There is further discussion of this issue in Nayanjot Lahiri's Ashoka in Ancient India, Harvard University Press (2015, esp. p. 241),

Julia

---

From: Shaw, Julia
Sent: 19 May 2017 19:03:29
To: Artur Karp

Cc: indology@list.indology.info
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Ashokan Pillars' transport

 

It is also on Researchgate.... so perhaps easiest to just request a full text version from the author.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261791090_From_Stone_Quarry_to_Sculpturing_Workshop_A_Report_on_Archaeological_Investigations_around_Chunar_Varanasi_and_Sarnath_by_Vidula_Jayaswal

From Stone Quarry to Sculpturing Workshop. A Report on ... www.researchgate.net >From Stone Quarry to Sculpturing Workshop. A Report on Archaeological Investigations around Chunar, Varanasi and Sarnath by Vidula Jayaswal

Dr Julia Shaw

Lecturer in South Asian Archaeology

Institute of Archaeology UCL

31-34 Gordon Square

London WC1H 0PY

 

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/people/staff/shaw

---

From: Artur Karp <karp@uw.edu.pl>
Sent: 19 May 2017 18:58:57
To: Shaw, Julia
Cc: indology@list.indology.info
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Ashokan Pillars' transport

 

Thank you, Julia. 

But - a pity. The link does not lead to the paper, one gets a view of some selected fragments, nothing more. Pity - again. 

But, anyway - 

 getting the pillar out of the quarry, then - transporting it to the river, then - moving it onto a ship, then - getting it out of the ship, then - transporting it to the place of the final destination, then - setting it there --- a phantastically complicated technical/organizational enterprise. 

Says much more about the Aśokan era than - I'd risk saying that - some enigmatic texts engraved on the pillar. 

Best wishes, 

Artur

Polska 

2017-05-19 19:43 GMT+02:00 Shaw, Julia via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>:

Dear Artur

 Vidula Jayaswal (of BHU) has written on this.

https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/From_Stone_Quarry_to_Sculpturing_Worksho.html?id=wwpuAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y

From Stone Quarry to Sculpturing Workshop books.google.co.uk The recognitior of ancient stone quarries at chunar hills with dateble epigraphs was a startling discovery made by the author of this book, in the year 1990. the followup archaological field investigations around chunar and Varanasi, which were carried out between the years 1990 and 1994, have uncovered the entire process of stone carving which was prevalent during the historical period in the Ganga plains. Besides archaeological investigations, ethnological surveys were also carried out. As a result of which it has been possible, start from quarrying of stone carving process, start from quarrying of stone blocks, their transportation to the centres of utility-carving of the sculpturing centres and the main religious centres etc.

Best wishes, Julia

----------------------

Dr Julia Shaw

Lecturer in South Asian Archaeology

Institute of Archaeology UCL

31-34 Gordon Square

London WC1H 0PY

 

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/people/staff/shaw

Message: 5
Date: Fri, 19 May 2017 07:32:00 +0200
From: Artur Karp <karp@uw.edu.pl>
To: indology <indology@list.indology.info>
Subject: [INDOLOGY] Ashokan Pillars' transport
Message-ID:
        <CALNcvFvmT6rLbsjftHKUMe3dJkHrN+eAsyt42CvC-036Knbvsg@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Dear List,

Has anyone studied - and written on - the mode of transport of A?okan
pillars out of the quarry in Chunar, dst. Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh?

The Firoz Shah Kotla Pillar (brought by Firoz from Ambala dst., Haryana) is
a sandstone monolith nearly 13 m. in height, and it weighs close to 27
tons.

Regards,

Artur Karp (ret.)
Chair of South Asian Studies,
University of Warsaw
Polska

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