470 Excavations at SdmMh, [No. 5. 



extensive collection of relics and ancient objects — of the varied 

 accumulation of drawings, facsimiles and transcripts of antiquarian 

 remains, made with such accurate nicety, by that devoted admirer 

 of things of olden time — but little is now left that is readily suscep- 

 tible of publication. 



I should not now have ventured into the pages of the Journal 

 Asiatic Society of Bengal as the unprepared exponent of immature 

 theories or the mere chronicler of certain lines of old walls, uncovered 

 in continuation of previous operations, had it not been, that on my 

 departure from Benares, feeling myself bound to submit to the late 

 Mr. Thomason a report of the progress, such as it was, that had 

 been made in an undertaking he had expressed a lively interest in, 

 and which had been carried on not only under the auspices, but with 

 the direct aid of G-overnment, I forwarded to his honor, as the 

 result of my temporary superintendence, my original sketch plan 

 of the excavations, corrected and added to, as it had been, from 

 time to time as new walls or chambers were unearthed. This 

 rough outline was accompanied by a private note alluding to the 

 limited discoveries made, and suggesting the most favourable direc- 

 tion for future exploration, should opportunity offer for continuing 

 operations. In short, I submitted a mere working plan of the 

 present state of the diggings, with brief explanatory MS. references. 

 Mr. Thomason did me the honor to place these imperfect documents 

 on Official record, and at the same time expressed a wish, that a no- 

 tice on the subject should be published in this Journal. 



It is in fulfilment of that desire, that I now, at the eleventh hour, 

 under the pressure of heavy public duties — forward this sketch. 

 The ground plan of the inner square of the Monastery is sufficiently 

 illustrated in the accompanying lithograph, an imperfect idea of the 

 elevation may be gathered by observing the depth of the various 

 walls noted on the plan — but the general profile of the inhumed 

 edifice and the covering debris require momentary notice. 



The excavations already completed, viewed with reference to the 

 substances of which the covering bodies were severally composed — 

 tends to show that previous to the erection of the comparatively 

 modern building (colored lake in the lithograph) with which we are 

 more immediately concerned — and without at present adverting to 



