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Dhat Ras Temple
 The temple sits in the middle of a
rectangular, man-made podium measuring 19.35 meters
north-south and 14.35 meters east-west. This podium provided a
level place on the knoll of the hill for the temple. The
podium has at least three courses of
ashlar stones. All three of these courses are visible only
on the east side of the temple. The other sides have one or
two courses exposed. [
Photo] The exterior of the
temple itself measures 13.90 meters north-south and 9.90 meters
east-west and is built of limestone, ashlar stones. The building
faces south with the north-south walls oriented exactly with
magnetic north. The highest point remaining at the time of our
visit in 2001 was the northeast corner that measured 8.75
meters.[
Photo] The temple has three levels:
The temple has thick walls, measuring about
1.80 meters thick. [
Photo] The outer walls have a
cornice, which extends around the
temple on the eleventh course of stones from the ground or an
estimated 6.70 meters high. Below the cornice is a
frieze, decorated with three
fillets. [
Photo]
 Each corner of the exterior walls is
decorated with a pilaster,
including a base and
capital. The base on each corner
flairs out from the building and is .80 meters wide and about
.43 meters high. [
Photo] The column façade is narrower than the base,
measuring only .56 meters wide. On top of the pilaster is a
capital, which flairs out like the base but less pronounced.
Unfortunately, three of the four capitals are missing and the
fourth is so badly worn that the design is very difficult to
discern. [
Photo] However, the decoration is clear enough to discern
its modified Corinthian or Foliate
style.
 The front of the temple, which is the
south side, [
Photo] has a doorway in the center and is flanked on each
side by a niche. These
flat-backed, arched niches are 1.90 meters high, .95 meters
wide, and .55 meters deep. The base of the niche is 1.63 meters
above the ground. They have pilasters on each side of the inset,
complete with a carved base and capital. A molded, arched
pediment rests atop the pilasters,
which contains an archivolt. The
niches have an acroterion on each
corner of the pediment.[
Photo] This decoration may represent a
flame or a pomegranate but the carving is too weathered to
determine its identity for certain.[
Photo] The gate
or doorway to the temple is in the center of the south wall. The
right side of the door has a carved jamb
whereas the left side does not. This difference is probably due
to reconstruction of the left side in antiquity. The doorway
measures a little less than 2 meters wide. The height is unknown
but the entrance most certainly would have had a decorative
entablature or lintel over the
doorway. A small opening on the right side of the doorway and
built into the wall allows access to the
cistern.
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