1844.] 



Account of Mamallaipur. 



11 



these bas-reliefs however appear to belong to the Sassanian 

 Era : (from a. d. 226 to a. d. 632.) 



These introductory notes have I fear already become too 

 long and tedious ; it only remains therefore that I acknow- 

 ledge my obligations to Walter Elliott Esq. of the Madras 

 Civil Service, to whose friendly kindness I am indebted for 

 the very valuable supplementary paper on the remains at 

 Salvan Cuppam, as well as for a map of Mamallaipur, drawn 

 in 1808 by Colonel Mackenzie. The latter I have reduced, 

 and by numbering the several objects both in it and in 

 Mr. Braddock's description, I have endeavoured to render 

 the whole a more useful guide to those who may dedicate a 

 few spare hours to a visit to this interesting spot. The sculp- 

 tures are for the most part such as to mark no very advanced 

 state of art. They possess none of that finished elegaiice and 

 refined taste, and but little of that purer poetic spirit, which 

 characterize the productions of Euuope. Still they are 

 highly deserving attention as the best specimens of native 

 skill to be met with I believe in Southern India ; and will 

 not be undervalued by those who are capable of comprehen- 

 ding the extent to which art, even in its earliest infancy, has 

 contributed to the civilization of mankind. 



g:V. m. 



Fort St. George. 



