The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c7.321.4

v1.c7.321.4

Of course, if it could be established beyond a doubt that the Indo-Aryans had no stone architecture of their own down to a particular period, and that that period was later than the time when they came in contact with the Assyrians, it could be argued that they had taken the art from the latter; but in such a case it would be natural to expect that the early Indian style should bear a close resemblance to the Assyrian. It is to be regretted that sufficient materials are not at hand for a thorough comparison of the styles of the two nations; but from what we have, it is clear that one of them is not a copy of the other. Most of the doors of Assyrian palaces and of some of their fortresses were rounded on the top; but none were so in India. Indian upper roofs were mostly slanting or curvilinear; those of Assyria flat. The cornices of the two were alike, and supported on corbels; but their styles were entirely different. The pilasters and pillars as seen at Khaṇḍagiri and in the Sāñci bas-reliefs, are, likewise, different from anything of the kind figured by Layard, Botta, or Fergusson. The verandas and balconies shown in Indian bas-reliefs have not their counterparts in Assyria; and the pointed horse-shoe pediments which formerly surmounted Indian buildings, and were so peculiarly characteristic, are absent in Assyrian and Persian buildings. To make this clear we place on the margin the figure of an Indian stronghold taken from the Sāñci bas-reliefs,¹⁶ (Fig.