S86 Dr Hamilton’s Account of a Map of 
within the walls, and the houses are uncommonly mean ; for 
the greater part of the commerce and manufactures of this 
government are carried on at Gnaunu, a large town on the 
bank of the river above Paukgan, immediately oppositato the 
uppermost island, laid down in this map. The city of Paukgan, 
when it was the seat of empire, was called Arimattana; and from 
the vast number of temples both, within and without the walls, 
to the distance of twcf or three miles all around, it must have 
been a splendid place. Many of these ancient temples are hol- 
low within, and arched above; but, at present, it is said the 
art of constructing arches has been totally lost throughout the 
empire, so that the people seem in this point to be retrograde. 
Most of the temples, and places of residence for the priesthood, 
which were also built of brick and stone, are ruinous ; but seve- 
ral of them, when we visited the place, had lately undergone, 
or were undergoing, a thorough repair, at the expence of the 
heir-apparent,-— from which many people conjectured that this 
prince intended to make Paukgan his residence, should he be- 
come king. His death before that of his father has put a stop 
to this project; nor have I heard where his son, who now 
reigns, has fixed his residence. 
During our journeys up and down the Erawadi, we visited 
three of these temples, favoured by the Prince. Logananda, to- 
wards the lowest extremity of this map, stands close by the 
river at the termination, in that direction, of what may be con- 
sidered as the ruins of Arimattana. It is placed on a semicir- 
cular area of considerable elevation, to which there is an ascent 
on three sides by stairs, covered with wooden galleries, highly 
ornamented ; and, although not to be compared with Shue 
Modo at Pegu, nor Shue Dagoun at Rangoun, is a large solid 
building. Its base, which is octagonal, diminishes by four ter- 
races, to the two lower of which there is an ascent by three 
stairs opposite to those leading up to the area. This part of 
the building has lately been painted white, and the upper part 
above the terraces, which is in form of a cupola, had been uni- 
formly and entirely gildedj which gave it a splendid appearance, 
notwithstanding its clumsiness. ^ 
The temple called Ananda, about half a mile east from the 
city wall, is reckoned one of the finest buildings in the empire ; 
