Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 1.djvu/123

 CHAP. III. JALALABAD TOPES. 21. Tope at Bimaran. (From a Drawing by Mr. Masson, in Wilson's ' Ariana Antiqua.') of its erection. But we have no evidence to lead us to any decision of this point. One interesting peculiarity was brought to light by Mr. Masson in his excavation of the tope at Sultanpur, 9 miles west of Jalalabad, and is shown in the an- nexed section (Woodcut No. 22). It appears that the monument origin- ally consisted of a small tope on a large square base, with the relic placed on its sum- mit. This was afterwards in- creased in size by a second tope being built over it. 1 Among the later discoveries in the North- West Frontier districts, the following may be mentioned as adding to our knowledge of these stupas. At Chakpat near Chakdarra fort in the Swat valley, a mound was excavated by Mr. A. Caddy in 1896, in search of sculptures for the Calcutta Museum, and was found to contain a small stupa in the form of a simple hemispherical dome, about 20 ft. in diameter. This unique form, probably one of the earliest types for such a structure, points to the derivation of these structures from the simple tumulus (Woodcut No. 23). The dome was fairly complete and was encircled by the base of a wall about 30 ft in diameter. This was evidently the remains of an outer casing that had been built at a later date over the original structure enlarging it and probably altering the contour. The debris of this when the stones of the outer surface were carried off 22. Tope at Sultanpur. (From a Drawing by Mr. Masson, in Wilson's ' Ariana Antiqua.') 1 At Hada, near Jalalabad, Mr. Simpson found a somewhat similar instance, - 'Transactions of the Royal Institute of British Architects,' 1879-80, p. 56.