The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c8.72

v1.c8.72

**Iron Beams :** Owing to imperfect cohesion of its grains, sandstone is ill-adapted for architraves of large span; hence it is rarely employed for such purposes. Chlorite resists lateral pressure somewhat better, but it was scarce, and its great weight rendered it generally unmanageable. Uriyā architects, therefore, resorted to iron beams, which they could forge with ease, and move about with tolerable facility. The iron was probably obtained from Tālcīr, where it is smelted to this day, and was of excellent quality, well adapted for their purpose. At Bhuvaneśvara such beams may be seen in great abundance. The hypertherions of the principal doorways are formed of bars four inches square, and ten to twelve feet in length; the scantling of architraves being 4X6 to 5X7 inches, with a length of 12 to 15 feet. Roofs, as already stated, were formed by horizontal arches, but the projections from the opposite sides rarely closed in more than two-thirds of the space, the remainder being covered by flags of stone supported on iron beams. At Puri the beams are of larger dimensions; and at Koṇārak there is one, 21 feet long with an average thickness of 8X10 inches. Its material seems to be of a superior quality, and the forging throughout perfect. But the most remarkable feature in the piece of iron is its arched upper surface, the ends being 8 inches, and the centre 11 inches, an arrangement of parts by which the highest mechanical strength was secured without any unnecessary waste of material. This displays an amount of knowledge of the laws of force and resistance on the part of the engineers which is highly creditable to them.