POSITION OF GIRI

Looking east-south-east from the Dharmarājikā Stūpa, the two villages of Khurram Prāchā and Khurram Gujar can be seen nestling into the hillside at the foot of the Mārgala spur. Between these villages a rocky defile through the hills leads to a small secluded valley and thence by way of a rough torrent bed to the glen of Giri, where there is a perennial spring of excellent water and, near by, a ziārat. Above this glen the hills of the Mārgala spur rise some 1500 ft. on the south, but not more than about 400 ft. on the other sides. Such a spot, shut off from the world, protected from the winds, and provided with an ample supply of running water, must have been irresistibly attractive to the Buddhists, and it is not surprising, therefore, to find here the ruins of two considerable groups of stūpas and monasteries—one on a terrace immediately above the spring, the other on the lower ground a couple of furlongs to the west. These Buddhist monasteries and stūpas, however, are not the only remains that invest this spot with interest.

FORTRESS OF GIRI

On the south side of the valley and between it and the glen of Giri is a rocky hill over 500 yards in length from east to west by half as much from north to south, which is detached from the main spur by a steeply scarped nālā on the west, a more open depression on the south and a shallow saddle on the east, while on the north are steep bluffs alternating with more gently sloping bays. In old days this naturally strong position was further strengthened by a bastioned wall, of which a considerable section, some 550 yards in length, can still be seen in a ruined condition at its eastern end, while other short sections are traceable here and there over the western half of the hill-top. Along the south side this wall is between 10 and 11 ft. in thickness and faced with a late type of semi-ashlar masonry. Not far from the south-east corner is a narrow gateway. The bastions, which are semi-circular in plan, are placed at regular intervals along the curtain of the wall, as well as at the salient and re-entrant angles.