The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c7.285.1

v1.c7.285.1

The oldest architectural remains that have come to light in India are the pillars of Aśoka, and they are not of a greater age than the middle of the third century before Christ. Hence it is, that an opinion is gaining ground that the ancient Aryans were not proficient in the art of building substantial edifices with stones, or bricks, and that the primitive Hindus were dwellers in thatched huts and mud houses, or structures equally primitive. Mr. Wheeler, in his *History of India*, imagines that the wall round the palace of Daśaratha was nothing more substantial than a hedge. Following this idea he supposes the palaces and fortresses described in the *Mahābhārata* to have been thatched structures, constructed of mats, bamboos, and mud, but devoid of everything in the way of true masonry architecture. Depicting Hastināpur, the capital of the Kurus, he says: "A non-descript population, which may have comprised cultivators, herdsmen, mechanics, retainers, and petty shop-keepers seem to have dwelt in an assemblage of huts, or houses, constructed of mats, bamboos, mud, or bricks which was dignified by the name of city. The palace was very likely built after a similar fashion, though on a larger scale, and with some pretensions to strength. Probably it was a rude quadrangular building, having men's apartments on one side, and women's apartments on the other;