﻿72 
  BOSE 
  : 
  GEOLOGY 
  OF 
  THE 
  LOWER 
  NARBADA 
  VALLEY. 
  

  

  Its 
  employment 
  in 
  the 
  temples 
  of 
  Omkarji 
  T 
  and 
  Somnath 
  at 
  Mandhata, 
  

   in 
  the 
  far-famed 
  mosques 
  and 
  palaces 
  of 
  Mandu, 
  and 
  numerous 
  other 
  

   structures 
  of 
  less 
  note, 
  testifies 
  to 
  the 
  exquisite 
  taste 
  of 
  Indian 
  architects 
  

   in 
  days 
  long 
  since 
  gone 
  by. 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  an 
  outcrop 
  of 
  coralline 
  limestone 
  west 
  of 
  Barwai. 
  But 
  it 
  is 
  

   rather 
  coarse 
  and 
  thin-bedded, 
  and 
  has 
  to 
  all 
  appearance 
  never 
  been 
  

   worked 
  to 
  any 
  extent. 
  When 
  I 
  visited 
  the 
  place 
  last, 
  however, 
  about 
  

   the 
  end 
  of 
  March 
  (1883), 
  pits 
  had 
  been 
  dug 
  into 
  it, 
  and 
  quantities 
  of 
  rock 
  

   raised 
  for 
  the 
  Bala 
  Saheb's 
  palace 
  at 
  Indore. 
  

  

  The 
  old 
  quarries 
  were 
  at 
  Bowarla, 
  Kherwan, 
  and 
  Chirakhan, 
  west 
  

   of 
  Mandu, 
  especially 
  the 
  last-named 
  place. 
  2 
  

  

  7 
  . 
  Lametas. 
  — 
  The 
  Lameta 
  limestones 
  at 
  places 
  yield 
  easily 
  cut 
  

   blocks. 
  

  

  8. 
  The 
  Deccan 
  Trap. 
  — 
  This 
  formation 
  yields 
  the 
  commonest 
  build- 
  

   ing 
  stones. 
  The 
  fine-grained 
  varieties 
  of 
  compact 
  basalt 
  are 
  esteemed 
  

   the 
  best. 
  

  

  1 
  The 
  pillars 
  are 
  made 
  of 
  this 
  rock. 
  The 
  temple, 
  which 
  is 
  now 
  called'Omkarji, 
  and 
  

   attracts 
  thousands 
  of 
  pilgrims 
  from 
  long 
  distances, 
  is 
  a 
  comparatively 
  recent 
  structure, 
  

   The 
  old 
  temple 
  must 
  have 
  stood 
  on 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  hill. 
  But 
  the 
  materials 
  of 
  the 
  new 
  one 
  

   have 
  been 
  derived 
  from 
  it. 
  Modern 
  Mandhata 
  is 
  altogether 
  a 
  recent 
  town 
  — 
  a 
  monument 
  

   of 
  vandalism 
  — 
  the 
  stones 
  for 
  its 
  palace 
  and 
  temples 
  being 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  ruins 
  of 
  the 
  

   ancient 
  city 
  on 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  hill. 
  The 
  practice 
  of 
  spoliation 
  still 
  continues, 
  though 
  on 
  a 
  

   much 
  diminished 
  scale, 
  and 
  should 
  be 
  put 
  a 
  stop 
  to. 
  

  

  3 
  The 
  coralline 
  limestone 
  employed 
  in 
  the 
  temples 
  at 
  Mandhata 
  was 
  probably 
  brought 
  

   from 
  Chirakhan, 
  a 
  distance 
  of 
  some 
  75 
  miles. 
  The 
  rock 
  at 
  Agarwara, 
  near 
  Barwai, 
  though 
  

   much 
  nearer, 
  could 
  not 
  have 
  furnished 
  such 
  good 
  blocks. 
  

  

  Government 
  of 
  India 
  Central 
  Printing 
  Office.— 
  No. 
  30 
  S. 
  G. 
  S.— 
  26-4-84. 
  — 
  400. 
  

  

  ( 
  n 
  ) 
  

  

  