was commenced in the last century, and continued in the present, till some troubles in the district caused it to be abandoned and left as it now is, incomplete. As far as the traditions collected by Colonel Mackenzie are intelligible, the monument in the centre was opened by a local Raja in search of treasure, but, failing in finding any, he determined to utilize the space he had cleared by forming in it a reservoir of water. These operations have effectually destroyed all trace of what the central shrine originally consisted of. It can scarcely have been a

9. Tope of Amravati. From a MS. plan in the India House. Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.

large and solid mound like that of Sanchi, because, if so, an immense mass of worthless material has been entirely removed, while many stones of far greater value, and easily transported, remain in situ. From the great size of the whole enclosure, and from the care and labour displayed in the parts which remain, we may conclude the central shrine to have been some object highly ornamented and of great sanctity.'

These remaining parts consist principally of two concentric circles of upright stones, the outer 193 ft. in diameter, and between the two a paved pathway 13 ft. in width. The upright stones are not, like those of the Druidical circles in Europe, mere unshaped masses, but are carved with a minuteness unknown anywhere else, even in India. This may be seen both in the elaborate and beautiful drawings which Colonel Mackenzie caused to be made of them-copies of which exist at Madras, Calcutta, and in the East India House-and also in specimens of the stones themselves, which he sent to all these places. With our imperfect knowledge of Buddhist history, it is impossible to identify many of the scenes and subjects represented, but they certainly form one of the most complete illustrations of Buddhist forms and traditions that can possibly be conceived.

Besides these two circles of stones, the remains of two of its gate

The particulars from which the account and plan of the Dipal-dinna are compiled are contained in 2 vols. of drawings of the monument, and some MS. notes, in the Mackenzie

Collection in the India House, and a paper communicated to Mr. Buckingham by Colonel Mackenzie in March, 1822.

ways (out of four that probably originally existed) have been exhumed, though the drawings do not suffice to explain what their form and elevation were. We may, however, believe them to have been of the same character with those at Sanchi above described, as very similar gateways are more than once represented on the sculptures at this very place.

The mound of earth that surrounds it, backing up the outer circle of stones, seems merely to be the rubbish from the excavation of the tank, and not at all a part of the original design. This is evident from the fact that the carving at the back of the stones, which is of the same character with that at the front, is hidden by it. The removal of this rubbish is much to be desired, and would probably lead to important discoveries. At present we cannot fix the date of the tope with any exactness. All that we can now say is, that it probably was commenced in the third or fourth century of our era, and may have been continued down to the tenth or twelfth.

A great number of tumuli of various sizes surround this great tope, but none, so far as I am aware, have been opened or examined with care. Caves too, with their walls adorned with fresco paintings, occur in the neighbourhood, but they too are unexplored.

Besides these usual accompaniments, this district abounds in what are called Pandu Kolis, being circles of unhewn stones, identical in every feature with the Druidical circles of Europe, except that their dimensions are smaller, their diameter being generally about from 10 to 20 ft. As far as has been ascertained, they were nearly always burying-places, which does not appear to have been the case with the circles in Europe.

A few miles north of Benares is a group of topes, known by the name of Sarnath, the principal of which is of a tower-like form, between 50 and 60 ft. in diameter, and 110 ft. in height. The lower part is cased with stone, and adorned with eight niches, surmounted by triangular canopies, and ornamented by bands of scroll-work of great beauty and delicacy. These, however, have only partially been finished; for, like all Indian sculpture, it was added after the masonry was complete. The upper part is in a ruinous state, and appears most probably never to have been finished. It has been opened,' but no relic or relic-chamber was found. This spot has been visited by two Chinese travellers, Fa Hian in the year 405, and Hiouen Thsang in the seventh century, who describe all these topes and the purposes for which they were erected.

2

The great tope now standing at Sarnath seems to have been raised in the end of the 6th or beginning of the 7th century, and to be the identical one described by Hiouen Thsang. It must have replaced or enclosed that seen by Fa Hian. As neither of these travellers mentions

This building was opened by Major Cunningham, under Mr. Prinsep's auspices, in 1830, and careful drawings made of every part of it, which were, I believe, engraved, but never published, nor has any detailed ac

count ever been given of the result of the excavation.

Foe Koue Ki, p. 305. Voyages de Hiouen Thsang, p. 133.

any relics as existing here, we are perhaps justified in assuming that none were ever deposited, but that this and the neighbouring topes were erected to commemorate events in the life of Buddha.

At Keseriah, in Tirhoot, about 20 miles north of Bakra, where one of the pillars of Asoka mentioned above is found, are the ruins of what appears to have been a very large tope. But it is. entirely ruined externally, and has never been explored, so that we cannot tell what was its original shape or purpose. All along this line of country numerous Buddhist remains are found, though all more or less ruined, and none of them have been carefully examined. This is the more to be regretted, as this was the native country of the founder of the religion, and the place where apparently his doctrines were originally promulgated. If anything older than the age of Asoka is preserved in India, it is probably in this district that we must look for it.

The annexed woodcut of a tower on the Giriyek hill south of Patna, in Behar, is copied from an engraving which is the only published description of the object it represents. It is ascribed by the natives to Jarasandhu, a king who lived and reigned here five or six centuries before Buddha's time. He is a favourite popular hero, like the Pandus, his contemporaries, to whom half the ancient things in India are ascribed. But there is no doubt that it is a Buddhist monument, and probably of Asoka's time, or a little later, and erected to commemorate some action, or the performance of some miracle.

10.

The most extensive group of topes known to exist is that of Jelalabad. These are situated beyond the Indus, and therefore not strictly within the limits of India as usually defined. But they stand directly in the track by which the Arian races entered India. That district, at the time when they were erected, and indeed long before, was so closely connected with India as to be almost always confounded with it by the earlier historians.

The oldest tope hitherto discovered in these parts, or probably indeed in India, is one at Jamalgiri, 30 miles north of Peshawur.

A view of it is given, J. A. S. B., vol. iv. p. 122.

Major Cunningham, in a paper recently read to the Royal Asiatic Society, suggests that those topes which contained no relic were dedicated to the first immortal Buddha

as contradistinguished from the last mortal one. I can, however, trace no such distinction in form in the Buddhist writings or traditions, and am not aware on what he founds such an assumption.

It consists of a circular building, probably 20 ft. in diameter,' ornamented by 18 figures of Buddha sitting in the usual cross-legged position, each figure separated from the one next it by a pilaster of Corinthian design.

This central building is surrounded by an enclosure probably 50 ft. in diameter—a polygon of 13 sides with an opening in each face—now a mere wall of rude masonry, but once no doubt richly ornamented. Fragments of its sculpture have been recovered, and are so nearly Greek in character, so infinitely superior in design and execution to anything else which has hitherto come home from that country, as to prove incontestably that they must have been executed while the influence of the Græco-Bactrian kingdom was still strong in that quarter: a conclusion which is further confirmed by the relative importance of the enclosure, and the general architectural arrangements of the building.

A great number of the remaining topes were opened by Dr. Honigberger in the years 1833 and 1834; and the results of his numismatic discoveries have been published in Paris and elsewhere. The only account that we have of the buildings themselves is that given by Mr. Masson, who, with singular perseverance and sagacity, completed what Dr. Honigberger left undone.3

The topes examined and described by Mr. Masson as existing around Jelalabad are 37 in number, viz. 18 distinguished as the Darunta group, 6 at Chahar Bagh, and 13 at Hidda. Of these about one-half yielded coins and relics of more or less importance, proving the dates of their erection to extend from a few years before the Christian era to the fifth or sixth century.

In general appearance they differ considerably from the great Indian topes just described, being all taller in proportion to their breadth, and having a far more tower-like appearance, than any found in India, except the Sarnath example. They are also smaller, the largest at Darunta being only 160 feet in circumference. This is about the usual size of the first-class topes in Afghanistan, the second class being a little more than 100 feet, while many are much smaller.

In almost every instance they seem to have rested on a square base, though in many this has been removed, and in others is buried in rubbish. Above this rises a circular base or drum, crowned by a belt, sometimes composed merely of two architectural string courses, with different-coloured stones disposed as a diaper pattern between them.

The building was discovered and excavated by Lieuts. Lumsden and Stokes of the Company's service, and some drawings and plans published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, in Nov. 1852, but without scales or dimensions, or any such description as would make the architectural arrangements intelligible.

2 These sculptures are at present deposited for exhibition in the Crystal Palace at Syden

ham, by their proprietor, E. C. Bayley, Esq., B. C. S.

3 Mr. Masson's account was communicated to Professor Wilson, and by him published in his Ariana Antiqua, with lithographs from Mr. Masson's sketches, which, though not so detailed as we could wish, are still sufficient to render their form and appearance intelligible.

C

Sometimes a range of plain pilasters occupies this space. More generally the pilasters are joined by arches sometimes circular, sometimes of an ogee form. In one instance the red tope-they are alternate circular and three-sided arches. That this belt represents the enclosing rail at Sanchi and the pilastered base at Manikyala cannot be doubted. It shows a very considerable change in style to find it elevated so far up the monument as it here is, and so completely changed from its original purpose.

Generally speaking, the dome or roof rises immediately above this, but no example in this group retains its termination in a perfect state. Some appear to have had hemispherical roofs, some conical, of greater or less steepness of pitch; and some, like that represented in woodcut No. 11, it is probable were flat, or with only a slight elevation in the centre. It is very probable that there was

11.

Tope at Bimeran.

some connection between the shape of the roof and the purpose for

which the tope was raised.

any decision of this point.

12.

But we have not evidence to lead us to

One interesting peculiarity was brought to light by Mr. Masson in

Tope, Sultanpore.
From a drawing by Mr. Masson, in Wilson's
Ariana Antiqua.

his excavation of the tope at Sultanpore, as shown in the annexed section (woodcut No. 12). It is proved that the monument originally consisted of a small tope on a large square base, the relic being placed on its summit. It was afterwards increased in size by a second tope being built over it.

Besides these there are about 20 or 30 topes in the neighbourhood of Cabul, but all very much ruined, and few of any striking importance. So at least we are led to infer from Mr. Masson's very brief notice of them. No doubt many others still remain in spots hitherto unvisited by Europeans. In the immediate vicinity of all these topes are found caves and tumuli, the former being the residences of priests, the latter for the most part burying-places, perhaps in some instances smaller relic