70 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vol. VI IT. 



station, and having left many of my boots in Colombo, I 

 have been unable to consult an adequate number of works 

 of reference, and this report has therefore been written 

 under special disadvantages. 



I must not omit to acknowledge, however, the ready 

 assistance which Mr. D. W. Ferguson, of the Ceylon 

 Observer, has given me in this matter, by kindly lending to 

 me several valuable works which I did not possess. I am 

 greatly indebted to Mr. A. C. Dixon, B.Sc, for kindly 

 examining and identifying several stones, and for ascertain- 

 ing the composition of the silicate of alumina ornaments ; 

 and to Mr. J. Hay ward for valuable information regarding 

 the precious stones reported on. - 



ADDENDUM. 



Since drawing up this report, and recording my conclu- 

 sions regarding the introduction of the art of writing " at a 

 period at any rate not very much later than the reign of 

 Asoka," I have discovered a large series of inscribed bricks 

 at the Yatthala dagaba. These bricks formed part of the 

 body of the dagaba, and having fallen down in a talus have 

 been removed to make way for the restoration now being 

 carried out. Many of the bricks of the Maharama are, I 

 have since been informed by the resident priest and others, 

 similarly inscribed ; but the letters (not being known to 

 any one here) were supposed to be merely fanciful meaning- 

 less marks drawn on the bricks, and no particular attention 

 was paid to them. This is very unfortunate, as both the 

 late Dr. Goldschmidt and Dr. E. M tiller, the Archaeologi- 

 cal Commissioners, visited the dagaba while the repairs 

 were in progress. As Mahanaga, the constructor of this 

 dagaba, was the contemporary of Asoka, we should, had 

 their attention been drawn to these marks, have obtained a 

 Simhalese alphabet known to be of the same age as Asoka's, 

 and we should thus have had the best possible local starting- 

 point for Simhalese palaeography. These bricks are now 

 relaid in the dagaba,, and the letters are lost to Archaeology. 

 I have, however, found one or two letters similar to those 

 at the Yatthala dagaba on some of the fragments of brick 

 not yet built into the Maharama. 



