INSCRIPTIONS. 



211 



are placed at 2, 7, 13, and 19 feet, respectively, from the 

 muzzle ; the trunnions are at 10| feet. Just in front of the 

 trunnions there is a f) shaped projection that fits on a 

 wrought-iron cross bar 4 j feet long, which bar itself passes 

 through the two arms of a Y shaped support that is built 

 into the masonry base. There is another broken gun of 

 similar construction in one of the bastions on the north wall 

 of the fort. 



In the middle of the western side of the inner wall stands 

 a gateway, a few yards to the south of which is the large 

 stone bearing the Telugu inscription. This stone is a 

 curiosity in itself, being a block of gneiss 41 feet 5 inches 

 long, and over 3 feet deep. Its lower side is 7 feet above the 

 ground, and near one end is a large triangular projection 

 which fits into a corresponding hollow in the course below. 

 The inscription is 1 3 feet long, and 2 feet deep. It consists 

 of ten lines in old Telugu characters which were so much 

 worn by age that they had to be carefully coloured before a 

 legible photograph could be obtained. The Telugu language 

 is commonly spoken in Raichore, yet, strange to say, no one 

 could be found who could read the inscription until the pho- 

 tograph was sent to Dr. Oppert of Madras. On the right- 

 hand side of the inscription is a carving of Granapati, and at the 

 northern end there is a standing figure of some other Hindu 

 deity. Both these are very much defaced, all the projecting 

 portions having been knocked off, most probably by Mahome- 

 dan iconoclasts. A little further down the wall will be found 

 some rude carvings which illustrate the way the big stone 

 was conveyed to its present site. It is represented loaded in 

 a four-wheeled cart drawn by several pairs of buffaloes. The 

 stone is in an inclined position, the front part projecting 

 over the heads of the buffaloes next the cart. One man 

 sitting on the front of the stone is brandishing a whip and 

 holding the reins ; another in the middle, and a third at the 

 end of the stone are encouraging the group of people who 



