Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c21.6

c21.6

On another spur, a short distance from the foregoing, is a smaller temple, of much the same type, and which, in view of its crude construction, may be of an earlier date. But the finial of its sikhara is square, not octagonal, a fact which on the other hand may point to a further stage of development. This temple, which is nameless, is much ruined, its interior is exposed so that it is no longer a living structure but a mere shell. Yet from these remains, like an anatomical specimen, it is possible to study more readily its composition and constructional system. In Plate LI, Fig. 2, the details of the temple are laid bare, showing its central cella contained within a processional passage, and in front the pillared hall covered with a sloping roof. The masonry is almost savagely simple in its character, while the extravagant use of the material gives it a megalithic appearance. Although perhaps not so primitive as it seems, those who produced this building were not expert-masons or finished manipulators of stone.