Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c40.s1.7

v6.c40.s1.7

Between the subsoil and the summits of the mounds remains of seven strata have been disclosed. The three last strata are distinguished from their predecessors ‘by increasing signs of decadence in the size and construction of the buildings, and in some areas there is also a well defined break between the remains of the third and fourth strata from the top, as if the city had been reduced to ruin at that time and remained in that condition for an appreciable period before being rebuilt.’ ‘Of the seventh stratum only a very small extent has been uncovered, but the distinction of this and the sixth stratum is more than usually marked.’ These seven strata have been divided into three major divisions or periods. The first of these comprising the first, second and third strata is called the ‘Late Period’; the second comprising the fourth, fifth and sixth strata is called the ‘Intermediate Period’; and the third represented for the present by the seventh stratum only is called the ‘Early Period.’²