52 A. Rea —B re-liistoric Burial-places in Southern India. [No. 2, 
other means of fixing the date of certain remains, if not always with 
certain exactness, at least approximately. If we examine the section 
of a monnd covering a building whose date is known, such as the stupa 
at Amaravati, several distinct former surfaces can be seen, marked in 
different instances by bricks or marbles which have fallen off, and are 
now lying on the level, several feet below the present surface. By pro¬ 
portionally dividing the height of the section of the earth bank, the 
accumulations of each century, which has elapsed since the erection of 
the building, can be almost exactly fixed. In this instance the appli¬ 
cation of the theory proves an important fact, namely, that the destruc¬ 
tion of the stupa had been going on from the time it was deserted till 
it was completely covered up by the mounds ; and disproves the suppo¬ 
sition that the building must have remained complete till it was dis¬ 
covered at the beginning of the present century. This is proved by the 
finding of marble slabs at different levels. Some were lying about the 
level of the floor ; these could only have fallen off when there was little 
or no accumulation of soil. Others again, were at varying levels above 
the floor line, these must have fallen when the ground line had risen or 
been silted up to the height at which they were found. This is alluded 
to simply as an exemplification of the application of the theory. It can 
undoubtedly be applied to aid in solving the problem of the age of these 
megalithic remains. It has been asserted that these earthenware tombs 
at Pallavaram were once enclosed by stone circles, though now no trace 
of them remains. It may have been so in certain cases, though from 
observations of similar examples at other places they would seem to 
have been simply covered by mounds. The stone circles even yet exist¬ 
ing in the vicinity seem to enclose an entirely different class of tomb. 
It would be curious that these circles on the adjoining hills, enclosing 
the megalithic tombs, should even still exist in almost perfect condition, 
while no traces remain of circles at the earthen sarcophagi. 
The round tombs are pointed on the bottom, and terminate in one 
leg. They are all near the surface, and, in most cases, their upper 
rim has been broken away, through projecting above ground ; and for 
the same reason their covers are now away. On excavating one of these, 
I found a portion of an outer and separate rim remaining around the 
tomb itself, and advanced the theory that they must have been covered 
by a semi-globular lid, like an inverted chatty placed on the top. From 
some complete examples which I subsequently examined in the Madura 
District, I found this theory entirely borne out, for in those cases in 
which the lid still remained, its form was almost exactly a replicate of the 
tomb itself, only of a slightly greater diameter, so that it might be easily 
placed over and enclose the tomb proper (see Plate X, fig. 2). None of 
