This Vāhalkada (frontispiece), one of four placed at the base of the stūpa at the four cardinals points, comprises eight friezes with nine string courses. The decoration in the highest frieze comprises an unbroken row of animals, including horses, lions and elephants. The lowest frieze, in its state in 1999, comprises projecting elephant heads and the fifth frieze from the bottom, makara heads. The two pillars traditionally framing both sides of the central structure are missing here. The superstructures of most vahalkadas are missing. See Kantaka Chetiya at Mihintalē for some evidence of them. A modern conjectured recreation has been added recently above an original vāhalkada at Mirisavātiya Dāgäbe.
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