Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c39.24

c39.24

ments not very different from that of the same order brought to such perfection in the Parthenon at Athens. Another torus moulding, probably from the drum of the stupa and nearly 2 feet in diameter, has a simple spiral band raised on its surface which when in position must have been a very effective form of architectural enrichment. It is however from the nature of the masonry itself that the largeness of these buildings becomes most apparent This is composed of well-made ashlar with most of the stones of stupendous size, particularly those used in the stairways, while there is one colossal block forming the base of the chaitya sanctum measuring 16 feet by 14 feet by 5½ feet, and weighing approximately sixty-four tons Although this great stone is only one-seventh the size of one of the famous trilithons at Baalbek in Syria (second and third centuries A.D.), it implies that those who wrought and wielded such materials were both physically and intellectually of more than ordinary capacity.