110 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XIII. 



Mr. Williams, under instructions from the Government 

 conveyed through the Director of Public Works, rebuilt in 

 1886 the third or topmost flight of steps, with its heavy 

 and elaborate balustrades, as well as the Palace surmounting.* 



He found that the whole of the balustrading on the left 

 side of the steps (looking up towards the" main gate) 

 had fallen down, and that the stones were almost entirely 

 buried. The existence of the walling on one side, though in 

 a very ruinous condition, gave him an idea of the original 

 design, and acted as a guide in restoring the missing side.f 



The first work, which involved both time and labour, was 

 the collecting of the missing stones, most of which had to be 

 dug out from a considerable depth below the surface. A 

 good rubble masonry foundation was then laid, the wall 

 rebuilt, and the carved figures placed in position. The other 

 side was then pulled down and rebuilt, the stones being 

 previously numbered. The steps were all reset from the 

 bottom. 



The two " sinhayas " which surmounted the pedestals on 

 either flank of the lower steps had to be supported by an 

 iron bar let into the chest and base of each, as the forefeet 

 of both had broken off in their fall, the pieces being found 

 and cemented on. 



Mr. Williams does not think the " gaja-sinhas " a pair, 

 one of which had evidently never been completed. From 

 this fact, as well as after careful examination of the work, he 

 concludes that the last flight of steps and vestibule constituted 

 simply the entrance to what was intended for a very 

 elaborate building ; moreover, that it was at the last built 

 hurriedly. J 



* Why his report should purport to be on " The Restoration of the 

 Balada Maligawa '' is unaccountable, that building 1 being quite distinct 

 from the Palace, as already pointed out. 



f In the middle of 1889 a slight settlement on the left hand side near 

 the top of the upper flight of steps was discovered. 



\ Mr, H. Nevill, c.c.s., inclines to the belief that the picturesque ruins 

 were those of the Balada, or " tooth relic " sanctuary, and a part only of the 

 royal Palace. The relative positions of the later Palace at Kandy, and the 



