than this have been made as regards Patna itself, and it seems natural to assume that close to the Ganges, where the ground is higher than elsewhere, the process has been more rapid owing to various physiographical actions familiar to all who have lived on its bank. The present excavations, however, have proved that the natural yellow clay which forms the upper portion of the thick bed of Ganges alluvium in this neighbourhood, is much closer to the surface than seemed probable. The uppermost limit of this stratum, which shows no signs of human settlement except in places where there have evidently been previous diggings for wells or cesspools and even tanks, is not more than fourteen or fifteen feet below the surface. It is separated from the earth above it by a layer of fine white dust or silt about a foot thick, down to which the rootlets of trees, as well as colonies of white ants, have been found to extend. The upper limit of the alluvial clay at Patna near the Ganges is between 154 and 155 feet above the level of the sea.

An interesting conclusion which follows from this is, that in ancient times the site of the important buildings, pillars, etc. at Kumrahar and Bulandibagh was considerably lower than the land near the river, just as it is now. Bulandibagh, or the "raised garden" as the name implies, stands well above the cultivated fields which surround it, but its surface is now only 164 feet above sea level, or about five feet lower than the University site. The excavations which are now being carried out at Bulandibagh by Rai Sahib Manoranjan Ghosh show that virgin soil is not reached until at least seventeen feet below the surface, showing that it is certainly not less than seven or eight feet lower than it is near the Ganges. It is impossible to say why the builders of ancient Pataliputra selected for important buildings a site so relatively low as Kumrahar and its neighbourhood, but it is certain that their choice was an unfortunate one, for as the sections of the excavation clearly show, this area has at a later date suffered very severely from floods, apparently from the river Sone.

It is possible that the level of virgin soil near Kumrahar is even lower than stated above, for Spooner in places found foundations at greater depth and the upper surface of the remarkable line of horizontal and massive sal timbers which is now being exposed is about twenty-five or twenty-six feet below the surface. But from the general appearance it seems probable that these timbers were laid in trenches dug for the purpose into virgin soil, and that at Kumrahar as at Patna College the ordinary thickness of the stratum of earth which shows signs of human settlement is not more than from fourteen to seventeen feet. Even supposing that the whole of this stratum has accumulated since Mauryan times which is a most unlikely assumption, the average rate of soil-formation must be reduced to not much more than six inches in a century. This has an important bearing on any future excavations at Patna, for if the work now going on in the closely settled area near the river reveals anything of sufficient importance to justify scientific investigation by archæologists, it will not be necessary to estimate for such deep digging as has been supposed.

So far at any rate it cannot be said that any such discoveries have been made. The only signs of a settlement layer hitherto observed occur at a depth of between seven and nine feet, but even these indications are not very definite. Almost everywhere, as Buchanan observed, the earth contains many fragments of brick and pottery, but the terracotta figures and other finds which point to Kushana, Sungan or Mauryan age occur for the most part below the settlement level. The specimens exhibited at the meeting have been arranged side by side with typical finds obtained by Dr. Spooner or Rai Sahib Manoranjan Ghosh at at Kumrahar and Bulandibagh, which have been kindly lent by the authorities of the Provincial Museum in order to show the striking resemblance in many respects. But it must be observed that in addition to the absence of any important buildings, the Patna College site has yielded no

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ancient coins and no inscribed fragments with the exception of a single clay seal. In fact, it seems probable that the land in this locality was only on the outskirts of the ancient city, and that Pataliputra itself was farther to the east or south-east, with its centre somewhere in the neighbourhood of Gulzarbagh.

During the excavation of the deep septic tank, two small cylinders of white stone, with a slightly convex and highly polished ends, were found at a depth of between twelve and fourteen feet. Almost simultaneously an exactly similar though smaller specimen. was unearthed at Bulandibagh twelve feet below the surface. The hardness and density of the mineral in these cylinders correspond to quartz, but from its translucency and somewhat waxy lustre it may be chalcedony,2 and thus resemble the still smaller hexagonal specimen found at Basarh and described by Bloch and Vredenburg in 4.S.R., 1903-04, page 100. One perfect and one broken specimen of the same smaller type, but of less fine appearance, were also found in a trench in the grounds of the Bihar College of Engineering about one-fourth mile away.

Mr. R. D. Banerjee has suggested that these were used by jewellers for weights, and if this be correct it is interesting to notice that quartz was used in ancient times for this purpose, just as it is now with delicate laboratory balances. On this

theory and allowing for a slight loss of weight owing to chipping, it would appear as if the ancient unit of such weights was something between 1.33 and 135 grams, and that the four complete specimens contained seven, eight, thirty-six and forty of these units, respectively.

1 A rectangular punch-marked coin has since been found, but in too bad a state for restoration.

2 The Geological authorities at Calcutta pronounced it to be a vein of quartz. 3 Dr. Banerji-Sastri in forms me that the Dharana or ancient unit of weight is supposed to have been 42 grains or 2.73 drams, approximately double the above. Two others of this type have since been found, one of an ornamental yellow and red stone but unfortunately broken and the other deep red. The latter resembles eight specimens already in the Patna Museum, from Bodh Gaya, Basarh, etc. All these appear to be also quartzitic in type, their density varying from 2.62 to 2·7, and a study of these may throw more light on the yalue of the dharana.

The only clay seal so far discovered was found close to the river and not more than six feet from the surface in a trench leading to Koila Ghat. This shows the figure of a seated lion, facing left, with an inscription below in Gupta-Brahmi characters read by Dr Banerji-Sastri as KARŅAMITRA (SYA). Several similar but considerably smaller seals of this type were found by Spooner at Kumrahar, which resemble two found by him at Basarh (4.8.R., 1913-14) when he pointed out the resemblance of the lion to that on the Mauryan column at Bakhra. Marshall (4.8. R., 1911-12) also describes three similar lion seals found at Bhita in the Kushana, Early and Late Gupta levels, i.e. circa first to fifth centuries A.c.

With the possible exception of a single fragment, a small shaven head, it is noteworthy that every one of the terracotta buman figurines or fragments which have come to light represent the form of a woman. There are several of very different sizes which represent a naked woman in a sitting posture, in one case holding a ba by in her arms. This specimen is exactly similar to one recently found at Buxar, and the head in both cases is of a curiously primitive type. One of the terracotta plaques is particularly interesting because it is identical with a specimen found by Spooner at Kumrahar, and because only three days later the Bulandibagh excavation yielded the upper half of another. The resemblance is so complete that all three have probably been produced by the same mould, and it seems as if this figure must be a representation of the Mother Goddess or similar female-worship cult widely diffused at Patna.

The terracotta figures of animals discovered are numerous. Some have evidently been mounted on disks serving as wheels and have been used as toys. The markings are similar to those on a small figure of a horse found at Old Rajagriha. Perhaps the best of these is the figure of a horse with a bridle, as the head and neck are particularly well modelled, but the rest of the body is much too small and of very crude workmanship. Several perfect specimens of seated monkeys have been found,

which are similar to fragments unearthed at Bulandibagh, etc. Amongst others may be mentioned three geese, evidently intended to float on water, a lizard, an elephant with traces of figures of two men riding on its back, a leopard, and a ram's head just like those found at Buxar, Basarh, etc. The most interesting, however, is a small and very curious figure with two small projections or feet to enable it to stand upright. Its head is that of a snake, but the body though flat appears from the markings and shape to represent a woman. This figure being entire solves the puzzle regarding the nature of several though larger fragments, both of the head and of the hourglass shaped body, which have been found at Basarh, Buxar, etc. and the theory may be advanced that it was intended to represent a Nagini.

The beads of cornelian, etc. are similar to those found at Bulandibagh and elsewhere in ancient sites.

Patna is so far from the nearest hills that it seems certain that any stones found at this neighbourhood must have been brought there by human agency. During the excavations a fair number of small stones has been found, which from their shape, polish or other features strongly suggested an artificial origin. They can be classified in four main groups(1) stones rectangular in cross-section, with either two or four flat and unpolished faces, which might be taken for whetstones but according to Mr. R. D. Banerjee were probably used as net-sinkers; (2) wedge-shaped stones, highly polished, with a sharp chisel-edge, perhaps spearheads; (3) pyramidal stones, highly polished, with three faces meeting in a point, some of which look like arrowheads; and (4) thin and more or less flat disks of irregular shape, also highly polished.

So far as is known, no neolithic weapons have been found in the district of Patna, even in the Rajgir Hills. Some typical specimens of groups (2) and (3) were therefore submitted to Dr. E. H. Pascoe, Director of the Geological Survey of India, for expert opinion. Dr. Pascoe has kindly shown them to other officers and writes as follows: "Dr. Christie is inclined to