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Architectural Remains. [No. 11, new series. 



Report on the Ruins of Gairsoppah. By Lieutenant W. S. 

 Drever, Executive Engineer. 



To 



The District Engineer of Canara, 



Sir, 



I have the honor to report that I have now cleared a sufficiency 

 of the jungle in the vicinity of the ruined city of Gairsoppah to 

 enable me to form a tolerably correct idea of the nature and extent 

 of these interesting relics of the past. 



2. They may be shortly divided into two classes — 1st, those 

 appertaining to the city ; and 2nd, those belonging to or forming 

 a part of the temples or other religious buildings. 



3. The ancient city of Gairsoppah was situated on the left 

 bank of the river of the like name, about 1 mile above the village 

 of Gairsoppah of the present day. 



4. Its present remains extend over an area of about 1 J square 

 mile. I have utterly failed to discover the slightest trace of archi- 

 tecture in the city itself : the houses were built of rough stone in 

 mud, and in the construction of their private dwellings their owners 

 evidently thought more of cheapness than durability. 



5. At the south western boundary of the city, tradition points 

 out all that remains of the " Queen's Palace", and even goes so far 

 as to tell us that on this particular spot stood her Majesty's throne 

 the legend being somewhat verified by the fact that two large 

 granite slabs having some huge monster carved on them, and 

 looking upwards, severally support the sides of what might once 

 have been steps leading to the seat of royalty, but beyond these two 

 slabs I have met with nothing in the city or palace to warrant any 

 further outlay in search. 



6. There is however one most marked peculiarity in the city ; 

 nearly every 20 or 30 yards one comes across a well, and some of 

 them are still in excellent preservation, especially those that were 

 bricked or faced with stone, but the strange part of these wells is 



