The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c8.57

Language: English

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**Material—Laterite:** In a country so abounding in stones of various kinds as Orissa, it is not to be supposed that any other material would be employed in the construction of buildings designed for the habitation of the image of the ever-present God, and intended to last for eternity, and accordingly it appears that they were the only substance used, and not a trace of bricks is anywhere to be met with. Of stones, the most common is laterite, next sandstone, and, lastly *muṅgni*, or chlorite. For outerwalls, kitchens, porticos, and all structures of secondary importance the first is the best suited. It occurs almost everywhere in Orissa within a few feet under the soil, and in many places crops up to the surface. Around Bhuvaneśvara large tracts lie barren, or covered with stunted jungle, from the soil or mould having been washed away from its rocky substratum. In his note on this substance, Mr. W. T. Blanford says: "The form which generally appears at the surface (it being rarely that the lower kind is exposed by the denudation of the upper) consists mainly of round ferruginous nodules, about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch india meter, in a matrix of dark reddish-brown clay, which is generally more or less sandy. The nodules have a coating of brown hydrated peroxide of iron, and, when broken, some are seen to be black inside; others appear to be formed of concretionary peroxide of iron;

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others, again, are evidently ferruginous pebbles of decomposed gneiss, or of sandstone, if the rock prevail in the neighbourhood. These little nodules are frequently scattered over the country by the denudation and distintegration of the deposit containing them. In places the substance is so soft that it may be cut, though with difficulty, with a spade; in other places it hardens into a firm rock, sometimes cohering only in the form of large blocks, the intermediate portion remaining loose and gravelly, but frequently forming a hard mass, which covers the surface for considerable areas. It is only at the surface that the rock becomes thoroughly hardened; the lower portion requires exposure to give it firmness and strength: when exposed it becomes cavernous, owing to the washing away of the softer portions, and apparently a chemical change takes place, whereby the iron becomes altered from the state of anhydrous peroxide (and perhaps also of magnetic oxide) into that of brown or hydrated peroxide. To this chemical change the coherence may perhaps partly be attributed; much, however, is doubtless due to the more thorough drying of clay by the heat of the sun."17 Dr. Oldham, commenting on the value of the laterite as a building material, observes: "Few rocks present greater advantages from its peculiar character; it is easy to cut and shape when first dug, and it becomes hard and tough after exposure to the air; while it seems to be very little acted on by the weather.

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Indeed in many of the sculptured stones of some of the oldest buildings, temples, &c., in the district, the chisel marks are as fresh and sharp as when first built. It is perhaps not so strong, nor so capable of resisting great pressure, or bearing great weights, as some of the sandstones, or the more compact kind of gneiss, but it certainly possesses amply sufficient strength for all ordinary purposes. It is largely used at the present time, but has also been employed from the earliest period from which the buildings and temples of the country, date. . . . . Another advantage it possesses over other rocks is the facility of transport, it being generally found in the low grounds, and often at no great distance from some of the many streams which traverse the vicinity. Slabs from four to five feet long are easily procurable of this rock."18 Exposure to water does not seem to affect its texture in any way, and it is, therefore, also largely used for the building of *ghāts* and retaining walls on the sides of tanks. Being however, a nodular conglomerate, it is full of cavities and soft interstices, and utterly unfit, not only for sculptures and fine work, but even for paving and other purposes, where a smooth even surface is required. D. Oldham alludes to "elaborate specimens of carving and ornament"19 made of this stone, but I have nowhere seen any. The simplest mouldings of bands and fillets are all that have come under my notice.