1 54 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Aug. 



the question at issue. An opinion had been for a long time prevalent 

 that the ancient Hindus knew not the art of erecting radiating 

 arches. This was owing to the fact of most of the old Hindu 

 temples having been roofed in by what is commonly called the pro- 

 jecting or horizontal arch, which in truth was no arch at all. But 

 now as Mr. Home has admitted that the shell of the Buddha Gaya 

 temple is of the time of As'oka, and as the arches which support the 

 roof of its ground floor and span its doorways, are acknowledged to be 

 contemporaneous with the rest of the building, it must follow that the 

 arches were built about 250 years before Christ ; and since in those 

 days the Hindus could not have derived any benefit from the experi- 

 ence of their neighbours, it must also follow that the art of building 

 radiating arches in India was the result of an independent effort of 

 the Hindu mind. It was true that Mr. Peppe thinks the porch of 

 the temple to be a comparatively modern structure, but that was of 

 no importance to the question, as the Babu in his paper on the ruins 

 of Buddha Gaya had not at all alluded to the porch, and the antiquity 

 of any one single arch of the temple would prove the position 

 assumed by him. 



The receipt of the following communications was announced. 



1. From H. Clarke, Esq. a letter on the monument of Assyro- 

 Pseudo-Sesostris. 



Mr. Blanford read Mr. Clarke's letter. 



2. From Major-Genl. A. Cunningham, " Note on the coins of the 

 nine Nagas and of two other dynasties of Narwar and Gwalior." 



3. From W. Theobald, Esq. Jr., " Note on a collection of Land and 

 Freshwater shells from the Shan States, collected by F. Fedden, Esq." 



4. From Lieut.-Col. J. T. Walker, on the part of Capt. J. P. 

 Basevi, It. E., a paper " on the Pendulum operations about to be under- 

 taken by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India, with a sketch of 

 the theory of their application to the determination of the earth's 

 figure, and an account of some of the principal observations hitherto 



made." % 



The lateness of the hour prevented any of these papers from being 



read, but the Chairman expressed a hope that the Meeting would not 



Beparate without a vote of special thanks to Capt. Basevi and to Col. 



Walker for their communication, which he was sure would be read 



