No. 62. — 1909.] stone architecture. 



333 



the second century B.C. The pillars, 1,600 in number, supported 

 a many-storeyed building, most probably of wood and bricks. 



Slide 42. A flight of steps with ?nakara balustrades leading up 

 to the raised floor of a rectangular building supposed to be a vihare 

 (south of Thuparama Dagaba). The bas-reliefs on the makara 

 balustrades are unique. On either side of the entrance is noticeable 

 a portion of the stone basement ornamented with ogee moulding. 

 The polished flag at the top of the steps marks the spot where 

 the door was. The pillars must have supported some sort of 

 wooden structure. 



Slide 43. The carved representation of the makara in Ceylon 

 — a crocodile with gaping jaws, boar's tusks, trunk like that of an 

 elephant coiled above its snout, peacock's tail expanded, and feet 

 and talons of an eagle. 



Slide 44. A makara-torana ; an ornamental arch above doorways 

 and images in Buddhist temples, springing usually from two profile 

 makaras facing each other and generally surmounted by figures of 

 Devas. 



Slide 45. The rock-cut figure of Buddha (4 feet 2 inches) at 

 Isurumuniya. 



The makara arch is not an uncommon feature in Indian 

 monuments. 



Slide 46. This one is from the Ajanta caves, and it differs 

 very little from the Ceylon arch. 



Slide 47. A view of the Thuparama Dagaba at Anuradhapura. 

 The most attractive feature of it is the arrangement of the orna- 

 mental pillars on the platform. They are all slender monoliths of 

 elegant proportions. The carvings of the capitals are singularly 

 beautiful. They contain folial ornaments as well as grotesque 

 figure-sculptures, and are fringed with tassels depending from the 

 mouths of curious masks. 



Slide 48. The pillars are arranged in four concentric circles, 

 and decrease in height as the circles expand, the innermost being 

 23 feet, and those of the outside circle 14 feet high. 



The illustrations of ancient architectural remains which you 

 have now seen are sufficient to support the contention that in 

 India and Ceylon both wood and stone were in use in the first 

 three centuries before Christ — wood more extensively for secular 

 buildings. 



This state of affairs exists even to this day, and it must have 

 existed very many centuries before the As6ka period. 



It is true that no pre-As6ka buildings have as yet been found in 

 India. This can easily be accounted for. The Indian climate 

 and white ants might have destroyed the wood architecture. 



As for remains of stonework, any day some building may be 

 discovered by the Indian Archaeological Department that will 

 settle this point. One has already come to light, namely, the hill 

 fortress of Giribhaja, with its stone walls, built by the architect 

 Maha Govinda before the sixth century B.C., according to Professor 

 Rhys Davids. 



