Page:Report of a Tour Through the Bengal Provinces of Patna, Gaya, Mongir and Bhagalpur; The Santal Parganas, Manbhum, Singhbhum and Birbhum; Bankura, Raniganj, Bardwan and Hughli in 1872-73.djvu/20

XX Close to the two caves already noticed are five others, all at the foot of the craggy ridge already mentioned. Of these, one certainly enshrined a statue, as at the end of it, in its back wall, exists the remains of a small brick-built niche which had once certainly been ornamented with sculpture and scroll-work in plaster, and from the remains that exist I conclude it had a pointed or circular top, built, however, of overlapping bricks; within this cave appears to have stood a very small stupa also, as I picked up two curved wedge-shaped bricks within the cave.

Along the front of all these caves, and immediately along the edge of the water-course which runs along the north-west toe of the spur, is built a long and massive revetment, and the space in front of the caves and between the revetment and the foot of the craggy ridge appears to have been to some extent artificially levelled.

Going on still further are numerous other caves, of no consequence, and containing nothing. Near these is a long ledge of rock which I take to be the long stone mentioned by Hwen Thsang over which Buddha used to walk. Close to, and almost in the very bed of, the torrent is a huge flattish roek in a sloping position, which I take to be the rock on which he dried his clothes.

I looked in the bed of the torrent for the brick well mentioned by Hwen Thsang, but did not find any. I found, however, a spot where the waters rushing down a miniature fall have worn away the rock below into a deep round cistern.

Near the north-east end of the craggy outcrop and between it and the torrent is a small squarish mound of brick ruin.

Beyond the north-east end of the craggy outcrop, on the top of the spur, and at the foot of the steep ascent of the main peak of Sailagiri, is a flat space which evidently once was the site of some building of stone; there lay lots of convenient-sized broken rubble, but no bricks.