l\|. , TEMPLES OF SALSETTE. 585 
^ ninety feet long, thirty-eight wide, and 
hfeight, liewn out of tlie solid rock, and 
"•H is I®',’ oblong square, with a fluted concave roof. The 
!'to aisles by regular colonnades, simi- 
‘"’as ancient basilic, a pile of building twice as long as 
e.xtreraities of which terminated 
[’^i^"j“^)'cle, two rows of columns forming a spacious 
^^ntre, and leaving a narrow walk between the 
* ®od the wall. In these lasUici the Roman empe- 
east frequently administered justice. This mag- 
a|,|^^'^^''®bon at Salsette appears to be on the sarne 
"“ugh, doubtless, intended for a place of worship ; 
ijlcj . termination of the temple, fronting the en- 
•or'A^ .circular pile of solid rock, nineteen feet high, 
piatin ^ iu circumference, most probably a repre- 
die iingam, the symbol already alluded to in 
of the Temples of Elepiianta. In this tern- 
^ "uy images, nor any kind of sculpture, 
die capitals of the pillars, which are in general 
a very masterly style, and are little impaired by 
» thg cveral have been left in an unfinished state ; and 
'%5^|.^""U'nit of others i.s something like a bell, between 
I ’ "urses, lions, and animals of different kinds. 
9 t s”| 'y pillars and concave roof of the principal tera- 
if'St present a much grander aiipearauce than the 
t *' i,)^'^^'^"don at the Elephapta, although that is much 
2nd bas-reliefs. Tlie portico at Salsette, ot 
, ^ height and breadtii as the temple, is richly deco- 
C niche contains a colossal statue, 
facing the entrance are small single 
.groups iu various attitudes, all of them hi 
1 The outer front of the portico, and die 
id corresponding in grandeur iviih the interior 
iifiiigl^ jjured by time, and the mouldering sculpture in- 
, ^''idi a variety of rock-plants. On the sqnaiu 
entrance are long inscriptions, the characters a 
pt|5y "bsolete, and which modern ingenuity has not 
in dccyphering. 
»'• and mountain, a flight of steps, hewn in tlie 
f(jl'atl)j"“uiinued to the summit, leads, by various intri- 
tQo, ’ smaller excavations, most of which consist of 
*3 a portico ,tnd benches, cut ki She rock. To 
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