The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5.s1.t11.31

c5.s1.t11.31

*Ránigat* is situated on a lofty hill above the village of Nogram, which is just 12 miles to the south-east of Bâzâr, and 16 miles to the north of Ohind. Its position, therefore, is strongly in favour of its identification with Aornos. The hill itself is the last point of one of the long spurs of the Mahâban range. Its base is rather more than two miles in length from north to south by about half a mile in width, but the top of the hill is not more than 1200 feet in length by 800 feet in breadth. In 1848, I estimated its height at 1000 feet; but from the unanimous assertions of the people that it is higher than Panjpir, I think that it is probably not less than 1200 feet. The sides of the hill are covered with massive blocks of stone, which make it exceedingly rugged and inaccessible. There is only one road, cut in the rock, leading to the top, although there are two, if not more, rather difficult pathways. This, we know, was also the case with Aornos, as Ptolemy succeeded in reaching the top by a “rugged and dangerous path,”* whilst Alexander himself attacked the place by one regular path which was cut out by the hand.† *Ránigat* may be described as consisting of a castle, 500 feet long by 400 feet broad, surrounded on all sides except the east, where it springs up from the low spur of Mahában, by a rocky ridge, which on the north side rises to an equal height. On all sides the castle rock is scarped; and on two sides it is separated from the surrounding ridge by deep ravines, that to the north being 100 feet deep, and that to the west from 50 to 150 feet. At the north-west angle of the castle two dykes have been thrown across the ravine, which would appear to have been intended to arrest the flow of water, and thus to form a great reservoir in the west hollow. In the north ravine, between the castle and the great isolated block called *Ránigat*, there are three square wells; and to the north-east lower down, I thought that I could trace another dyke, which was most probably only the remains of part of the outer line of defences. The entire circuit of this outer line is about 4500 feet, or somewhat less than a mile.