Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c16.24

c16.24

or terraces of solid brick, heavily moulded, and decorated with stucco statutary in high relief. Some idea of their scale may be gathered from the dimensions and character of the large gatehouse to the monastic area at Sarnath, the plinth of which was 61 feet wide with a depth of 28 feet. On each side of the doorway were broad bastions of elegantly moulded brick, while the interior contained several rooms. Little more than the foundations of this building survive, but these are so large and solid that it is clear they carried a high superstructure presumably comparable to the lofty pyramidal *gopurams* of Southern India. (Plates LXXVII and XXXIX).