Pallava Architecture, Part I (MASI 17) c2.51

c2.51

One of the most interesting points about monuments in the Māmalla style is, that the architectural details such as the pillars, architraves, cornices and the roofs of the rathas, show unmistakably that these monuments are stone models of structural buildings mainly of timber construction. The brackets, joists, rafters, and cross beams that would be required in a half-timbered construction are all laboriously reproduced in stone without the slightest structural advantage being gained. This clearly shows that ordinarily, the masons who produced these rock-cut temples were accustomed to erect structural buildings of half-timbered construction. The pillars and frame-work being of timber with the interstices filled with brick and plaster, while the ornamentation was in stucco and wood-carving. It was no doubt the perishable nature of such structures which led the masons to reproduce these buildings in stone when ordered to erect everlasting memorials in honour of their religion and to the greatness of their kings. It is only the religious monuments which are executed in stone. No remains of palaces, public buildings or domestic architecture have been discovered and yet we know that such buildings must have existed at this period.