History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c32.s2.t5.7

v1.c32.s2.t5.7

A canal dating back to the Mauryan period was unearthed at Kumrahar, a village 3 miles to the east of Patna Railway Station. It was found along with the Mauryan wooden pillared hall and hence belonged to the same period. The canal was 43 ft. wide and 10 ft. deep at the centre. A.S. Altekar states that “this canal was ultimately connected with the Ganga and might have been used to waft, the huge pillars direct to the door of the hall from the chunar quarries where they were probably prepared” (Altekar and Mishra, 1959, pp. 25-30). Hence it is not possible to say whether the canal supplied water for irrigation of lands in the vicinity.