Cunningham further mentions “The face of the cliff at the west end has been smoothed to a height of 19 feet, in front of which the ground has been leveled to form a platform of more than 30 feet. The cave itself is 34 feet long by 17 feet broad and 11.5 feet high. To the east there has been a second cave, about 22.5 feet long by 17 feet broad; but one half of the roof fell in long ago, and the cave is now filled with masses of rock and earth. The floor of this cave is on a lower level than that of Son Bhandar, but the front is in the same line. Both caves had some building or verandah in front, as there are numerous sockets cut in the rock above the door for the reception of the end of beams. The whole length of level clearing in front of the caves is 90 feet.”

Buchanan was perhaps the first to notice the caves and document his findings in the Journal of Patna and Gaya (1811-12). Describing the city of Rajgir he mentions about the Son Bhandar as  “In the south side of the hill by which the central plain is bounded on the north and west, has been dug a cave called Sonbundar. The door is small, but there is also a window which occasions a circulation of air and gives a light unknown in the dismal caves of Burabur. The materials here are however vastly inferior, as the rock is everywhere intersected by fissures, so that some parts have fallen down, and it admits water which has stained the walls with a red ferruginous crust. The stone is an imperfect Khori, variegated, red and grey in veins, layers, and blotches, and is evidently the rude jasper of the hills, similarly marked, passing into an indurated clay.

To be continued....