 
  remained 
  standing. 
  Unfortunately 
  this 
  hall 
  is 
  on 
  the 
  first 
  floor 
  of 
  

   the 
  building 
  so 
  that 
  little 
  information 
  is 
  given 
  by 
  these 
  directions. 
  In 
  some 
  other 
  

   rooms 
  on 
  the 
  same 
  floor, 
  marble 
  pillars 
  3 
  feet 
  high 
  supporting 
  statuettes 
  or 
  

   vases 
  have 
  been 
  thrown 
  down 
  ; 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  I 
  visited 
  the 
  building 
  they 
  were 
  still 
  

   in 
  the 
  position 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  fell, 
  and 
  were 
  found 
  lying 
  in 
  all 
  directions. 
  

  

  Opposite 
  the 
  palace 
  there 
  is 
  an 
  isolated 
  clock 
  tower 
  which 
  has 
  not 
  suffered. 
  

   Close 
  by 
  is 
  a 
  little 
  Mohammedan 
  shrine, 
  a 
  square 
  building 
  with 
  a 
  dome 
  in 
  the 
  

   centre 
  and 
  minarets 
  at 
  the 
  corners. 
  Like 
  the 
  other 
  buildings 
  it 
  is 
  oriented 
  exactly 
  

   north 
  to 
  south 
  and 
  east 
  to 
  west. 
  The 
  dome 
  and 
  the 
  walls 
  are 
  not 
  cracked, 
  but 
  the 
  

   our 
  minarets 
  have 
  fallen 
  ; 
  three 
  of 
  them 
  fell 
  exactly 
  to 
  the 
  west 
  ; 
  the 
  one 
  placed 
  on 
  

   the 
  north-east 
  corner 
  fell 
  due 
  east. 
  

  

  I 
  could 
  not 
  detect 
  any 
  instances 
  giving 
  an 
  exact 
  measure 
  of 
  the 
  intensity 
  of 
  the 
  

   shock 
  or 
  of 
  its 
  direction 
  ; 
  but 
  the 
  general 
  circumstance 
  of 
  greater 
  damage 
  to 
  build- 
  

  

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  312 
  ) 
  

  

  