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below joins the [west]' branch of the Fulgo called San,' and on their west side is a fine plain called Ram Gaya, about a mile from north to south, bounded on the former by the hill called Soleya and on the south by Nagarjuni, which is a very narrow ridge through the immense blocks of which are many openings that admit the light to pass. The plain from east to west is very irregular, a small hill named Murli rising in its middle and an arm of Nagarjuni passing from its west end far through the plain towards the east. There are many heaps of bricks and stones throughout the plain, and an old road leads up to the top of Murli, where there appears to have been some building; but the most remarkable antiquity is in the recess between the two arms of Nagarjuni. On entering the recess you first find a heap of brick. Then you come to the foundation of a wall of stone forming with the northern arm of the hill an oblong area, in which there is a heap of brick and a well. The west end of the area has been shut up by [a] building of brick, which may have been 50 by 30 feet. It has contained many stones, some of a fine hornblend with very large crystals, but not polished. In the rock immediately adjoining to the east front of the building, is a door leading into a small chamber about 10 feet by 15, arched above and polished, but the arch is not above 9 feet high. There is an inscription on the sides of the door. It is said to be the Mirza mandin or house of a Moslem noble; but the inscription is Hindu. At the north end of the brick building has been a stone door leading out to a small angular recess formed by the meeting of two great blocks of granite. In the face of the western of these blocks is another door with an inscription, leading to another [a] similar cave, but a wall of brick has been built across towards its far end, leaving a small chamber behind, the only access to which is through a kind of window through which a slender man may creep. This is called the abode of Haji Hermain. The house is said to have

(1) "East" in MS.

(2) Suar, R.; Sungr, in Buchanan's Map. Phalgo N. or Sunr N.

been [built] by a Naudiya' Seyud. It is possible that a Moslem may have built his house in the place, and made use of the Hindu cave as a concealment for treasure, and the brick wall countenances this opinion, but no doubt the plain from the number of ruins has been a town, and probably the residence of the Hindu prince of whom so many works remain in the neighbourhood. The neighbouring Brahmans say that Ram performed his ceremony on Gaya here, and still about 20,000 people assemble on the plain on the Viswa or end of Chaitra. The Brahmans of Gaya have found it convenient to have a Ram Gaya nearer themselves but many of the Goyali Brahmans come to the Mela and employ the Srotriya Brahmans of the place to perform some ceremonies for them. The only temple remaining is a small ruinous temple of Siva.

23rd November.-I went above five coses, called three, to visit the quarries near Kukuri. I crossed the Munmuni at the end of Nagarjuni, and about 1 mile from the tents. I came to the bank of the Fulgo, up which I proceeded about half a mile to Sultanpur.3 Where I crossed it the channel is above a quarter of a mile in width, but is even now mere sand with a few shallow pools of water and a very trifling stream indeed, but plenty of good water may at all seasons be procured by digging a very little way into the sand. I continued to go south for about 13 miles until I had the little hill Keni on my right and Lodi on my left, both appear to be small heaps of granite. I then turned east of a mile and passed close by the south side of Lodi. About 1 miles farther east came to Rauniya, a village with a kind of wretched mud castle with loopholes and rather ruinous. About four miles. farther on, came to Laili,5 another village with an old mud castle, and about four miles farther I came to another called Katari. Near this are several images

(1) Nawdyah, R.; Nawdia, B.A.; Naudiha.

(2) Khukhari.

[blocks in formation]

carved on detached stones of hornblende, and such as are carved on the rock at Keoyadol. The female figure killing a buffalo is much larger than any of the others and differs a good deal from those at Keoya Dol, having eight hands, and the head of the buffalo is separated from the body which a lion is tearing, while the female is killing a man seated on the neck of the buffalo. This figure is called Jagadumba and the others were called her children, although two of them represented Hari with Gauri his spouse sitting on his knee. These villages with castles belong to Mitrjit, and were fortified by his grandfather, who had predatory habits.

From thence I went about half a mile to the quarry on the hill called Baluya from the number of bears that it shelters. It consists of several small heaps and peaks of granite,' about a mile in length and a quarter of a mile wide. Towards its south-west corner are three quarries of very heavy blackish potstone, called by the workmen Song Musa. About 12 years ago being in want of work they found this stone projecting in a small mass at three places, two on the hill and one near it. They followed the stone, which is in veins running with a great inclination from the perpendicular and covered by a very curious granular white calcareous marl' to a considerable thickness, perhaps in some places 10 or 12 feet. Among the marl is found scattered large rounded blocks of a rude white jasper with large irregular greenish marks. The blocks are often four or five feet in diameter but it seems analogous to the flint found in chalk rocks. The Song Musa or Stone of Moses is found in small masses never larger than a cubit in diameter and of very irregular form, covered with a decaying grey crust and disposed in veins, which are covered above and on both sides with the marl. One of the quarries is now above

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20 feet deep, and the sides falling in have killed one man and disabled two. Another is filled with water, so that stones are procured with difficulty, the workmen being as unskilled in quarrying as usual with their countymen. There is little or no demand for the marl although it makes very good lime. It has therefore to be thrown out, and the masses of jasper (Baru) must be pulled up with ropes, for they have not had sense to make a sloping road. The granite (Urdiya ) is above

and around the whole, and most of it does not differ materially from that of Nagarjuni, but some seems to be composed of small grains of white felspar and mica intermixed with granular hornblende.' About a quarter of a mile north from Baluya is a large heap of granite, a quarry of the Marl (Chunapatar), not quite so harsh as that on Baluya, has been opened. It is said that the bridge of Futwah was constructed with this lime, and the excavation is pretty considerable and quite superficial, surrounded on all sides, however, with granite. The silicious masses found intermixed with this marl seem very different, as it is of an uniform grey colour but seems to contain many disseminated masses of felspar. This little heap is called Chuniya. It is said that Mr. Thomas Law took it as a substance for making chinaware, but this is probably a mistake. We can scarcely suppose any European to have been so ill informed. I saw not the smallest trace of animal exuviæ among this marl.

3

Between the heap called Chunea pahar and the quarry on the hill Baliya, is a small smooth heap which seems to contain a mine of iron, as all round its bottom is covered with little bits of ore which is entirely neglected.

4

Having examined these I visited the quarry on the hill called Jerra or Paterkati, situated about a mile

5

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south-westerly from Baliya. It is also very rugged, and consists in a great measure of granite, but its southern end is chiefly of the hornblende kind. The greater part is black potstone with a fine grain, and is so much impregnated with silicious hornstone that it has a conchoidal fracture. It is very hard and [is] used for making pestles and mortars. It is called merely Kalaputur or black stone. There is however a very fine quarry of [hornblende] consisting of large crystals, which is called Vishnupodi, because it was employed to erect the temple of that name at Gaya, and the workmen were brought from Jaynagar on purpose. There is no demand for this stone now, and the workmen are reduced to live by making cups, plates, etc. of the potstone, and mortar and pestles of that impregnated with silicious matter. Very fine masses of the pure hornblende may be procured, the silicious potstone is more intersected by fissures.

The tradition at the quarry is that it was first wrought by Harchand Rajah, who built Rotas and dug the caves of Burabur, etc., and who finding the materials too hard desisted and sent his workmen to Alura (Ellora) in the south, where he dug very great works in the rocks.

5

In the evening I returned to Nagarjuni by a route further north, leaving Tatariya1 and Dunmoa, two small hills, on my left and Niyera on my right. These hills are low and smooth and therefore probably of a different structure from the rugged granitic masses of the neighbourhood (consist). Near the Fulgo I had on my right a very rugged ridge named Jibhiya] on which there is a small temple of Siva, and I passed close to a granitic heap which is [south] from the above mentioned ridge. The Fulgo here divides into two. The western

(1) Appendix, No. 10.

(2)" Hornstone "

in MS., but see later, and also East India Vol. I.p. 262

(3) Append x No. 113.
(4) Tetariya.
(5) Dhanmahua.

(6) Nadira.

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