Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 1.djvu/210

I 7 6 BUDDHIST ARCHITECTURE. BOOK I. Ajivika excavation. It is a plain rectangular cave, 33 ft. 9 in. long by 17 ft. wide, and u ft. 7 in. to the springing of the curved roof (Woodcuts Nos. 93 and 94). It has one door and one 93. Plan of Son-bhandar Caves. Scale 50 ft. to i in. 94. Section of Son-bhandar Cave. Scale 25 ft. to i in. window, but both like the rest of the cave without mouldings or any architectural features that would assist in determining its age. The jambs of the doorway slope slightly inwards, but not sufficiently to give an idea of great antiquty. In front there was a wooden verandah, the mortice holes for which are still visible in the front wall, as shown in the woodcut No. 95. Such wooden verandahs were probably common, as they were attached to many of the caves at Kanheri. As mentioned above, if the inscription is as early as the excavation, it may be several centuries later than the Barabar caves ; the cave may, however, be earlier than the inscription. l The other Son - bhandar cave is about 30 ft. to the right 1 A detailed account of these Bengal caves is given in Gen. Sir A. Cunningham's 'Archaeological Reports,' vol. i. pp. 25-27, 40-53, and vol. iii. pp. 140-144; but his drawings are on too small a scale, how- ever, and too rough to show all that is wanted. 'Cave Temples of India,' pp. 37-46.