128 H. Rivett-Carnac— Om Clay Discs called " Spindle Whorh:' [No. 3, 



of resemblance to those winch Dr. Schliemann dug through at Hissarlik, 

 described at length in his work upon Troy. That is to say, it is generally 

 found in the case above-mentioned that the site has been selected on 

 account of some Kunker Hill which, rising out of the flat alluvial soil of 

 the Doab, off'ers a point of vantage for the building of a fort or city. 

 Here, as at Hissarlik, these sites often bear the traces of several distinct 

 colonies. The mud buildings of one set of colonists have been razed by 

 their conquerors or successors to build thereon houses and temples which 

 have again been levelled to form the foundations of the habitations of 

 later settlers. The high mounds, on which part of the present town of 

 Kanouj is perched, is to be accounted for in this way, and there can 

 be little doubt that if shafts were to be carried through the ruins there, 

 after the manner adopted by Dr. Schliemann at Hissarlik, the traces of 

 several distinct periods might be unearthed. What has been said of Kanouj 

 holds good in regard to Sankisa, Eaninuggur and other ruins. Much has 

 not yet been done to explore these localities, and the recent interesting 

 find of Mitra coins, reported by me to the Society, indicates that careful 

 investigation might prove remunerative to antiquarian research. The heavy 

 rains of India are, however, of much assistance in running amateur sections 

 through the ruins, and in exposing from time to time relics of more or less 

 interest. Amongst these may be classed the " spindle whorls" now to 

 be noticed, many of which together with coins, beads, etc. are collected and 

 set aside by the villagers as possessing some mysterious significance, and are 

 brought out for sale when the District Officer or some occasional visitor 

 camps near the place. 



Of these clay discs and their stone j^rototypes four distinct classes 

 are to be noticed : 



A. Terra Gotta Discs, plain and ornamented. 



B. Ditto with a hole through the centre. 



C. Terra Cottas " in the form of a top and the crater of a volcano" 

 (I use the words of Dr. Schliemann, Troy, p. 38 to describe these peculiar 

 specimens). 



D. Clay Balls, plain and ornamented. 



With respect to A, Clay or Terra Cotta discs, these were brought to ns 

 in enormous quantities, and, if disposed to do so, we might have purchased and 

 carried off several elephant loads of this description of relic. At the time 

 1 did not attach much importance to them, and am sorry now that no care- 

 ful selection was made of those bearing different styles of ornamentation. 

 They are all of red or black clay well baked. In size they vary from 1 incli 

 to 2 inches in diameter and are about \ of an inch in thickness. The 

 majority of them bear a rough ornamentation at the edges only, see 

 Plate XIII, sketches 1 and 2. Others again show traces of more elaborate 

 design and workman.sliip. Some of these arc figured in sketches 3 to 7, 



