A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c8.11

c8.11

The most ancient *stūpas* were very plain. They were often surrounded by a stone railing, which marked off a procession path for the use of worshippers and served as a defence against evil spirits.² The early examples of such railings, as at Sānchī, are perfectly unadorned copies of wooden post and rail fences. The bars