12 HOGGIN BROWN: THE HIHMA KARTHQUAKES OF MAY 1912. 



Personal Observations in Mandalay. 



The Palace. — The royal palace of Mandalay consists of a group 

 of wooden buildings Standing on a brick platform inside Fort Dnfferin. 

 As was to be expected very little damage was caused to the 

 majority of these structures, with the exception of the following: — 



The Bodazm or Bell Tower, of which the whole of the south-east 

 corner had collapsed. 



The Museum. — This was a one-storeyed rectangular building 

 with massive masonry walls and raftered root. The north and 

 south running walls were badly broken and had partly fallen down. 

 while the arches which were left were cracked through. Tin' south 

 end of the building had sunk slightly. 



Burmese buildings often have a wooden Core set into the walls, 

 and pillars with a shell of brickwork- on the outside. After the 

 earthquakes in Mandalay I noticed that it was quite usual for the 

 two to have separated. I also observed that many of the more 

 severely damaged buildings in the city were built of very poor bricks. 

 It appears to be a common custom of the Burmese builders to 

 use badly burned or raw bricks in their work. A mixture of pow- 

 dered brick and mud seemed often to have been used instead of 

 lime in the poorer types of houses of this kind. 1 was informed by 

 Taw Sein Ko, I.S.O., Government Arclucologist in Burma, that 

 between the years 1885-1895, many pagodas and monasteries were 

 dismantled in .Mandalay and the bricks from them largely used 

 in the construction of dwelling houses. These facts doubtless have 

 a bearing on the damaged walls, roofs and verandas. 



The Palace trail. Fort DufTerin is surrounded by four battle- 

 mented brick walls twenty-two and a half feet high. The walls 

 form a perfect square, each side measuring six hundred " tas, " 

 (1 " ta "=11*11 feet). Over the walls at regular intervals of fifty 

 ''tas, " are watch-towers or turrets (called " pya-o"). each having gold 

 tipped spires. There are twelve city gates, the four principal ones 

 being in the centre of each side of the square, and bearing due north, 

 south, east and west from the palace, which is built in the centre 

 of the city square. The crenellations on the top of the walls had 

 been shaken down in places, especially in the case of the north and 

 south walls, i.e., those running east and west. Loose bricks and 

 mortar had also fallen in many places. In the case of the north gate 

 the small " pyatha "(■) above the entrance was badly damaged. 



1 The wooden building erected above each main gate. 



