488 H. G. Raverty— The Mihrdn of Sind and its Tributaries. [Ex. No. 
water from tlie overflow of this newly-founded Panch Nad from the 
direction of Ghaus-pur. 665 The Panch Nad having thus got into the 
lower part of the diverted Ra’in channel, soon enlarged it, and inclin¬ 
ing towards a gap in the lime-stone range, flowed through it between 
the high ground on the east on which Riirhi was afterwards built, and 
the peninsula on which the town and fortress of Bakhar were founded. 
Neither of these two places were known, or ever referred to, in history 
in the time of the Turk Sultans of Ghaznih. Mathilah. 666 (the Mathilo 
666 See note 581, page 503. 
666 Mathilah or Mathilo was one of the twelve mahdlts of the Bakhar sarJcdr 
of the Multan subah , and the place here mentioned was its chief town. This was 
one of the six fortresses of Sind, mentioned elsewhere, standing on mounds, the 
heights or extent of which mounds were increased in the reign preceding that of 
Ohaoh. It is now a small town on an eminence ; and in the neighbourhood are, 
or were, the remains of many ancient buildings, and groves of enormous piped trees, 
called in the Panj-ab territory, bohar — the ficus religiosa of botanists. See note 
page 246. 
Another of these six fortresses was Siw-rai or Siw-rahi, the ruins of which 
were still existing some fifteen years ago. After the conquest of Sind by the ’Arabs 
it still continued to be a place of strength and importance ; and, in the reign of 
Akbar Badsnah was the chief place of a mahall of that name in the Berun-i-Panch 
Nad district of the Multan silbah. The site indicates that it was once a place of 
importance and strength ; and it lies about five miles north-east of Sabzal Kot, and 
three miles from a station on the line of Railway, called Walh-har. The mound 
on which the town of Siw-rahi stood is about three quarters of a mile round about, 
and rises about thirty feet above the surrounding country; and it is said that some 
three hundred or more wells belonging to it, faced with masonry, but in a dilapidated 
condition, could still be seen in the jcingals surrounding it. The remains of the 
fortress, which adjoins it, is about a quarter of a mile in circumference, and the 
walls rise to the height of about fifty feet. The bricks found here are of the same 
description as those found at Wanjh-rut, described farther on, together with frag¬ 
ments of stone carvings, beads, and other ornaments. Hei-e likewise have been 
found numbers of pottery balls, similar to those discovered at Bahman-abad, of 
considerable size, as large, in fact, as a man’s head. These were the missiles dis¬ 
charged from the ancient war engines called manjaniks , balistas, or battering 
rams, such as were used by the ’Arabs under Muhammad, son of Kasim, the con- 
querer of Sind. 
I regret to find that this place, like Wanjli-rut, and many others I fear, has 
been invaded by Railway Yandals, who have been pulling down the walls of the 
place for “ ballast,” as they term it. It is a pity that there was no “ Act for the 
preservation of Ancient Buildings ’’ in “ Young Egypt ” as there is in Old Egypt, 
so that Railway excavators might not be allowed to demolish the most ancient 
buildings to put money in their own pockets. There is one thing, however, to be 
noted, and that is, that this line of Railway appears to have been carried, for part 
of the way, at least, through the depressions formerly the channels of the rivers 
herein described ; and in case of a sudden or extraordinary change in the courses 
of the Indus or its tributaries, such as have taken place in bygone times, there is a 
chance that a good portion of it would be washed away. See note 554, page 479. 
