JAVA 
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ruins of the ancient city of Majapahit cover miles 
of ground, and consist of paved roads, walls, tombs, baths, 
and gateways, while sculptures of Hindu gods and 
goddesses in hard trachytic rock are often found in 
the forest, or remain in situ in the temples. Some of 
these buildings were of brick, and in their ruins show 
a degree of perfection of workmanship perhaps not 
equalled in any other part of the world. The bricks 
are exceedingly fine-grained and hard, with very flat 
surfaces and sharp angles. They are laid together with 
the greatest accuracy without any perceptible mortar 
or cement, yet often joining so closely that a penknife 
cannot be inserted between them. The surfaces seem, 
in fact, to adhere together in some incomprehensible 
manner. These brick buildings were richly ornamented 
with mouldings, projecting courses, recessed panels, and 
bold cornices, so as to produce a very fine architectural 
effect. The great temples and religious buildings, how¬ 
ever, some of which remain in a sufficiently perfect state 
to give an idea of their size and beauty, were much more 
remarkable, and a short sketch of some of them will not 
be out of place. 
One of the most extensive collections of sacred 
buildings is at Brambanam, near the centre of Java, 
between the native capitals of Jokjokarta and Surakarta. 
One set, called Loro-jongran, which has lately been fully 
excavated, consisted of twenty separate buildings, six 
large and fourteen small, the larger supposed to have 
been 90 feet high. They were all constructed of solid 
stone, everywhere decorated with carvings and bas-reliefs, 
and adorned with numbers of statues, many of which 
still remain entire. At Chandi Sewu—the “ Thousand 
Temples ”—in the same neighbourhood, are many colossal 
figures. Captain Baker, who surveyed these ruins, said 
