Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c11.23

c11.23

One important technical fact emerged during the excavations of the Vishnu shrine at Besnagar, which was that portions of the foundations consisted of bricks cemented together by a well-made grade of lime mortar, the first instance known in India during historical times of the use of cement in bonding masonry. This is direct evidence that the early builders knew of the properties of a cementing material but it found little favour with those who followed, and only on a few occasions was a bonding composition used to any extent until it was introduced by the Muhammadans in the thirteenth century.