Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 2.djvu/220

200 ANCIENT RELIGION OF THE stices, but the stones neatly fitted for their places, and morticed. The outer surface of the tempks had been covered with a fine coating of plaster, still remaining in a few parts, after the lapse of six centuries, a convincing proof of its excellence. The walls are in some instances ten and twelve feet thick, so that the interior of the temple ap- pears small after viewing it externally. The in- terior corresponds in shape with the exterior, or is of a pyramidal form, terminating in a sharp point. The stones overlap each other within, so as to pre- sent to the eye the appearance of the inverted steps of a stair. The builders of Brambanan had pos- sessed the art of turning an elliptical arch and vault, for the entrances or door-ways are all arch- ed, and the roofs all vaulted. A circular vault or arch, however, is no where to be found among the ruins ; and the principle of turning an arch is no where carried to such a length as to convey the impression of grandeur or magnificence. There is evidently a regular design, not only in every group, but in every individual temple ; nothing is left unfinished, but all thoroughly completed in its way. What is chiefly to be admired is the excellence of the materials, their great solidity, and the mi- nute laboriousness of the execution. This last quality is most remarkably displayed in the sculp- tures on the walls. These are covered with a pro- fusion of such ornaments, some in alto, and others