An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c19.s7.3

v1.c19.s7.3

At BESNAGAR D.R. Bhandarkar traced a storage canal 2·13 m wide, 1·67 m high and 56 m long with brick walls serving as embankments and a flight of descending steps at one point (*ASI-AR 1914-5*, p. 69). The brick wall had an inward better and was plastered with super strong lime mortar. At KUMRAHAR a canal, with a width of 13 m and depth of 3 m, is located by the side of the Mauryan pillared hall. It has been conjectured that the canal was connected to the Ganga and was used to transport the huge pillars from the Chunar quarries to the door of the hall. A sunk brick-lined channel of UJJAIN, 11 m wide and 2·59 m deep, has been traced to a length of 45 m. NAGARJUNAKONDA has a multipurpose canal dated to the 3rd century A D , 800 m in length and with an average width of 15·25 m and depth of 2 m. Its bed and embankments were made of rubble and gravel rammed in hard lime to withstand the gush of water, its n. embankment strengthened by a random rubble wall, 1·37 m wide, to prevent the erosion from the hillside. Like the KUMRAHAR canal it was probably a transport canal and also served irrigational operations.