DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.614#0300
258 BENAKES, PAST AND PRESENT.
burnt. In a few places I found what appeared to be
pieces of terraced roofing; and, in one place, a large
heap of charcoal. On the south side the central room
Was lost by previous excavations; but on the north side I
found a room entirely open towards the verandah, as if it
was a hall, or place of general meeting for the resident
monks. Inside this room there was the base or pedestal
of what I believe to have been a small votive Stupa,
the top of which probably reached to the roof, and took
the place of a pillar. A small drain led under ground
from the north-west corner of the central square to the
outside of the building on the north, for the purpose,
as I conclude, of carrying off the rain-water,
" The building which I have just described would
appear to have been a Vihara, or ' Chapel Monastery,'
that is, a monastery with a chapel or temple, forming
an integral part of the building. From the thickness
of the outer wall, I infer that this edifice was not less
than three or four stories in height, and that it may
have accommodated about fifty monks. The entrance
was, probably, on the south side; and I think that there
must have been a statue of Buddha in the northern
verandah. The bass-relief which I found in the central
square almost certainly formed one of the middle archi-
traves of the court.
" Continuing my excavations on the high ground to
the westward, I came upon the remains of a building
of a totally different description, The walls of the
edifice were three feet thick throughout; and I found
the plaster still adhering to the inner walls of what I
will call the verandahs, with borders of painted flowers,
burnt. In a few places I found what appeared to be
pieces of terraced roofing; and, in one place, a large
heap of charcoal. On the south side the central room
Was lost by previous excavations; but on the north side I
found a room entirely open towards the verandah, as if it
was a hall, or place of general meeting for the resident
monks. Inside this room there was the base or pedestal
of what I believe to have been a small votive Stupa,
the top of which probably reached to the roof, and took
the place of a pillar. A small drain led under ground
from the north-west corner of the central square to the
outside of the building on the north, for the purpose,
as I conclude, of carrying off the rain-water,
" The building which I have just described would
appear to have been a Vihara, or ' Chapel Monastery,'
that is, a monastery with a chapel or temple, forming
an integral part of the building. From the thickness
of the outer wall, I infer that this edifice was not less
than three or four stories in height, and that it may
have accommodated about fifty monks. The entrance
was, probably, on the south side; and I think that there
must have been a statue of Buddha in the northern
verandah. The bass-relief which I found in the central
square almost certainly formed one of the middle archi-
traves of the court.
" Continuing my excavations on the high ground to
the westward, I came upon the remains of a building
of a totally different description, The walls of the
edifice were three feet thick throughout; and I found
the plaster still adhering to the inner walls of what I
will call the verandahs, with borders of painted flowers,