The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c17.96

v2.c17.96

The body of the Tower is about fifty-five feet high, and, omitting the side projections, forms a cube on the ground plan. Over this rises the spire but without the interposition of a cornice or other structure to mark the transition from the body to the spire. The horizontal mouldings which run over the topmost tier of niches are, however, so discontinued as to indicate where the former ends and the latter begins. The projections of the body, though gradually reduced in depth and breadth, are carried along the whole height, and are crossed by horizontal bands as on the upper part of the body; but they have no niches. The central band has at its base a large pediment of the coat-of-arms pattern, and its sides are flanked by a string of model temples in basso-rilievo which rise to the base of the crown. Just above the pediment there is a statue of a lion-rampant, projecting from the wall; and at the top a small window like opening which was probably intended to throw light into the interior, and promote its ventilation. The lions are peculiar to Orissa, and no large temple of any pretension, is without them. The top of the spire is flat, and from the centre of it rises a cylindrical neck supporting a ribbed dome, over which is placed the pinnacle or *kalasa*. As additional supports to the dome there are under it twelve statues of lions seated on their haunches. The pinnacle is shaped like a Grecian urn, and a drawing of it has been given in the 1st volume of this work