Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c15.103

c15.103

It must not be supposed that the measures employed were inexact by reason of their derivation from variable standards, any more than the English ‘foot’ or ‘barleycorn’; the craftsmen made use of an iron or wooden ‘cubit-rule’ (*riyan lella*) as already mentioned. The extreme accuracy in the work of the old craftsmen, indeed, will be apparent to all who examine it. In architectural woodwork the great test was considered to be in the accurate fitting of the wooden rod (*idda*, see p. 130 above) which passed through each rafter, just within and under the eaves of a temple roof. It is said that when an important building was ordered by the king, it was usually given into the charge not of one, but of four *mulacari* (foremen), by each of whom, the fourth part of the timber was separately prepared; and when all was ready, the four pareels of timber were brought together.