1895.] 
E. A. Gait -^-Historical Research in Assam. 
101 
5. A search for Jaintia coins would apparently he less fruitful, as 
all which I have yet seen (save those of the last ruler) bear the same 
inscription, viz., “ Cri Cri Jayajitapur Rurandarasya.” No king is men¬ 
tioned on these coins. The dates of the coins which I have seen are 
1630, 1653, 1696, and 1704 Sah. 
6. I know very little of the Manipur coins, which were square in 
shape. Perhaps the Political Agent might be able to make a collection. 
As regards Tippera coins, it may be observed that these do not directly 
concern us. They are, however, indirectly of interest as confirming or 
contradicting the dates given in the Rdjmdla, or Chronicles of the 
Kings of Tippera, in which some references are made to the rulers of 
Cachar or Hiramba, and as relating to a race which we know to be 
closely allied to our Kacliaris, Morans, &c., and a country which the 
chronicles of the Mungkong Shans mention as having been conquered 
by a section of that race many hundred years ago. 
I may mention here that it seems highly probable that many finds 
of coins occur, which are never reported. Last year, I addressed the 
Agent and Chief Engineer, Assam-Bengal Railway, on the subject, 
and, after adverting to the provisions of the Treasure Trove Act, drew 
attention to the great importance of securing the examination by com¬ 
petent authority of all coins found. A circular was issued by the 
Agent on the subject, but from what I have since heard, it seems doubt¬ 
ful whether very great attention has been paid to it. 
7. The next source of information are 
Inscriptions. inscriptions. These again may be classi¬ 
fied as — 
( a ) inscriptions on copper plates ; 
(b) inscriptions on temples built by Koch kings; 
(c) inscriptions on temples built by the Ahoms ; 
(cZ) other inscriptions. 
8. Of the copper plates yet discovered, the most important are 
those of Vanamala # and Kumara Pala,f 
which tell us something of old rulers in 
the Brahmaputra Valley; and the two 
discovered some years ago in Sylliet, 
which tell of the ancestors of Gaur 
Gobind, the Hindu king who was de- 
* Journal of the Asiatic Society 
of Bengal, IX, page 766. 
f Supplement to Pandit for 
February, 1893. 
J Proceedings, Asiatic Society 
of Bengal, 1880, page 141. These 
plates were brought to notice by 
Mr. Luttman-Johnson, who was at 
that time Deputy Commissioner, feated by Shah Jalal. £ 
Other plates contain land grants by 
Aliom kings, and are of use for the same purpose as the inscriptions on 
temples built by the Alioms, to which reference will be made below. 
