Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c42.22

c42.22

In the execution of these buildings brick masonry was almost employed, having the surface finished off with a coating of plaster painted dead white An inferential feature in the style of achitecture adopted, and also of the construction, is the introduction of that scientific method of bridging a space by means of the arch and vault As already explained Hindu India made little use of the arch, the builders in that country preferring for their purpose the lintel, or horizontal beam The appearance of such a constructional principle as the arch indicates that not all the building technicalities of the Burmese were derived from India, but none the less in other directions considerable borrowings are discernible. Although in the earlier examples of the arch those of a semi-circular order are not uncommon, in many of the Pagan buildings an arch of the pointed type is noticeable In shape these arches are not dissimilar in outline from those associated with the "Decorated" period of Gothic architecture in England, and with which it is a coincidence they are more or less contemporary. These arches in Burma are, in a sense, of the "true" variety, as they are built up of radiating voussoirs, although the bricks forming these members are not laid face to face in the accepted manner, but edge to edge, other instances of which may be seen in India at Budh Gaya in the 7th century,¹ and also earlier still at Ctesiphon in Iraq (Plate XXXII). It is probable that the size and shape of the bricks used in all these buildings may have conditioned the method by which they were constructionally applied Some of the archways in the Ananda temple are of spacious proportions, those in the porticos having a span of over 28½ feet and a height of 54 ft., while the fact that they have stood intact for more than eight and a half centuries is evidence of their strength and stability