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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
(JANUARY 5, 1872.
and its members were priests selected for their tand Kaikalliope. A description of the coins and learning and scholarship, from the principal Ceylon he circumstances of their discovery, is being preparmonasteries. The procedure was as follows After
ed for the London Academy.-Delhi Gazette, Oct. 11. the formal opening of the Synod, each member was furnished with a manuscript in the Sinhalese cha
DISCOVERY OF COPPER AXES. racter, which he took to an apartment assigned to
Ar the last meeting of the Asiatic Society of him, and collated with a nunber of Ceylon, Burmah
Bengal, a letter was road from the Assistant Comand Siam copies of the same work. All obvious
missioner, Pachumba, describing two ancient coperrors in his manuscript he corrected at once, but per axes which he has presented to the Society. where a passage was doubtful, he merely marked it. The narrative of their discovery is very curious. On an appointed day each member carried his
appointed day each member carried hisIt appears that they had been found by a villager corrected manuscript to the hall of Assembly, where
just below the surface of a hillock, round which he
was cultivating land. But where this hillock is, he in a public sitting of the Synod all the corrected
steadily refuses, in spite of an offer of twenty manuscripts were compared together. When the rupees, to tell to any one, lest the demon of the corrections were identical in all the manuscripts, spot should revenge itself upon him. He has, he they were generally adopted without much loss of declares, already suffered at his hands. The night time, but in many doubtful or difficult passages
after he found the things, he had a dream in which the reading was not finally fixed without long and
a gnomo of terrible aspect appeared before bim.
He was no ordinary looking spirit, but of prodigianxious discussion. The first session of the Synod
ous proportions, his skin being red and his clothes lasted seven months, and was devoted exclusively black, whilst & profusion of hair hung down his to the Vinaya, a revised and authorized version of back from his head to his heels, each hair being as which, together with its Arthakatha and Tikas, W88
thick as a man's wrist. Having dismounted from a deposited in safe hands. The next meeting of the
tiger, which had carried him to the villager's door,
he entered the hut and, pointing to the copperSynod was held after a considerable interval, and
pieces, informed the trembling man that they were was devoted to the correction of the Sátra Pitaka.
his (the gnome's) property. The man at once On this occasion a somewhat different plan was expressed his willingness to give them up, but the followed, for the members had been instructed to
gnome would have none of them. He wanted in correct at their own monasteries the manuscripts
exchange four hairs of the villager's right knee, and
in return offered to relinquish all claim to the entrusted to them, and when the Synod met, it was
treasure which, he said, lay buried under the other ablo to sit daily until the work of fixing the text of
hillocks in that locality. But the much coveted the Sútras was ended. The Abhidharma Pitaka is hairs the man would not part with at any price. So now undergoing revision, and the labours of the the gnome mounted his tiger, and trotted off in Synod are drawing to a close. When they are com
high dudgeon. When the day broke, the villager pleted, a palm-leaf copy of the authorized version
proceeded to do a little ploughing before resuming
his excavations at the hillock, but as he passed that of the sacred toxts will be deposited in one of the
spot, one of his bullocks dropped down stone-dead, Ceylon monasteries, and the public will be permit- and within a few days the remaining two bullocks ted to inspect and transcribe the different books. which he possessed died also. Upon this he deserted In the very extensive collation of MSS. made by the
that place, and took up his residence in the village Synod, it was found that the Ceylon MSS. were
where he now lives. This, he says, happened three
years ago, and till last year he concealed the copper generally more accurate than those of Burmah
pieces, which he believed to be gold; but thinking and Siam.--The Academy.
he might then realise something by them, he carried
them off in great secrecy to a European official, to DISCOVERY OF ANCIENT COINS.
whom he imparted the information of where he had
found them. But this little indiscretion brought ABOUT a month and a half ago, some of the villagers
fresh troubles on him ; for when he returned home, of Sonpat, while digging out a ruin in the vicinity of
his little girl sickened and died. For these valid an old tank, discovered an earthern pot, (not unlike a reasons he refuses to point out the hillock where the common sorai) containing three sérs and a half of demon's treasures lie hidden.-Pioneer. silver-coin. The earthern pot was buried about seven feet underground; the coins at the bottoin of
QUERY. the pot were completely defaced by corrosion,
Will any of the correspondents of the Indian though nearly three-fourths of its contents were in Antiquary help me by obtaining the com-plete a very good state of preservation. On examination alphabet of the ancient characters used in the the coins were found to belong to Græco-Baktrian
Maldivian islands? The form of each consonant Kings. The coins of Menander are certainly more changes completely according to the affixed vowel, numerous than those of any other king, though by and the late Captain Christopher, I. N., only publishfor the best impressions are on the coins of King ed the consonants with the short a. The present Philoxenus. The following are the natues of the Maldivian characters are sufficiently known. kings whose coins have been deciphered :-Menander,
ANTOINE d'ABBADIE, Philoxenus, Diomedes, Antialkider, Apollodotus,
Membre de l'Institute France, Hermæus, Heliakles, Heaton, Antemachus, Hermæus Hendaye, Basses Pyrenées, Nov. 29, 1871.
