Thomas William Rhys Davids

“ It is famous as the site of what are almost certainly the oldest buildings in India now standing. They are Buddhist topes (Pali. thūpa; Sanskrit, stūpa) , that is, memorial mounds, standing on the level top of a small sandstone hill about 300 ft. high on the left bank of the river Betwa. The number of topes on this and the adjoining hills is considerable. On the Sānchi hill itself are only ten, but one of these is by far the most important and imposing of all. All these topes were opened and examined by General Alexander Cunningham and Lieut.-Colonel Maisey in 1851 ”

“ The monuments at Sānchi are now under the charge of the archaeological department; they are being well cared for, and valuable photographs have been taken of the bas-reliefs and inscriptions. The drawings in Fergusson's work entitled Tree and Serpent Worship are very unsatisfactory, and his suggestion that the carvings illustrate tree and serpent worship is quite erroneous. ”