of masonry in different parts of the platform indicate
that a well originally existed between the third row of
columns and the outer one, with a stone door at each
entrance. Likewise altars for the depositing of
offerings of flowers or valuables, dedicated to the use
of the priesthood, had existed at the base of the shrine,
which, occupying the centre, held the jewelled casket
containing the left collar-bone of Buddha.
There are a great many other remains at Anaraja-
pore, as, for instance, the Buamveli and the Lankrama
dagoba, although smaller, built after the model of the
Thuparame. They are scattered in the depth of the
forest, and most of them completely ruined, but the
above description of the most ancient of these temples
will give an idea of the style we may expect to find
amongst the excavations still going on. They are said
to have recently brought to light a great number of
granite columns, or parts thereof, forming a square of
forty to each face, thus giving a total of one hundred
and sixty when complete; these are supposed to have
formed the lower structure of some wonderful palace.
Before leaving Anarajapore I must name a curiosity
of the place, what is supposed to be the original Bo-tree
or Peepul (Ficus religiosa), the oldest tree in the world,
said to have been planted in B.C. 288, and tended ever