54 A. Rea— Pre-historic Burial-places in Southern India. [No. 2, 
they all were, it had been stated that it was impossible to remove any 
of them in their entirety. This certainly seemed to be so ; the tombs were 
bulky, and the earthenware had so little cohesion, that it could be easily 
powdered between the fingers. The work thus seemed to be, if not 
altogether impossible, at least one of considerable difficulty, and requir¬ 
ing great care in execution. In addition, none of them were in a per¬ 
fect condition ; they were all cracked throughout, and it seemed that on 
any attempt to move one, it would instantly fall to pieces. As the 
removal therefore, of such a large unwieldy mass of cracked earthen¬ 
ware presented some rather peculiar difficulties, it may not be uninter¬ 
esting to recount the method successfully adopted. On inspection, I 
first decided that it would be useless to attempt their removal if the 
earth had been taken from the inside. Though this added greatly to 
the weight, it was unavoidable, as the only cohesion the tombs had, 
rested in the hard earth which filled the interior. The tomb removed 
(see Plate X, fig. 1) is 6 feet long, 1 foot 8 inches deep, and 1 foot 
6 inches broad, and has two rows of five legs. Like all the others it had 
a number of cracks over its surface, these were cemented, as, had this not 
been done, every piece would inevitably have separated whenever touched. 
The earth was cleared from around it, leaving it standing free on the 
ten legs. It was then lightly wrapped round with straw ropes ; and 
bamboos were placed longitudinally above and below. Some packing- 
case planks were then cut to the necessary size, so as to form an en¬ 
closing box. Two planks were placed along each side, with upri ght 
supports fixed so that one would be nearly opposite each leg of the 
tomb ; the wooden legs were cut so as to stand about 9 inches longer 
than the earthen ones. The box—open above and below—was then 
slipped over the top, and a hole dug in the ground below each wooden 
support, so that the box could be lowered till its lower plank was level 
with the under surface of the tomb. The space between the tomb and 
the sides of the box was then packed with straw, and a tarpaulin laid 
over as a cover. Cross bamboos were then inserted below, between each 
of the legs, and supported by ropes lashed around and over the top of 
the box. To ensure the safe lifting of the whole, the earth was cleared 
from under the tomb legs, thus leaving it suspended in the box. Large 
bamboos were then lashed over the top, and it was safely lifted to the 
surface. From thence it was removed to my tent half a mile distant. 
Before removing it further, it was considered desirable to put on some 
additional supports, as at that time the whole weight rested on the 
transverse bamboos below. Brackets of wood were therefore cut to fit 
the curve of the earthenware under surface ; these were put underneath 
and fixed to the box sides. A longitudinal plank was then placed be- 
