NO. 47.— 1896.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY, SIGIRIYA. 249 



" from the dark backward and abysm of time" to bird and bat 

 and mountain bee. No vegetation grows there : a few thin 

 slabs flaked off the granite roof alone break the bare vista into 

 space at either end. Over head the beetling rock, which 

 juts out steeply 40 ft. and more, is strangely "pitted" on its 

 under side, and so white with age that from the ground 

 a hundred yards below the whole roof seems coated with 

 weather-worn plaster. Under foot the rock floor is polished 

 and slippery from untold centuries of wear by feet of 

 myriads on myriads of birds. 



Before descending from this gaunt 

 "grey cliff of lonely stone, midst sailing bird and silent air," 



we measured and made a plan of the cavern, photographed 

 it from north and south,* and deposited in a niche a sealed 

 record of its exploration by the Archaeological Survey in the 

 year of grace 1896. 



(4) Excavations. 



No excavations were attempted below the Rock this year. 

 For every reason it is desirable to finish once for all the 

 excavation of the ruined citadel, or palace, on the summit of 

 Sigiri-gala, before giving fresh attention to what lies at its 

 foot and further afield. 



Digging on the top of the Rock was restarted at the point 

 where work ceased in 1895, i.e., immediately north of 

 the central pokuna, or pond, and east of the high-level area 

 which, broadly speaking, occupies the western half of the 

 summit, bisecting it from north verge to south verge in 

 gradually descending terraces. 



Leaving the cleaning out of the pokuna, as most sheltered 

 from the wind, for the last weeks of the season's work, we 

 pushed past it, skirting the Rock's east edge, and so on 

 southwards, until the entire low-level area lying between 

 the pond and the southernmost brink of the rock — besides a 

 small slice of the higher section — was completely excavated. 



* Photographs, A 144, 145. 



