the base of
the cliffs, not scattered over them as I believe Burnes represents. These
are of no size, finish, or elegance, and it is only their number, and the
extreme obscurity of their history, that makes them interesting; the
roofs are usually arched, and the walls are often supplied with niches,
and covered with a coating of tar of some thickness, and intense
blackness. The galleries are low, arched, and admit one person at a
time, or a line of persons with ease; they often form the ascent to the
upper caves now inhabited, but originally they were enclosed in the rock,
they are defended in such cases by a parapet.

The largest caves are those about the idols, but I see none of any size.
They are often domed, the spring of the dome is ornamented with a
projecting frieze, some of these are parallelogramic, in one instance
with an ornamented border thus.

[Part of a frieze in caves near Bamean: m402.jpg]

Some of the caves are situated as high as, or even above the tops of the
idols; all parts within the rock are lighted by small apertures.

Access to the large idol is destroyed; the smaller one is gained by a
spiral staircase of rude construction, and by galleries. The floor of
the galleries is rugged, the steps and the cement of the conglomerate
having worn out from between the masses of rock. The images all occupy
niches in the face of the hill: two are gigantic, the rest not very
large. They are generally in the usual sitting posture, and rather high
up, while the larger ones are erect, and reach the base of the cliffy
portion of the rock. They are all male, and all obviously Boodhistical;
witness the breadth, proportion, and shape of the head, and the drapery;
both are damaged, but the smaller is the more perfect, the face of the
large one being removed above the lower lip; the arms are broken off,
showing they were occupied by galleries. The drapery is composed of
plaster, and was fixed on by bolts which have fallen out, leaving the
holes. The arms in the smaller one are supported by the falling drapery.
The height of the large image in the niche is 135 feet.

The pictures are much damaged, the plaster on which they were painted
being mostly very deficient, all the faces are damaged by bullets or
other missiles: their execution is indifferent, not superior to modern
Burmese paintings; the colours however are good, the figures are either
grouped or single, and one is in the style of the time of Henry