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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (OEYLON). [VOL. XXII. 
by 8 J in. by (?) and 2^ in. by 9 in. by (?). It is possible that 
they were brought in recent times from the dagaba to serve as 
stands for joss sticks, and in any case their evidence is not 
enough to go upon. 
I have given these measurements at somewhat tedious 
length, because they are part of my foundations for a disbelief. 
They are not the whole of the foundations, for I have measured 
bricks before, and generally only to find that their variation 
rendered them insecure evidence upon which to found theories. 
With all respect to an accomplished archaeologist, I venture 
to predict that Mr. Parker's " Table of Measured Bricks " — 
what is ordinarily called Mr. Parker's "brick theory " — will 
never supply a really reliable criterion of the antiquity of ruins. 
The measurements given above show how two independent 
people could obtain quite different results from the same 
material, and I believe that in many other places we should 
find as great a divergence. Beyond the fact that old bricks 
are large and newer bricks smaller, I do not believe the 
ancient Sinhalese had so standardized their brick-making 
that any measurements based upon the assumption of such a 
standard are reliable in giving a date even approximately ; 
though as secondary and corroborative evidence such measure- 
ments may be valuable. 
One other observation in the neighbourhood of Tantri-malai 
bears upon the same brick theory, though in itself ' it is 
epigraphical in nature. 
On page 211 of "Ancient Ceylon" Mr. Parker, in giving 
a list of the data from which his brick theory was, built up, 
says : " The list of structures of various periods will probably 
be accepted as belonging to the dates here assigned." But 
to one of these I am unable to agree. No. 8 is given as an 
inscription in a cave at Millewa-gala Vihare near Tantri- 
malai, "in letters of the first or second century a.d." which 
Mr. Parker ascribes to Ila-Naga or one of the earlier Nagas 
of the second century. The same inscription was copied by 
Mr. Bell in 1896, and by me in 1909 ; all three readings are 
the same , and there is no question of identity. The name in 
the inscription is Na ka m ja. The writing is identical with 
that used in Maha Sena's inscr iptions of the end of the third 
