title: Daniel Wass

text: On 20 June 2012, Wass signed with Evian on a permanent basis for a €2.5 million transfer fee. On 12 August 2012, in the opening game of the season against Bordeaux, Wass scored a free kick in a match that ended in a 2–3 loss for Evian. Like in the previous season, Wass played in various positions in defence and midfield. On 26 January 2013, Wass scored a further goal against Ajaccio in a 1–1 draw.


title: Daniel Wass

text: On 10 July 2018, Wass joined Valencia on a four-year deal for a fee reported to be €6 million. He made his debut for the club on 20 August in La Liga, providing an assist to Rodrigo's equaliser in a 1–1 home draw against Atlético Madrid. His first goal for "Los che" came on 14 April 2019 in a 3–1 away win against Villarreal in the UEFA Europa League. Wass was a starter in the 2019 Copa del Rey Final which saw Valencia lift the trophy after a 2–1 victory against Barcelona, his first ever career title.


title: Daniel Wass

text: On 27 November 2019, Wass scored on an overcooked cross from a tight angle, which surprised goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and knocked Chelsea out of the UEFA Champions League. The match finished 2–2.


title: Daniel Wass

text: On 27 January 2022, Atlético Madrid announced the signing of Wass on a contract until 2023. He made his competitive debut for the club on 6 February, coming off the bench at half-time for Šime Vrsaljko in a 4–2 loss away against Barcelona at Camp Nou. The appearance would remain his only one for the "Colchoneros", as he suffered a season-ending knee injury after a challenge by Ferran Torres.


title: Daniel Wass

text: On 12 August 2022, Wass returned to Brøndby on a permanent transfer. He made his return debut two days later in a Superliga match against OB, starting at right-back in a 2–0 home win.


title: Daniel Wass

text: In May 2018, Wass was named in Denmark's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. However, he did not make the final 23.


title: JFET

text: The junction-gate field-effect transistor (JFET) is one of the simplest types of field-effect transistor. JFETs are three-terminal semiconductor devices that can be used as electronically controlled switches or resistors, or to build amplifiers.


title: JFET

text: Unlike bipolar junction transistors, JFETs are exclusively voltage-controlled in that they do not need a biasing current. Electric charge flows through a semiconducting channel between "source" and "drain" terminals. By applying a reverse bias voltage to a "gate" terminal, the channel is "pinched", so that the electric current is impeded or switched off completely. A JFET is usually conducting when there is zero voltage between its gate and source terminals. If a potential difference of the proper polarity is applied between its gate and source terminals, the JFET will be more resistive to current flow, which means less current would flow in the channel between the source and drain terminals.


title: JFET

text: JFETs are sometimes referred to as depletion-mode devices, as they rely on the principle of a depletion region, which is devoid of majority charge carriers. The depletion region has to be closed to enable current to flow.


title: JFET

text: JFETs can have an n-type or p-type channel. In the n-type, if the voltage applied to the gate is negative with respect to the source, the current will be reduced (similarly in the p-type, if the voltage applied to the gate is positive with respect to the source). Because a JFET in a common source or common drain configuration has a large input impedance (sometimes on the order of 10 ohms), little current is drawn from circuits used as input to the gate.


title: JFET

text: A succession of FET-like devices was patented by Julius Lilienfeld in the 1920s and 1930s. However, materials science and fabrication technology would require decades of advances before FETs could actually be manufactured.


title: JFET

text: JFET was first patented by Heinrich Welker in 1945. During the 1940s, researchers John Bardeen, Walter Houser Brattain, and William Shockley were trying to build a FET, but failed in their repeated attempts. They discovered the point-contact transistor in the course of trying to diagnose the reasons for their failures. Following Shockley's theoretical treatment on JFET in 1952, a working practical JFET was made in 1953 by George C. Dacey and Ian M. Ross. Japanese engineers Jun-ichi Nishizawa and Y. Watanabe applied for a patent for a similar device in 1950 termed static induction transistor (SIT). The SIT is a type of JFET with a short channel.


title: JFET

text: High-speed, high-voltage switching with JFETs became technically feasible following the commercial introduction of Silicon carbide (SiC) wide-bandgap devices in 2008. Due to early difficulties in manufacturing — in particular, inconsistencies and low yield — SiC JFETs remained a niche product at first, with correspondingly high costs. By 2018, these manufacturing issues had been mostly resolved. By then, SiC JFETs were also commonly used in conjunction with conventional low-voltage Silicon MOSFETs. In this combination, SiC JFET + Si MOSFET devices have the advantages of wide band-gap devices as well as the easy gate drive of MOSFETs.


title: JFET

text: The JFET is a long channel of semiconductor material, doped to contain an abundance of positive charge carriers or holes ("p-type"), or of negative carriers or electrons ("n-type"). Ohmic contacts at each end form the source (S) and the drain (D). A pn-junction is formed on one or both sides of the channel, or surrounding it using a region with doping opposite to that of the channel, and biased using an ohmic gate contact (G).


title: JFET

text: JFET operation can be compared to that of a garden hose. The flow of water through a hose can be controlled by squeezing it to reduce the cross section and the flow of electric charge through a JFET is controlled by constricting the current-carrying channel. The current also depends on the electric field between source and drain (analogous to the difference in pressure on either end of the hose). This current dependency is not supported by the characteristics shown in the diagram above a certain applied voltage. This is the "saturation region", and the JFET is normally operated in this constant-current region where device current is virtually unaffected by drain-source voltage. The JFET shares this constant-current characteristic with junction transistors and with thermionic tube (valve) tetrodes and pentodes.


title: JFET

text: Constriction of the conducting channel is accomplished using the field effect: a voltage between the gate and the source is applied to reverse bias the gate-source pn-junction, thereby widening the depletion layer of this junction (see top figure), encroaching upon the conducting channel and restricting its cross-sectional area. The depletion layer is so-called because it is depleted of mobile carriers and so is electrically non-conducting for practical purposes.


title: JFET

text: When the depletion layer spans the width of the conduction channel, "pinch-off" is achieved and drain-to-source conduction stops. Pinch-off occurs at a particular reverse bias ("V") of the gate–source junction. The "pinch-off voltage" (V) (also known as "threshold voltage" or "cut-off voltage") varies considerably, even among devices of the same type. For example, "V" for the Temic J202 device varies from to . Typical values vary from to . (Confusingly, the term "pinch-off voltage" is also used to refer to the "V" value that separates the linear and saturation regions.)


title: JFET

text: To switch off an n-channel device requires a negative gate–source voltage ("V"). Conversely, to switch off a p-channel device requires positive "V".


title: JFET

text: In normal operation, the electric field developed by the gate blocks source–drain conduction to some extent.


title: JFET

text: The JFET gate is sometimes drawn in the middle of the channel (instead of at the drain or source electrode as in these examples). This symmetry suggests that "drain" and "source" are interchangeable, so the symbol should be used only for those JFETs where they are indeed interchangeable.


title: JFET

text: The symbol may be drawn inside a circle (representing the envelope of a discrete device) if the enclosure is important to circuit function, such as dual matched components in the same package.


title: JFET

text: In every case the arrow head shows the polarity of the P–N junction formed between the channel and the gate. As with an ordinary diode, the arrow points from P to N, the direction of conventional current when forward-biased. An English mnemonic is that the arrow of an N-channel device "points in".


title: JFET

text: At room temperature, JFET gate current (the reverse leakage of the gate-to-channel junction) is comparable to that of a MOSFET (which has insulating oxide between gate and channel), but much less than the base current of a bipolar junction transistor. The JFET has higher gain (transconductance) than the MOSFET, as well as lower flicker noise, and is therefore used in some low-noise, high input-impedance op-amps. Additionally the JFET is less susceptible to damage from static charge buildup.


title: JFET

text: The current in N-JFET due to a small voltage "V" (that is, in the "linear" or "ohmic" or "triode region") is given by treating the channel as a rectangular bar of material of electrical conductivity formula_1:


title: JFET

text: The drain current in the "saturation" or "active" or "pinch-off region" is often approximated in terms of gate bias as


title: JFET

text: where "I" is the saturation current at zero gate–source voltage, i.e. the maximum current that can flow through the FET from drain to source at any (permissible) drain-to-source voltage (see, e. g., the "I"–"V" characteristics diagram above).


title: JFET

text: In the "saturation region", the JFET drain current is most significantly affected by the gate–source voltage and barely affected by the drain–source voltage.


title: JFET

text: If the channel doping is uniform, such that the depletion region thickness will grow in proportion to the square root of the absolute value of the gate–source voltage, then the channel thickness "b" can be expressed in terms of the zero-bias channel thickness "a" as


title: JFET

text: where formula_9 is the pinchoff voltage, and "I" is the maximum drain current. This is also called formula_10 or formula_11 (for transadmittance).


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is the administrative centre of the Borough of Gravesham.


title: Gravesend

text: Its geographical situation has given Gravesend strategic importance throughout the maritime and communications history of South East England. A Thames Gateway commuter town, it retains strong links with the River Thames, not least through the Port of London Authority Pilot Station and has witnessed rejuvenation since the advent of High Speed 1 rail services via Gravesend railway station. The station was recently refurbished and now has a new bridge.


title: Gravesend

text: Recorded as Gravesham in the Domesday Book of 1086 when it belonged to Odo, Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux, the half-brother of William the Conqueror, its name probably derives from "graaf-ham": the home of the reeve or bailiff of the lord of the manor.


title: Gravesend

text: Another theory suggests that the name "Gravesham" may be a corruption of the words "grafs-ham" – a place "at the end of the grove". Frank Carr asserts that the name derives from the Saxon "Gerevesend", the end of the authority of the Portreeve (originally "Portgereve", chief town administrator).


title: Gravesend

text: In the Netherlands, a place called 's-Gravenzande is found with its name translating into "Sand (or sandy area) belonging to the Count". The "s" is a contraction of the old Dutch genitive article "des", and translates into plain English as "of the". In Brooklyn, New York, the neighbourhood of Gravesend is said by some to have been named for 's-Gravenzande., though its founding by the English religious dissenter, Lady Deborah Moody, in 1645 strongly indicates that it is named after Gravesend, England. Lady Deborah was originally from London and is credited with being the first woman to found a settlement in the New World.


title: Gravesend

text: The Domesday spelling is its earliest known historical record; all other spellings – in the later (c. 1100) Domesday "Monachorum" and in "Textus Roffensis" the town is "Gravesend" and "Gravesende", respectively. The variation "Graveshend" can be seen in a court record of 1422, where Edmund de Langeford was parson, and attributed to where the graves ended after the Black Death. The municipal title Gravesham was formally adopted in 1974 as the name for the new borough.


title: Gravesend

text: Stone Age implements have been found in the locality since the 1900s, as has evidence of an Iron Age settlement at nearby Springhead. Extensive Roman remains have been found at nearby Vagniacae; and Gravesend lies immediately to the north of the Roman road connecting London with the Kent coast – now called Watling Street. Domesday Book recorded mills, hythes, and fisheries here.


title: Gravesend

text: Milton Chantry is Gravesend's oldest surviving building and dates from the early 14th century. It was refounded as a chapel in 1320/21 on the original site of a former leper hospital founded in 1189. It is a Grade II* listed building.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend has one of the oldest surviving markets in the country. Its earliest charter dates from 1268, with town status being granted to the two parishes of Gravesend and Milton by King Henry III in its Charter of Incorporation of that year. The first Mayor of Gravesend was elected in 1268 but the first town hall was not built until 1573. The current Gravesend Town Hall was completed in 1764: although it ceased to operate as a seat of government in 1968 when the new Gravesend Civic Centre was opened, it remained in use as a magistrates' court until 2000. It now operates as a venue for weddings and civil partnership ceremonies.


title: Gravesend

text: In 1380, during the Hundred Years' War, Gravesend suffered being sacked and burned by the Castilian fleet.


title: Gravesend

text: In 1401, a further Royal Charter was granted, allowing the men of the town to operate boats between London and the town; these became known as the "Long Ferry". It became the preferred form of passage, because of the perils of road travel (see below).


title: Gravesend

text: On Gravesend's river front are the remains of a device fort built by command of King Henry VIII in 1543.


title: Gravesend

text: On 21 March 1617, John Rolfe and his Native American wife Rebecca (Pocahontas), with their two-year-old son, Thomas, boarded a ship in London bound for the Commonwealth of Virginia; the ship had only sailed as far as Gravesend before Rebecca fell ill, and she died shortly after she was taken ashore. It is not known what caused her death. Her funeral and interment took place on 21 March 1617 at the parish church of St George, Gravesend. The site of her grave was underneath the church's chancel, though since the previous church was destroyed by fire in 1727 her exact resting place is unknown. Thomas Rolfe survived, but was placed under the supervision of Sir Lewis Stukley at Plymouth, before being sent to his uncle, Henry Rolfe whilst John Rolfe and his late wife's assistant Tomocomo reached America under the captaincy of Sir Samuel Argall's ship. Pocahontas (real name: Matoaka) is an important figure in both American and British history and was the inspiration for the popular Disney animated film of the same name.


title: Gravesend

text: At Fort Gardens is the "New Tavern Fort", built during the 1780s and extensively rebuilt by Major-General Charles Gordon between 1865 and 1879; it is now the Chantry Heritage Centre, under the care of Gravesend Local History Society. The fort is a Scheduled monument.


title: Gravesend

text: Journeys by road to Gravesend were historically quite hazardous, since the main London-Dover road crossed Blackheath, notorious for its highwaymen. Stagecoaches from London to Canterbury, Dover and Faversham used Gravesend as one of their "stages" as did those coming north from Tonbridge. In 1840 there were 17 coaches picking up and setting down passengers and changing horses each way per day. There were two coaching inns on what is now Old Road East: "the Prince of Orange" and "the Lord Nelson". Post coaches had been plying the route for at least two centuries: Samuel Pepys records having stopped off at Gravesend in 1650 en route to the Royal Dockyards at Chatham.


title: Gravesend

text: Although much of the town's economy continued to be connected with maritime trade, since the 19th century other major employers have been the cement and paper industries.


title: Gravesend

text: From 1932 to 1956, an airport was located to the east of the town. On Sunday 5 February 1939, Alex Henshaw commenced his record-breaking flight to Cape Town and back from here. He completed the flight in 39 hours 36 minutes over the next four days; his record still stands. Originally a civilian airfield, during World War II it became a fighter station, RAF Gravesend, and so Gravesend was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe. In 1956 the site was taken over by Gravesend Borough Council; a large housing estate, known as Riverview Park, was built on its site.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend is part of and is the principal town of the Borough of Gravesham. The borough was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Gravesend and Northfleet Urban District along with several parishes from Strood Rural District. Gravesend was incorporated as a Municipal Borough in 1835 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and Northfleet was constituted an Urban District in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894: Gravesend absorbed Milton (1914), Denton, Chalk and part of Northfleet, including Claphall, Singlewell and King's Farm (1935).


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend is located at a point where the higher land – the lowest point of the dip slope of the North Downs – reaches the Thames. To the east are the low-lying Shorne Marshes; to the west, beyond Northfleet and the Swanscombe Marshes. The settlement was thus established as it was a good landing place: it was also sheltered by the prominent height of what is now called Windmill Hill (see Landmarks below); although Windmill Hill still remains a dominant feature, Gravesend's highest point is actually further inland at Marling Cross, adjacent to the A2.


title: Gravesend

text: From its origins as a landing place and shipping port, Gravesend gradually extended southwards and eastwards. Better-off people from London visited the town during the summer months; at first by boat, and then by railway. More extensive building began after World War I; this increased after World War II, when many of the housing estates in the locality were built.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend's built-up areas comprise "Painters Ash", adjacent to the A2; "King's Farm" (most of King's Farm estate was built in the 1920s); and "Christianfields". The latter housing estate has been completely rebuilt over a 6-year project from 2007 to 2013. There is also the aforementioned Riverview Park estate built on the old RAF field in the south-east, in the 1960s, and Singlewell, which is adjacent to the A2 in the South


title: Gravesend

text: Part of the southern built-up area of the town was originally two separate rural parishes: "viz", Cobham and Northfleet.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend has an oceanic climate similar to much of southern England, being accorded Köppen Climate Classification-subtype of "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate).


title: Gravesend

text: On 10 August 2003, Gravesend recorded one of the highest temperatures since records began in the United Kingdom, with a reading of , only beaten by Brogdale, near Faversham, to the ESE. Gravesend, which has a Met Office site, reports its data each hour.


title: Gravesend

text: Being inland and yet relatively close to continental Europe, Gravesend enjoys a somewhat more continental climate than the coastal areas of Kent, Essex and East Anglia and also compared to western parts of Britain. It is therefore less cloudy, drier, and less prone to Atlantic depressions with their associated wind and rain than western parts, as well as being hotter in summer and colder in winter.


title: Gravesend

text: Thus Gravesend continues to record higher temperatures in summer, sometimes being the hottest place in the country, "e.g." on the warmest day of 2011, when temperatures reached 33.1 °C. Additionally, the town holds at least two records for the year 2010, of 30.9 °C and 31.7 °C. Another record was set during England's Indian summer of 2011 with 29.9 °C., the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK for October. In 2016 the warmest day of the year occurred very late on 13 September with a very high temperature of 34.4C


title: Gravesend

text: Since 1990 the economy of Gravesham has changed from one based on heavy industry to being service-based. The borough's estimated population in 2012 was 101,700: a 6,000 increase in less than a decade. It has a high population density (almost 10 people per hectare) compared to nationally; it has a relatively young population (40% of the population are below 30); and 60% of the population are of working age.


title: Gravesend

text: Based upon figures from the 2021 Census, the second largest religious group in the borough are Sikhs who at that time made up 8% of the population. However, if the term belief is used, Christians are most numerous at more than (49%), non-religious (32.1%) and third Sikhs (8%).


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend today is a commercial and commuter town, providing a local shopping district, including the St Georges shopping complex and a regular farmers' market. Gravesend market hall, in the heart of the town, was first chartered in 1268.


title: Gravesend

text: It is a unique structure having the first known iron cylinders used in its construction. The pier was completely refurbished in 2004 and now features a bar and restaurant; with public access to the pier head when the premises are open.


title: Gravesend

text: A recent £2 million investment in a pontoon is now in place at the pier head onto the Thames, which provides for small and medium-sized craft to land at Gravesend. On 17 September 2012, the Gravesend–Tilbury Ferry, relocated to the Town Pier, from its previous terminal in nearby West Street.


title: Gravesend

text: Built in 1844, the initial construction was funded by the Gravesend Freehold Investment Company, at a cost of £9,200. It was where Princess Alexandra of Denmark arrived on her way to marry Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) in March 1865, and River pilots have been based here since the late 19th century.


title: Gravesend

text: Today, Royal Terrace Pier is in constant 24-hour use, as part of the Port of London Authority main operations centre; thus, its public access is available only occasionally during the year. It is 'T' shaped, with a pontoon at its pier head. Like the Town Pier, Royal Terrace Pier is also a Grade II listed structure.


title: Gravesend

text: Situated at the junction of Milton Road and Harmer Street, its foundation stone was laid on 6 September 1887. The memorial stone records that the clock tower was erected by public subscription (£700 was raised toward its construction) and dedicated to Queen Victoria, to commemorate the 50th year of her reign. Built of Portland and Dumfries stone and backed by London stock brick, the design of the structure is based on the design of the Elizabeth Tower in the Palace of Westminster, which houses Big Ben. The centre of the clock itself is measured at 50 feet (15 m) above ground and the face measures 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) in diameter. The tower is Grade II listed.


title: Gravesend

text: An American sculptor, William Ordway Partridge, created a life-size statue of the 17th-century Native American princess Pocahontas, which was unveiled at Jamestown, Virginia in 1922. Queen Elizabeth II viewed this statue in 1957 and again on 4 May 2007, while visiting Jamestown on the 400th anniversary of foundation, it being the first successful English colonial settlement in America.


title: Gravesend

text: On 5 October 1958, an exact replica of Partridge's statue was dedicated as a memorial to Pocahontas at St George's Parish Church. The Governor of Virginia presented the statue as a gift to the British people in 1958, a gesture prompted by The Queen's visit to the USA in the previous year.


title: Gravesend

text: In 2017, US Ambassador Matthew Barzun visited the statue to mark the 400th anniversary of the death and burial of Pocahontas in Gravesend. The Ambassador laid a floral tribute of 21 roses at its base, symbolising each year of Pocahontas' life.


title: Gravesend

text: Windmill Hill, named after its former windmills, offers extensive views across the Thames and was a popular spot for Victorian visitors to the town because of the camera obscura installed at the "Old Mill" and for its tea gardens and other amusements.


title: Gravesend

text: The hill was the site of a beacon in 1377, which was instituted by King Richard II, and still in use 200 years later at the time of the Spanish Armada, although the hill was then known as "Rouge Hill". A modern beacon was erected and lit in 1988, the 400th anniversary of the Armada.


title: Gravesend

text: It was during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I that the first windmill was placed at the highest point in Gravesend, overlooking the high-water mark of the river. One mill burnt down in 1763 but was replaced the following year and that too demolished in 1894. The last surviving windmill is reported as having been destroyed by fire during Mafeking Night celebrations in 1900.


title: Gravesend

text: During World War I an Imperial German Navy airship passed over Windmill Hill, dropping bombs on it; today there are three markers indicating where these bombs struck.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend power station (TQ 6575 7413) was built by the Gravesend Corporation in 1902–03 to supply local demand for electricity. It was built on the south side of the basin at the west end of the Thames and Medway canal. The buildings were demolished in 1995.


title: Gravesend

text: The Thames has long been an important feature in Gravesend life, and may well have been the deciding factor for the first settlement there. One of the town's first distinctions was in being given the sole right to transport passengers to and from London by water in the late 14th century. The "Tilt Boat" was a familiar sight as it sailed along the Thames, the passengers protected from the weather by a canvas tilt (awning). The first steamboat plied its trade between Gravesend and London in the early 19th century, bringing with it a steadily increasing number of visitors to the Terrace Pier Gardens, Windmill Hill, Springhead Gardens and Rosherville Gardens. Gravesend soon became one of the first English resort towns and thrived from an early tourist trade.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend "watermen" were often in a family trade; and the town is the headquarters of the Port of London Authority Control Centre (formerly known as "Thames Navigation Service"), has its headquarters at Gravesend, providing maritime pilots who play an important role in navigation on the River Thames.


title: Gravesend

text: A dinghy at an unmodernised Gravesend was the backdrop to the 1952 thriller "The Long Memory" starring Sir John Mills. In the film, Mills plays a character living in poverty on a derelict fishing boat stranded in the mud flats.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend also has one of England's oldest regattas retained from its strong maritime links with the Thames. Although the origins of the regatta are unknown it dates back at least to Tudor times. The races are traditionally competed by Gravesend skiffs, oaken round-bottomed, clinker-built boats.


title: Gravesend

text: The "Thames Navigation Service" was first thought up between 1950 and 1952 by Cdr Peter de Neumann GM RN, while he was captain of HMRC cutter "Vigilant" based at Gravesend Reach. It is possible that Vigilant Way in Gravesend is named for her. This idea followed on from considering such incidents as the accidental ramming of HMS "Truculent" by the "Divina" in 1950, the collision with the "Nore Forts" by "Baalbek", and the disastrous flooding of Canvey, Foulness and the East Coast in 1953. In these and other situations, rescue and intelligence gathering were severely hampered by a lack of centralised command and control, and lack of a detailed "picture". De Neumann resigned his command after returning "Vigilant" from the Spithead Review and joined the PLA, immediately suggesting, in a report to them submitted in 1953, that a feasibility study of such a system be carried out. He then oversaw its development and ultimate installation at Gravesend.


title: Gravesend

text: Until the building of Tilbury Docks, on the opposite side of the river, between 1882 and 1886, Gravesend was the Thames's first port of entry. Thousands of emigrants, as well as large numbers of troops, embarked from here. Tilbury Docks have expanded considerably since, with the closure of all the London Docks. The entrance to the Docks is somewhat awkward, situated as it is on the sharp bend of the river, and boats often need tugboat assistance, as do the larger ships moored at Tilbury landing stages. There have been many tug companies based at Gravesend: among them the "Sun Company", the "Alexandra Towing Company" and, today, the "Smith Howard Towing Company". East Indiamen traditionally stopped here at a point known as Long Reach to lighten their loads before sailing up the Thames to moorings at Blackwall.


title: Gravesend

text: For some years after, war steamer excursions were run on the MV "Royal Daffodil" down the Thames from Gravesend to France, but they ceased in 1966. Cruises are now operated by the Lower Thames and Medway Passenger Boat Company up the river to Greenwich. The cross-river passenger ferry to Tilbury provides a long-established route to and from Essex. Before the Dartford Crossing came into being, there was a vehicle ferry at Gravesend as well.


title: Gravesend

text: There is a RNLI lifeboat station, based at Royal Terrace Pier, which is one of the busiest in the country.


title: Gravesend

text: The Thames and Medway Canal was opened for barge traffic in 1824. It ran from Gravesend on the Thames to Frindsbury near Strood on the Medway. Although seven miles long, it had only two locks, each by in size, one at each end. Its most notable feature was the tunnel near Strood, which was long, the second longest canal tunnel ever built in the UK. The great cost of the tunnel meant that the canal was not a commercial success.


title: Gravesend

text: After only 20 years, most of the canal was closed and the canal's tunnel was converted to railway use. Initially, canal and railway shared the tunnel, with the single track built on timber supports, but by 1847, canal use was abandoned and a double track laid. Today Gravesend Canal Basin is used for the mooring of pleasure craft. Gravesend Sailing Club, which was founded so that working men could participate in the sport while still having to earn a living is based here. The lock has been dredged, and restoration and strengthening work has been carried out on the basin walls as part of the regeneration of the area.


title: Gravesend

text: The main roads through the town are the west–east A226 road from Dartford and beyond to Rochester; and the A227 road to Tonbridge. The A2 road passes two miles (3 km) south of Gravesend town centre; a mile stretch of it was rerouted in the early 2000s to take the traffic away from the south end of the town.


title: Gravesend

text: In March 2006 the first of the area's new Fastrack bus services, which use a combination of ordinary roads and dedicated 'bus tracks', opened. The service links to Ebbsfleet International railway station, Greenhithe, Bluewater Shopping Centre and Dartford.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend railway station lies on the North Kent Line, and was opened in 1849. The Gravesend West Line, terminating by the river and for some time operating as a continental ferry connection, closed in 1968.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend is the primary north Kent interchange for high speed and metro rail services. In December 2009, the full high-speed timetable between London and Kent came into force and passenger usage from Gravesend has exceeded expectations. High-speed services from London St Pancras and Stratford International, are offered via Gravesend to the Medway towns, Sittingbourne, Faversham, Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate. Some of these services continue to Ashford International via Sandwich and Dover Priory.


title: Gravesend

text: There are also metro services to London Charing Cross, London Waterloo East and London Bridge via Sidcup, via Woolwich Arsenal and Lewisham and Bexleyheath, and to Gillingham.


title: Gravesend

text: Unusually Gravesend features a Platform 0, one of the few in the country, it is used for terminating services from London Cannon Street or London Charing Cross via Sidcup.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend is served by several Arriva Kent Thameside bus services connecting the town with other areas in Kent including Dartford, Bluewater and Sevenoaks and to the Medway Towns.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend is also served by Fastrack bus services connecting the town with Bluewater, Darent Valley Hospital and Dartford.


title: Gravesend

text: Passenger ferry services to Tilbury, Essex, operate daily (except Sundays), from Gravesend Town Pier.


title: Gravesend

text: The Saxon Shore Way, a long distance footpath, starts at Gravesend and traces the coast as in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex; 163 miles (262 km) in total. The Wealdway also starts at the Town Pier, and continues almost due south over the Weald to Eastbourne in East Sussex where it links with South Downs Way, a distance of 80 miles (128 km).


title: Gravesend

text: The town's principal Anglican place of worship is the Church of St George, Gravesend. This Georgian building is a tourist attraction because of its association with Princess Pocahontas, as well as being the parish church. Gravesend has three other Church of England parishes and Roman Catholic, Methodist, United Reformed and Baptist churches as well as other smaller chapels.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend has a significant Sikh population of more than 15,000, representing over 15% of the town's population. Its first gurdwara was founded in 1956 by Bhat Sikh Santokh Singh Takk in Edwin Street with a second one opening, ten years later, in a former Congregationalist church, but this gurdwara closed in 2010. The same year, one of the United Kingdom's largest Sikh temples was opened at a cost of £12 million.


title: Gravesend

text: In secondary education, Gravesend has the following schools: Gravesend Grammar School; Northfleet School for Girls; Northfleet Technology College (Northfleet School for Boys, on the former sites of Northfleet Secondary School for Boys and Gravesend Technical High School for Boys); Mayfield Grammar School (formerly Gravesend Grammar School for Girls); St John's Catholic Comprehensive School; Thamesview School and St George's Church of England School. There are also primary age schools such as Whitehill Primary School, special schools and several independent schools, such as Bronte School and St Joseph's.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend Hospital was opened in 1854, following the donation of a site by the 6th Earl of Darnley in 1853; it had its origin on 2 December 1850, as a dispensary on the Milton Road "to assist the really destitute poor of Gravesend and Milton and vicinities ... unable to pay for medical aid". By 1893, 4,699 such people had benefited by its presence.


title: Gravesend

text: In 2004 the original building, and parts of the newer buildings were demolished to make way for a new community hospital. Gravesend Community Hospital provides a Minor Injury Unit, Dental services, Speech and Language therapy and Physiotherapy. It also has a Stroke Ward and offers inpatient care. The outpatient department provides care for much of the local area and is separate from those offered at Darent Valley Hospital. In addition, Gravesend emergency doctors out of hours service as well as podiatry are offered.


title: Gravesend

text: In the town centre is a large medical clinic at Swan Yard, next to the Market car park, and several other doctors' surgeries are located in the area.


title: Gravesend

text: The Stonebridge Road football ground at neighbouring Northfleet is home to Ebbsfleet United F.C., which changed its name from Gravesend and Northfleet F.C. in June 2007. Ebbsfleet currently plays in the National League, and the club won the FA Trophy in May 2008. An agreement was reached for the MyFootballClub online community to purchase a 75% stake in the club in November 2007, and its takeover was completed early in 2008.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend Cricket Club (founded in 1881 when the Harkaway and Clarence Cricket Clubs amalgamated) is based at the Bat and Ball Ground on Wrotham Road, where cricket has been played since its foundation at the behest of the 6th Earl of Darnley (grandfather of the celebrated England cricketer, The Hon. Ivo Bligh, later 8th Earl of Darnley) in the mid 19th century.


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend has two rugby union teams, Gravesend Rugby Football Club and Old Gravesendians RFC, both situated next to each other opposite the Gravesend Grammar School.


title: Gravesend

text: Old Gravesendians RFC (founded in 1929) consisted traditionally of former Gravesend Grammar School pupils. Prior to the forming of Old Gravesendians RFC, on leaving the Grammar School, former pupils had continued to engage in various sports through the Old Blues Association (founded in 1914). Owing to World War I the Old Blues Association practically went to pieces with only one annual dinner having been held in 1914. After the war a reunion dinner was held in 1920, the second annual dinner, which restarted the Old Blues Association activities. The Old Gravesendians RFC was often referred to as 'Gravesend Old Blues' in match reports.


title: Gravesend

text: Old Gravesendians RFC continued to foster rugby in Gravesend during World War II by turning out a side every season. Since 2000 Old Gravesendians (Old G's) have reached six Kent Plate finals, winning two. They achieved promotion to London League rugby in 2009, but were relegated in 2009–10. Old G's put out three sides with the first team playing in Shepherd Neame Kent 1 during the 2018–19 season. The team colours are light blue and dark blue.


title: Gravesend

text: Rowing races have been held on the River Thames at Gravesend since at least 1698, with the first organised Regatta recorded in 1715. The first Borough Regatta began in 1882, setting the pattern for an annual event on the River Thames that is carried on to this day. The River Thames in Gravesend is home to the Gravesend Rowing Club (founded in 1878), which the club claims is the oldest existing sporting club in Gravesend, the Regatta Committee's skiff rowers, and Gravesend Sailing Club.


title: Gravesend

text: To the south of Gravesend on the ancient site of Watling Street on 43ha of land adjacent to the A2, Cyclopark, a venue for cycling events and other activities has been developed. The site which features mountain bike trails, a road circuit, a BMX racetrack and family cycling paths was formally opened in early 2012.


title: Gravesend

text: Charles Dickens lived at Gad's Hill Place, 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Gravesend and specifically mentions the town and its environs in at least three of his novels. In "David Copperfield" Mr. Peggotty, Ham and the Micawbers say their goodbyes and sail away from Gravesend to begin a new life in Australia. In "Great Expectations", Pip, with accomplices, rows Magwitch from London downriver in expectation of waylaying a regular steamer (whilst under way in the Lower Hope, off Gravesend) bound for Hamburg. (Gravesend also appears in "The Pickwick Papers").


title: Gravesend

text: Gravesend is briefly mentioned in the 1818 novel "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley during Victor's travels through the United Kingdom with Clerval; ultimately culminating in Victor's residence in the Orkney Islands.


title: Gravesend

text: In the 1902 novel "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad, Charles Marlow's ship, anchored off Gravesend, is the setting where he tells his tale.


title: Gravesend

text: "The War Game" was a 1965 BBC television drama-documentary film depicting a nuclear war that was initially banned, and not broadcast until July 1985. The film was shot in Gravesend and in the other Kent towns of Tonbridge, Chatham and Dover, with a cast was almost entirely made up of non-actors.


title: Gravesend

text: The 1952 film "The Long Memory" starring John Mills was filmed in and around Gravesend. It features many squalid streets running down towards the river that even then were being progressively cleared for redevelopment. It is also possible to hear in the background steam engines working out of the now closed Gravesend West Line West Street terminus.


title: Cloisonné

text: Cloisonné () is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, but inlays of cut gemstones, glass and other materials were also used during older periods; indeed cloisonné enamel very probably began as an easier imitation of cloisonné work using gems. The resulting objects can also be called cloisonné. The decoration is formed by first adding compartments ("cloisons" in French) to the metal object by soldering or affixing silver or gold as wires or thin strips placed on their edges. These remain visible in the finished piece, separating the different compartments of the enamel or inlays, which are often of several colors. Cloisonné enamel objects are worked on with enamel powder made into a paste, which then needs to be fired in a kiln. If gemstones or colored glass are used, the pieces need to be cut or ground into the shape of each cloison.


title: Cloisonné

text: In antiquity, the cloisonné technique was mostly used for jewellery and small fittings for clothes, weapons or similar small objects decorated with geometric or schematic designs, with thick cloison walls. In the Byzantine Empire techniques using thinner wires were developed to allow more pictorial images to be produced, mostly used for religious images and jewellery, and by then always using enamel. This was used in Europe, especially in Carolingian and Ottonian art. By the 14th century this enamel technique had been replaced in Europe by champlevé, but had then spread to China, where it was soon used for much larger vessels such as bowls and vases; the technique remains common in China to the present day, and "cloisonné" enamel objects using Chinese-derived styles were produced in the West from the 18th century.


title: Cloisonné

text: In Middle Byzantine architecture "cloisonné masonry" refers to walls built with a regular mix of stone and brick, often with more of the latter. The 11th or 12th-century Pammakaristos Church in Istanbul is an example.


title: Cloisonné

text: Cloisonné first developed in the jewellery of the ancient Near East, and the earliest enamel all used the cloisonné technique, placing the enamel within small cells with gold walls. This had been used as a technique to hold pieces of stone and gems tightly in place since the 3rd millennium BC, for example in Mesopotamia, and then Egypt. Enamel seems likely to have developed as a cheaper method of achieving similar results.


title: Cloisonné

text: The earliest undisputed objects known to use enamel are a group of Mycenaean rings from Graves in Cyprus, dated to the 12th century BC, and using very thin wire.


title: Cloisonné

text: In the jewellery of ancient Egypt, including the pectoral jewels of the pharaohs, thicker strips form the cloisons, which remain small. In Egypt gemstones and enamel-like materials sometimes called "glass-paste" were both used. Although Egyptian pieces, including jewellery from the Tomb of Tutankhamun of c. 1325 BC, are frequently described as using "enamel", many scholars doubt the glass paste was sufficiently melted to be properly so described, and use terms such as "glass-paste". It seems possible that in Egyptian conditions the melting point of the glass and gold were too close to make enamel a viable technique. Nonetheless, there appear to be a few actual examples of enamel, perhaps from the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt (beginning 1070 BC) on. But it remained rare in both Egypt and Greece.


title: Cloisonné

text: The technique appears in the Koban culture of the northern and central Caucasus, and was perhaps carried by the Sarmatians to the ancient Celts, but they essentially used the champlevé technique. Subsequently, enamel was just one of the fillings used for the small, thick-walled cloisons of the Late Antique and Migration Period style. At Sutton Hoo, the Anglo-Saxon pieces mostly use garnet cloisonné, but this is sometimes combined with enamel in the same piece. A problem that adds to the uncertainty over early enamel is artefacts (typically excavated) that appear to have been prepared for enamel, but have now lost whatever filled the cloisons. This occurs in several different regions, from ancient Egypt to Anglo-Saxon England. Once enamel becomes more common, as in medieval Europe after about 1000, the assumption that enamel was originally used becomes safer.


title: Cloisonné

text: The Byzantines perfected a unique form of cloisonné icons. Byzantine enamel spread to surrounding cultures and a particular type, often known as "garnet cloisonné" is widely found in the Migration Period art of the "barbarian" peoples of Europe, who used gemstones, especially red garnets, as well as glass and enamel, with small thick-walled cloisons. Red garnets and gold made an attractive contrast of colours, and for Christians the garnet was a symbol of Christ. This type is now thought to have originated in the Late Antique Eastern Roman Empire and to have initially reached the Migration peoples as diplomatic gifts of objects probably made in Constantinople, then copied by their own goldsmiths. Glass-paste "cloisonné" was made in the same periods with similar results – compare the gold Anglo-Saxon fitting with garnets (right) and the Visigothic brooch with glass-paste in the gallery. Thick ribbons of gold were soldered to the base of the sunken area to be decorated to make the compartments, before adding the stones or paste. In the Byzantine world the technique was developed into the thin-wire style suitable only for enamel described below, which was imitated in Europe from about the Carolingian period onwards.


title: Cloisonné

text: The dazzling technique of the Anglo-Saxon dress fittings from Sutton Hoo include much garnet cloisonné, some using remarkably thin slices, enabling the patterned gold beneath to be seen. There is also imported millefiori glass cut to fit like the gems. Sometimes compartments filled with the different materials of cut stones or glass and enamel are mixed to ornament the same object, as in the Sutton Hoo purse-lid.


title: Cloisonné

text: From about the 8th century, Byzantine art began again to use much thinner wire more freely to allow much more complex designs to be used, with larger and less geometric compartments, which was only possible using enamel. These were still on relatively small objects, although numbers of plaques could be set into larger objects, such as the Pala d'Oro, the altarpiece in Saint Mark's Cathedral, Venice. Some objects combined thick and thin cloisons for varied effect. The designs often (as at right) contained a generous background of plain gold, as in contemporary Byzantine mosaics. The area to be enamelled was stamped to create the main depression, pricked to help the enamel adhere, and the cloisons added.


title: Cloisonné

text: Two different techniques in Byzantine and European cloisonné enamel are distinguished, for which the German names are still typically used in English. The earliest is the Vollschmelz ("full" enamel, literally "full melt") technique where the whole of a gold base plate is to be covered in enamel. The edges of the plate are turned up to form a reservoir, and gold wires are soldered in place to form the "cloisons". The enamel design therefore covers the whole plate. In the Senkschmelz ("sunk" enamel, literally "sunk melt") technique the parts of the base plate to hold the design are hammered down, leaving a surrounding gold background, as also seen in contemporary Byzantine icons and mosaics with gold glass backgrounds, and the saint illustrated here. The wires and enamels are then added as before. The outline of the design will be apparent on the reverse of the base plate. The transition between the two techniques occurs around 900 in Byzantine enamel, and 1000 in the West, though with important earlier examples.


title: Cloisonné

text: The plaques with apostles of around the latter date on the Holy Crown of Hungary show a unique transitional phase, where the base plaque has hammered recesses for the design, as in "senkschmelz" work, but the enamel covers the whole plaque except for thick outlines around the figures and inscriptions, as in the "vollschmelz" technique (see the gallery below for examples of this technique and "vollschmelz" work). Some 10th-century pieces achieve a "senkschmelz" effect by using two plates superimposed on each other, the upper one with the design outline cut out and the lower one left plain.


title: Cloisonné

text: In medieval Western Europe cloisonné enamel technique was gradually overtaken by the rise of champlevé enamel, where the spaces for the enamel to fill are created by making recesses (using various methods) into the base object, rather than building up compartments from it, as in cloisonné. This happened during the 11th century in most centres in Western Europe, though not in Byzantium; the Stavelot Triptych, Mosan art of around 1156, contains both types, but the inner cloisonné sections were probably gifts from Constantinople. Champlevé allowed increased expressiveness, especially in human figures, and was also cheaper, as the metal base was usually just copper and if gold was used, it was generally to gild surrounding bare metal. In turn champlevé was replaced by the 14th or 15th century by painted enamels, once techniques were evolved that allowed the enamel to be painted onto a flat background without running. Limoges enamel was a great centre for both types.


title: Cloisonné

text: Plique-à-jour is a related enameling technique which uses clear enamels and no metal backplate, producing an object that has the appearance of a miniature stained glass object - in effect cloisonné with no backing. Plique-a'-jour is usually created on a base of mica or thin copper which is subsequently peeled off (mica) or etched away with acid (copper). In the Renaissance the extravagant style of pieces effectively of plique-à-jour backed onto glass or rock crystal was developed, but was never very common.


title: Cloisonné

text: Other ways of using the technique have been developed, but are of minor importance. In 19th century Japan it was used on pottery vessels with ceramic glazes, and it has been used with lacquer and modern acrylic fillings for the cloisons. A version of cloisonné technique is often used for lapel badges, logo badges for many objects such as cars, including BMW models, and other applications, though in these the metal base is normally cast with the compartments in place, so the use of the term cloisonné, though common, is questionable. That technique is correctly referred to by goldsmiths, metalsmiths and enamellists as champlevé.


title: Cloisonné

text: From Byzantium or the Islamic world the technique reached China in the 13–14th centuries; the first written reference is in a book of 1388, where it is called "Dashi ware". No Chinese pieces clearly from the 14th century are known, the earliest datable pieces being from the reign of the Xuande Emperor (1425–35), which however show a full use of Chinese styles suggesting considerable experience in the technique. It was initially regarded with suspicion by Chinese connoisseurs, firstly as being foreign, and secondly as appealing to feminine taste. However, by the beginning of the 18th century the Kangxi Emperor had a "cloisonné" workshop among the many Imperial factories. The most elaborate and highly valued Chinese pieces are from the early Ming Dynasty, especially the reigns of the Xuande Emperor and Jingtai Emperor (1450–57), although 19th century or modern pieces are far more common. The Chinese industry seems to have benefited from a number of skilled Byzantine refugees fleeing the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, although based on the name alone, it is far more likely China obtained knowledge of the technique from the middle east. In much Chinese "cloisonné" blue is usually the predominant colour, and the Chinese name for the technique, "jingtailan" ("Jingtai blue ware"), refers to this, and the Jingtai Emperor. Quality began to decline in the 19th century. Initially heavy bronze or brass bodies were used, and the wires soldered, but later much lighter copper vessels were used, and the wire glued on before firing. The enamels compositions and the pigments change with time.


title: Cloisonné

text: Chinese "cloisonné" is sometimes confused with Canton enamel, a type of painted enamel on copper that is more closely related to overglaze enamels on Chinese porcelain, or enamelled glass. This is painted on freehand and so does not use partitions to hold the colours separate.


title: Cloisonné

text: In Byzantine pieces, and even more in Chinese work, the wire by no means always encloses a separate color of enamel. Sometime a wire is used just for decorative effect, stopping in the middle of a field of enamel, and sometimes the boundary between two enamel colors is not marked by a wire. In the Byzantine plaque at right the first feature may be seen in the top wire on the saint's black sleeve, and the second in the white of his eyes and collar. Both are also seen in the Chinese bowl illustrated at top right.


title: Cloisonné

text: The Japanese also produced large quantities from the mid-19th century, of very high technical quality. During the Meiji era, Japanese cloisonné enamel reached a technical peak, producing items more advanced than any that had existed before. The period from 1890 to 1910 was known as the "Golden age" of Japanese enamels. An early centre of "cloisonné" was Nagoya during the Owari Domain, with the Ando Cloisonné Company the leading producer. Later centres were Kyoto and Edo, and Kyoto resident Namikawa Yasuyuki and Tokyo (renamed from Edo) resident Namikawa Sōsuke exhibited their works at World's fair and won many awards. In Kyoto Namikawa became one of the leading companies of Japanese "cloisonné". The Namikawa Yasuyuki Cloisonné Museum is specifically dedicated to it. In Japan "cloisonné" enamels are known as "shippō-yaki" (七宝焼). Japanese enamels were regarded as unequalled thanks to the new achievements in design and colouring.


title: Cloisonné

text: The first Russian "cloisonné" developed from Byzantine models during the period of Kievan Rus, and has mainly survived in religious pieces. Kiev was perhaps the only centre. The industry stopped with the Mongol invasion of Russia but revived in Novgorod by the end of the 14th century, now using champlevé. Cloisonné barely returned until the 19th century, when it was used in revivalist styles by the House of Fabergé and Khlebnikov. Fabergé developed a style of raised and contoured metal shapes rising from the base plate, which were filled, though more thinly than in most cloisonné (effectively painted), leaving the metal edges clear. This is usually called cloisonné or "raised cloisonné", though the appropriateness of the term might be disputed, as in other types of cloisonné the surface is smooth, which is not the case with these.


title: Cloisonné

text: First the object to be decorated is made or obtained; this will normally be made by different craftspeople. The metal usually used for making the body is copper, since it is cheap, light and easily hammered and stretched, but gold, silver or other metals may be used. "Cloisonné" wire is made from fine silver or fine gold and is usually about .010 x .040 inches in cross section. It is bent into shapes that define the colored areas. The bends are all done at right angles, so that the wire does not curve up. This is done with small pliers, tweezers, and custom-made jigs. The "cloisonné" wire pattern may consist of several intricately constructed wire patterns that fit together into a larger design. Solder can be used to join the wires, but this causes the enamel to discolour and form bubbles later on. Most existing Byzantine enamels have soldered cloisons, however the use of solder to adhere the cloison wires has fallen out of favor due to its difficulty, with the exception of some "purist contemporary enamellists" who create fine watch faces and high quality very expensive jewelry. Instead of soldering the cloisons to the base metal, the base metal is fired with a thin layer of clear enamel. The "cloisonné" wire is glued to the enamel surface with gum tragacanth. When the gum has dried, the piece is fired again to fuse the "cloisonné" wire to the clear enamel. The gum burns off, leaving no residue.


title: Cloisonné

text: Vitreous enamels in the different colors are ground to fine powders in an agate or porcelain mortar and pestle, then washed to remove the impurities that would discolor the fired enamel. The enamel is made from silica, niter, and lead oxide to which metallic oxides are added for coloring. These ingredients are melted together, forming a glassy frit which is ground again before application. Each color of enamel is prepared this way before it is used and then mixed with a very dilute solution of gum tragacanth. Using fine spatulas, brushes or droppers, the enameler places the fine colored powder into each cloison. The piece is left to dry completely before firing, which is done by putting the article, with its enamel fillings, in a kiln. The enamel in the cloisons will sink down a lot after firing, due to melting and shrinkage of the granular nature of the glass powder, much as sugar melting in an oven. This process is repeated until all cloisons are filled to the top of the wire edge.


title: Cloisonné

text: Three styles of "cloisonné" are most often seen: concave, convex, and flat. The finishing method determines this final appearance. With concave "cloisonné" the cloisons are not completely filled. Capillary action causes the enamel surface to curve up against the "cloisonné" wire when the enamel is molten, producing a concave appearance. Convex cloissoné is produced by overfilling each cloison, at the last firing. This gives each color area the appearance of slightly rounded mounds. Flat "cloisonné" is the most common. After all the cloisons are filled the enamel is ground down to a smooth surface with lapidary equipment, using the same techniques as are used for polishing cabochon stones. The top of the "cloisonné" wire is polished so it is flush with the enamel and has a bright lustre. Some "cloisonné" wire is electroplated with a thin film of gold, which will not tarnish as silver does.


title: Cloisonné

text: Collections of Japanese cloisonné enamels are held at major museums including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The Namikawa Yasuyuki Cloisonné Museum in Kyoto is dedicated to the technique. A collection of 150 Chinese cloisonné pieces is at the G.W. Vincent Smith Art Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Khalili Collection of Japanese Meiji Art includes 107 cloisonné enamel art works, including many works by Namikawa Yasuyuki, Namikawa Sosuke, and Ando Jubei. Researchers have used the collection to establish a chronology of the development of Japanese enamelling.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: The M1941 Johnson Rifle is an American short-recoil operated semi-automatic rifle designed by Melvin Johnson prior to World War II. Although the M1941 was used in limited numbers by the US Marines during the Second World War, it unsuccessfully competed with the contemporary M1 Garand rifle.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: The M1941 rifle used the energy from recoil to cycle the rifle. As the bullet and propellant gases move down the barrel, they impart force on the bolt head which is locked to the barrel. The barrel, together with the bolt, moves a short distance rearward until the bullet leaves the barrel and pressure in the bore drops to safe levels. The barrel then stops against a shoulder allowing the bolt carrier to continue rearward under the momentum imparted by the initial recoil stage. The rotating bolt, with eight locking lugs, would then unlock from the chamber as cam arrangement rotates and unlocks the bolt to continue the operating cycle. The Johnson rifle utilized a two-piece stock and a unique 10-round rotary magazine, designed to use the same 5-round stripper clips already in use by the M1903 Rifle. Another advantage of this loading method is that the magazine can be topped up while there is still a round in the chamber and the rifle is ready to fire.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: This system had some advantages in comparison to the M1 Garand rifle, such as a greater magazine capacity combined with the ability to recharge the magazine with ammunition (using 5-round clips or individually) at any time, even with the bolt closed on a chambered round. Also, the Johnson rifle did not — unlike the M1 Rifle — eject an en bloc clip upon firing the last round in the magazine, was considered an advantage by some soldiers.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: A widely-held belief among US soldiers (when surveyed in 1952, 27% of soldiers held this opinion) was that the M1 Garand's distinctive clip ejection sound, the well-known "M1 ping", presented a danger when fighting an enemy force, as the sound could signal that the soldier's M1 rifle was empty. Regardless of any anecdotal beliefs, and despite the popularity of the story, there are no verified cases of an enemy using the "M1 ping" sound to their advantage up through the Korean War.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: Despite the several advantages the Johnson Rifle design had over the M1 Garand rifle, the existing disadvantages were too great to change US rifle production from the M1 Garand. The Johnson's short recoil reciprocating barrel mechanism resulted in excessive vertical shot dispersion that was never fully cured during its production life and was prone to malfunction when a bayonet was attached to the reciprocating barrel (short recoil weapons require specific barrel weights to cycle correctly). Additionally, the complex movements of the barrel required for proper operation would be subject to unacceptable stress upon a bayonet thrust into a target. The Johnson also employed a number of small parts that were easily lost during field stripping. Partially because of lack of development, the M1941 was less rugged and reliable than the M1, though this was a matter of personal preference and was not universally opined among those that had used both weapons in combat.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: As was Johnson's practice, he gave all of his weapons a "pet" nickname. Johnson christened his semi-automatic rifle "Betsy" and the Light Machine Gun "Emma".


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: Melvin Johnson continued to develop small arms. He worked with ArmaLite and Colt's Manufacturing Company as an advocate for the AR-15. The AR-15 used a similar bolt design to the M1941 Johnson.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: In mid-1930s the U.S. Army was looking for a semi-automatic rifle, and John Garand from the Springfield Armory won the tender with his candidate. Melvin Johnson, a lawyer by profession, a Marine officer and a gun hobbyist, was skeptical of the adopted design (for example, he doubted that wartime ammunition would be consistent enough for a gas-operated rifle to work reliably) and decided to develop his own. In February 1936, when the Garand had just been adopted, he had his first working model, which had an unprecedented 10 locking lugs in its rotating bolt, manufactured in a machine shop for $300. In April, Johnson filed for a patent, and in August the first complete prototype rifle was completed. He continued the development during 1937-1938 while Garand's already adopted design was being tweaked and maturing.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: Melvin Johnson campaigned heavily for the adoption of his rifle by the U.S. Army and other service branches. However, after limited testing, the Army rejected Johnson's rifle in favor of the M1 rifle they already had. The M1941 was ordered by the Netherlands for issue to the KNIL in the Dutch East Indies, but only 1,999 rifles were shipped to the Dutch East Indies before the Japanese invaded. At this time, the U.S. Marine Corps found itself in need of a modern fast-firing infantry rifle, and acquired some rifles from the Dutch East Indies shipment for issue to its Paramarine battalions then preparing to deploy for action in the Pacific theater. By all accounts, the M1941 performed acceptably in combat with the Marines in the early days of the Pacific fighting.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: Weapon serial number A0009 was issued to USMC Captain Robert Hugo Dunlap, of Monmouth, Illinois, and he carried it into combat in the battle for Iwo Jima, beginning 19 February 1945. Captain Dunlap was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in that battle, and he retained and displayed the weapon until his death in 2000. He praised the rifle and credited it with saving his life and the lives of others.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: Despite repeated requests by the Marine Corps to adopt the rifle, the Johnson rifle lacked the support of US Army Ordnance, which had already invested considerable sums in the development of the M1 Garand and its revised gas operating system, then just going into full production. Johnson was successful in selling small quantities of the M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun to the U.S. armed forces, and this weapon was later used by both Paramarines and the Army's First Special Service Force.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: Besides Netherlands, Norway received samples in 1939 (but there was no order due to subsequent German invasion), and in the early 1940s the Chilean military ordered 1,000 rifles in 7x57 (the difference in caliber necessitated procuring barrels from Mexico), which were delivered in 1943. Serial numbers are all 4 digit with the 2nd block having an A prefix and the 3rd having a B. Not all numbers were produced which means total production was under 30,000 including all Light Machine Gun models. Some sources claim 70,000, but this is impossible based on the actual serial number range.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: Additionally, in April 1944, the United States War Department offered the Free French military the use of approximately 10,500 Johnson rifles and 1,500 Johnson light machine guns; these guns were from undelivered Dutch/Netherlands contracts taken over by the United States Government in 1942. The French requested them for issue to their "Sovereignty troops" (i.e. second line units remaining in North Africa), but this order was not followed through.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: Some rifles were reportedly sent to Nationalist China, and a few were captured by the People's Liberation Army during the later stages of the Chinese Civil War. The .30-06 Springfield and Enfield M1917 rifles were supplied in large numbers to the KMT by the USA pre-1945, to arm Y and X Forces in Burma. About 30% of Nationalist small arms were of US origin, 30% captured Japanese, and the remainder from various Chinese sources. One US military source states that between September and November 1948 the Nationalists lost 230,000 rifles to the Communists. In early 1949 the total figure reached over 400,000 of which at least 100,000 were US types.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: At the beginning of the Indonesian National Revolution, some M1941 rifles were still in service within Dutch forces. While the KNIL handed over many Geweer M. 95 and Lee-Enfield rifles to Indonesia after the end of the war, the Johnson rifles were brought to the Netherlands. They were eventually sold in the surplus market in 1953.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: In late 1946, Argentina expressed an interest in Johnson's arms, and Johnson fabricated a prototype, the Model 1947 auto carbine, a semi automatic rifle variant of the light machine gun with the 10 round cylindrical magazine. While specific details are sketchy, it apparently bore little resemblance, but shared some features with the Johnson M1941 light machine gun. Argentina apparently declined to purchase any, and the M1947 auto carbine never went into production. In any event, the post-war years were not kind to the Johnson organisation. The entity filed for bankruptcy and was liquidated in early 1949.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: The Johnson rifle was also used in training by the anti-Castro Brigade 2506, but would not be carried to the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.


title: M1941 Johnson rifle

text: Because it was produced in relatively small quantities the Johnson rifle has become a highly sought-after collectible by World War II collectors looking to complete their collections.


title: Mike Chapman

text: Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian-American record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Smokie, Mud and Racey with business partner Nicky Chinn, creating a sound that became identified with the "Chinnichap" brand. He later produced breakthrough albums for Blondie and The Knack. Chapman received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2014 Australia Day Honours.


title: Mike Chapman

text: Chapman was born in Queensland, Australia, and was educated at the Anglican Church Grammar School. He emigrated to Britain where he became a member of the Downliners Sect and then in 1968 joined the group Tangerine Peel. They released an album in 1969 and had several near-hit singles between 1967 and 1970. In 1970 he met Nicky Chinn while working as a waiter at a London nightclub, Tramp. The pair struck up a song-writing partnership, and began working with producer Mickie Most on his RAK Records label, which quickly became home to a roster of artists including Suzi Quatro, Smokie, and Mud.


title: Mike Chapman

text: From 1970 until 1978 Chapman and Chinn scored a run of hit singles. From 1973 to 1974 alone the pair had 19 hits in the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, including five number ones. The pair's dominance of the charts in Britain, Germany, Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand outlasted the decline of Glam rock, and waned in line with the fading fortunes of Smokie and Suzi Quatro.


title: Mike Chapman

text: Chapman exerted a tight grip on the output of the bands whose works he produced, determining the content of all albums. Some resented the level of control: The Sweet, whose interests lay in heavy rock, chafed at the teenybopper material Chapman gave them to perform, finally balking at some songs which did not fit in with their new direction and seeking success on their own; Chapman offered "Some Girls" to Blondie; the song was eventually given to Racey instead. Deborah Harry has referred to Chapman as a dictator, and for the photo shoot for one magazine interview he insisted on dressing up as US wartime General George S. Patton, Jr.


title: Mike Chapman

text: Chapman continued to write hits, including Exile's "Kiss You All Over" (1978) and Toni Basil's "Mickey" (1982, a reworked version of "Kitty", a song they had written for Racey in 1980).


title: Mike Chapman

text: Chapman has been quoted many times since, that Dreamland Records was his way of giving Chinn a job to prove himself. "I had attempted to end the business relationship since 1975 but had been stalled every time by Chinn's mental health and drinking problems, nervous breakdowns, and endless tantrums. When I moved to Beverly Hills in 1975 to put the Atlantic Ocean between us, he moved soon after and bought a house on the same street. He continued to put his name on every song I wrote, insisting that his name appear first in every case. Dreamland Records was a last gasp effort on my part to give him a real job and finally remove his presence from my hard work and success. As I anticipated, the label failed, he was entirely out of his depth and showing his real colours to everyone who encountered him. I was finally free to pursue my career in peace, without having my skills compromised and my royalties diverted. I sold Chinnchap Publishing in 1982. That was the end of the Chinnichap nightmare for me. I have been happily developing as a writer, publisher, record producer and mentor to many, since that day."


title: Mike Chapman

text: In 2014 Chinn and Chapman got together to work on the musical Blockbuster, which was based around their songs. This was the first time they had spoken to each other in 25 years.


title: Mike Chapman

text: Chinn's involvement in production was always minimal and Chapman continued to produce alone after moving to the U.S. in 1975. He produced Nick Gilder's "City Nights" album in 1978 (which yielded the "Hot Child in the City" hit) with Peter Coleman, his long-time recording engineer and in May the same year began working with Blondie to record their third album in New York. Chapman was a fan of their music but was dissatisfied with the production of their albums. He bluntly told the band that he would make them a hit record and he was right: "Parallel Lines" turned the band into an international success and became arguably the pinnacle of his own career.


title: Mike Chapman

text: The "Parallel Lines" session lasted three months. Singer Deborah Harry was struck by the intensity of Chapman's working methods. She said:


title: Mike Chapman

text: Employing the same skills he had applied to records by Smokie and Gilder, Chapman produced a more polished guitar and keyboard sound than the band had ever achieved, topped with layered vocals. The focal point of the album and the breakthrough single, was "Heart of Glass". The source of its driving disco beat is a matter of contention: Chapman claimed he had created the sound after the band had presented it as a slower, reggae-style song; band members insist it had always been known as their disco song and that they had created the sound by combining the influences of Kraftwerk and "Saturday Night Fever".


title: Mike Chapman

text: Chapman relished the praise heaped on his work on "Parallel Lines", commenting soon after its release:


title: Mike Chapman

text: Within months of "Parallel Lines"' release, Chapman was working with another band for which he would achieve a career high-water mark: power pop outfit The Knack. The band's website notes that in November 1978, 13 record companies were engaged in a fierce bidding war for the band's services, with Capitol Records finally signing the band. Producers clamoured to offer their services and even Phil Spector was anxious to participate.


title: Mike Chapman

text: The album and the single "My Sharona" hit No. 1 in the US and sold millions around the world. Its follow-up "...But the Little Girls Understand" was less successful. Featuring a producer credit as "Commander Chapman" and liner notes in which Chapman boasted, "This record is very dear to me and my bank manager", it prompted a bitter falling-out between band and producer. Chapman claimed the album cost him his reputation. In the book "Off the Record", Chapman said he and the band made the second album under the heady impression that they could do no wrong. He accused singer and guitarist Doug Fieger of being deluded with notions he was Jim Morrison or Buddy Holly ... "there was nothing he could do that wouldn't work". Fieger, in a 1994 interview, responded: "Mike Chapman is one of the bigger assholes that you'll ever meet on the planet. Unfortunately, Mike Chapman was not in any psychological or physical shape to produce that second album when we really needed a producer."


title: Mike Chapman

text: Chapman produced three more Blondie albums – "Eat to the Beat", "Autoamerican" and "The Hunter" – and most of "Def, Dumb and Blonde", a Deborah Harry solo album. In an article in "Creem" magazine Chris Stein marveled at Chapman's attention to detail, noting that the percussion for "The Tide Is High" also included "eight tracks of drum sticks tapping on a piano bench." He said:


title: Mike Chapman

text: Chinn and Chapman delivered their songs rapidly, often conceiving and completing them overnight. They claimed they created their songs by first thinking of a title, around which they then wrote the lyrics.


title: Mike Chapman

text: In a 2002 interview with "The Guardian", Chapman reflected that writing hit songs was an art to which many aspired but few achieved: "It's always a gamble. We'd written something like eight top 10 hits for Sweet when we heard that they'd entered the studio to record their own songs. After that, it was over for them. The bottom line is this – writing songs might be easy to do, but it's incredibly hard to do well."


title: Mike Chapman

text: Despite these claims The Sweet for example had several major hits with their own songs in Fox on the Run and Love is Like Oxygen, showing up Chapman's self focussed statement.


title: Mike Chapman

text: Chapman remained in demand through the 1980s and 1990s as a songwriter and producer. His compositions have included Tina Turner's "The Best" (originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler), "Better Be Good to Me" and "In Your Wildest Dreams" and Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield" (all co-written with Holly Knight) and Scandal's "Hands Tied" which was No. 41 in the US, while he has produced albums for Altered Images, Australian Crawl, Agnetha Fältskog, Scandal, Divinyls, Rod Stewart, Lita Ford, Pat Benatar, Baby Animals, Tami Show, Nervus Rex, Material Issue and Bow Wow Wow.


title: Mike Chapman

text: In 1998, Chapman co-wrote two songs for Ace of Base, "Always Have, Always Will" and "Whenever You're Near Me".


title: Mike Chapman

text: Between 1999 and 2001, Chapman wrote and produced "Babyphetamine", an album by the teenager Erin Evermore for the Tigerstar label, owned by the former Chrysalis Records head, Terry Ellis.


title: Mike Chapman

text: In 2006, he wrote "Back to the Drive", the title track of the Suzi Quatro "Back to the Drive" album. In the liner notes Quatro thanked Chapman "for providing the title track and overseeing the entire project".


title: Mike Chapman

text: In 2007, Chapman began working with the Los Angeles rock band, The Automatic Music Explosion. The band's lead singer, Matt Starr, flew to Chapman's East Coast home in an attempt to meet the producer. The bold move worked, with Chapman flying to Los Angeles a month later to see the band perform live and ultimately agreeing to produce their first album.


title: Mike Chapman

text: In January 2008, Chapman produced the single "Spin It" with The Neighborhood Bullys. In May 2008, Chapman began mixing songs from "Your Doll", for Lisa Douglass. In September 2008, Chapman met Haim, and started producing an album with the band, which is still under construction . In November 2008, Chapman also started writing with, and producing a solo album for Sarah Jeanette, singer with The Mulhollands. In November 2009, Chapman recorded the debut album for UK band, The Arcadian Kicks, but its release is still pending. Between 2010 and 2012, Chapman worked in London with Twigs (FKA Twigs), David Jordan, and Nell Ryder. He is also writing with and producing tracks with the Australian singer/songwriter, Holiday Sidewinder.


title: Mike Chapman

text: In 2016 Chapman's, Mike Chapman Publishing inked a deal with Jeremy Lascelles' newly launched Blue Raincoat Songs. Mike Chapman Publishing signed songwriters include writer/producer Simon Pilton, and songwriter/ singer/artist, Abisha. He is also currently writing with and co-producing Abisha.


title: Mike Chapman

text: Chapman now also has a radio show on Boogaloo Radio London with Maddy Paterson, The Mike and Maddy Show. A podcast of the show is being prepared.


title: Mike Chapman

text: Songs produced, or written and produced, by Chapman/Chinn or Chapman as sole producer which appeared on the UK Singles Chart:


title: Mike Chapman

text: The Queensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating Queensland, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006.


title: Barabar Caves

text: The Barabar Hill Caves (Hindi बराबर, "Barābar") are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, dating from the Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), some with Ashokan inscriptions, located in the Makhdumpur region of Jehanabad district, Bihar, India, north of Gaya.


title: Barabar Caves

text: These caves are situated in the twin hills of Barabar (four caves) and Nagarjuni (three caves); caves of the -distant Nagarjuni Hill are sometimes singled out as the Nagarjuni Caves. These rock-cut chambers bear dedicatory inscriptions in the name of "King Piyadasi" for the Barabar group, and "Devanampiya Dasaratha" for the Nagarjuni group, thought to date back to the 3rd century BCE during the Maurya period, and to correspond respectively to Ashoka (reigned 273–232 BCE) and his grandson, Dasharatha Maurya.


title: Barabar Caves

text: The sculptured surround to the entrance to the Lomas Rishi Cave is the earliest survival of the ogee shaped "chaitya arch" or chandrashala that was to be an important feature of Indian rock-cut architecture and sculptural decoration for centuries. The form was clearly a reproduction in stone of buildings in wood and other plant materials.


title: Barabar Caves

text: The caves were used by ascetics from the Ajivika sect, founded by Makkhali Gosala, a contemporary of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and of Mahavira, the last and 24th Tirthankara of Jainism. The Ajivikas had many similarities with Buddhism as well as Jainism. Also present at the site are several rock-cut Buddhist and Hindu sculptures and inscriptions from later periods.


title: Barabar Caves

text: Most caves at Barabar consist of two chambers, carved entirely out of granite, with a highly polished internal surface, the "Mauryan polish" also found on sculptures, and exciting echo effects.


title: Barabar Caves

text: The caves were featured – located in a fictitious Marabar – in the book "A Passage to India" by English author E. M. Forster. These were also shown in the book "The Mahabharata Secret" by Indian author Christopher C. Doyle.


title: Barabar Caves

text: Barabar Hill contains four caves: Karan Chaupar, Lomas Rishi, Sudama and Visvakarma. Sudama and Lomas Rishi are the earliest examples of rock-cut architecture in India, with architectural detailing made in the Mauryan period. Similar examples include the larger Buddhist Chaitya, found in Maharashtra, such as in Ajanta and Karla Caves. The Barabar caves greatly influenced the tradition of rock-cut architecture in the Indian subcontinent.


title: Barabar Caves

text: The cave of Lomas Rishi is probably the most famous of the caves of Barabar, because of its beautifully carved door. It is on the southern side of Barabar granite hill, and is adjacent to Sudama cave, which is on the left. Lomas Rishi consists of two rooms: a rectangular room measuring 9.86x5.18m, and a circular, semi-hemispherical room 5m in diameter, which is accessed from the rectangular room by a narrow rectangular passage.


title: Barabar Caves

text: This cave has an arched facade that probably imitates contemporary wooden architecture. On the periphery of the door, along the curve of the architrave, a line of elephants advances in the direction of stupa emblems. This is the characteristic form of the "Chaitya arch" or chandrashala, to be an important feature of architecture and sculpture in the rock for many centuries. It is clearly a stone reproduction of wooden buildings and other plant materials. According to Gupta, Lomas Rishi's immediate successors are the Kondivite and Guntupalli caves.


title: Barabar Caves

text: Lomas Rishi has no Ashoka inscription, perhaps because it has never been completed due to structural rock slide problems. It is generally considered, however, that it was also created around 260 BCE, like the other caves, because of the similarity of the internal structure and the degree of finish of the rock, the walls being perfectly polished, with the exception of the vault whose digging was interrupted. It has a much later inscription of Anantavarman above the entrance, from the 5th century CE.


title: Barabar Caves

text: According to Gupta, the theory that Lomas Rishi would not have received Ashoka's inscription because it was in a state of incompleteness, is undermined by the fact that the cave of Vivaskarma, another cave of Barabar, although it is not finished, was nevertheless consecrated by Ashoka. The consecration of a cave could therefore be done in the course of work. This could induce that Lomas Rishi, with its bas-reliefs, is actually posterior to Ashoka. Gupta actually believes that Lomas Rishi is posterior to both Ashoka and his grandson Dasaratha, and would have been built at the end of the Maurya Empire, under the reign of his last Emperor Brihadratha, and abruptly halted in 185 BC with the assassination of Brihadratha and the coup d'état of Pushyamitra Sunga, founder of the Sunga dynasty. Pushyamitra Sunga is also known to have persecuted Buddhists and Ajivikas, which would explain the immediate cessation of work. According to Gupta, the abrupt interruption of the works is suggested by the lack of finishing, even approximate, of the ground, with for example the abandonment in the state of some pikes of the rocks which would have required only a few minutes of chipping to be removed in order to obtain a fairly regular floor.


title: Barabar Caves

text: Ashoka dedicated the caves of Sudama and Visvakarma to the ascetics called "Ajivikas" in the 12th year of his reign, when his religious evolution towards Buddhism was not yet fully completed. The precise identity of the Ajivikas is not well known, and it is even unclear if they were a divergent sect of the Buddhists or the Jains.


title: Barabar Caves

text: Later, Ashoka built the caves of Lomas Rishi (without dated inscription, but posterior to Sudama on architectural grounds) and Karna Chopar (19th year of his reign), at a time when he had become a firm advocate of Buddhism, as known from the Edicts of Ashoka. It was initially thought that Karna Chopar may have been dedicated to the Buddhists, based on a former reading of the inscription at the entrance of the cave, corrected by Harry Falk in 2007: the new reading shows that Karna Chopar too had been dedicated to the Ajivikas. Since Lomas Rishi has no dedicatory inscription, it has been suggested that it may had been dedicated to the Buddhists. The affiliation of Lomas Rishi to Buddhism, although unproven, would be coherent with the fact that the architecture of the gate of Lomas Rishi became a reference for the development of the Chaitya arch in Buddhist cave architecture for the following centuries, whereas the Hindus or the Jains caves essentially did not follow this architectural example. This would also mean that the decorated gate of Lomas Rishi was a Buddhist invention, which was emulated in Buddhist architecture in the following centuries. After the Barabar caves, the earliest known rock-cut Buddhist monasteries date to the 1st century BCE in the Western Ghats in western India, such as the Nasik Caves.


title: Barabar Caves

text: The Sudama cave is located on the southern side of Barabar granite hill. It is close to Lomas Rishi, and on its left. It consists of two rooms: a rectangular room measuring 9.98x5.94m, and a semi-hemispherical room 6m in diameter, which is accessed from the rectangular room by a narrow rectangular passage. This is probably the first cave in the group to have been dug. This cave was dedicated by Emperor Ashoka in 257 BCE (12th year of his reign) as evidenced by an inscription in Brahmi using his protocol name (Priyadarsin, "He who brings joy") found in the entrance of the cave, whereas the cave of Lomas Rishi did not receive a dedicatory inscription:


title: Barabar Caves

text: The ceiling of the Sudama cave is arched. The cave is composed of a circular vaulted chamber and a vaulted room with the rectangular form of mandapa. The interior walls of the cave represent a technical feat: they are perfectly flat and polished granite surfaces, creating a mirror effect. On the other hand, the plane surfaces reverberate the sound, creating a very pronounced echo phenomenon. This characteristic is common to all the caves of Barabar, and, by amplifying the vibrations and the harmonies, seems to be favorable to the songs of the monks.


title: Barabar Caves

text: All of Barabar's caves share this interior polished appearance to a greater or lesser extent, with the exception of Lomas Rishi Cave, which, although designed on the same model, is only half-finished for its interior.


title: Barabar Caves

text: Karan Chaupar, also known as Karna Chaupar, is on the northern side of the Barabar granite hill. It consists of a single rectangular room with polished surfaces, 10.2x4.27m in dimensions. It contains an inscription of Ashoka dating from the 19th year of his reign, about 250 BCE, located outside, immediately to the right of the entrance. Initially, it was thought from E. Hultzsch's 1925 translation, that Ashoka's inscription from Karna Chopar Cave does not mention the Ajivikas, and seems rather to refer to the Buddhist practice of retirement (vassavasa) during the rainy season. In addition, the inverted swastika with upward arrow at the end of the inscription ( ) would be more of a Buddhist character. All this suggested that this cave was planned for Buddhist monks. However, Harry Falk has recently shown with a new reading that the cave was indeed dedicated to the Ajivikas.


title: Barabar Caves

text: This reading of the inscription has been corrected by Harry Falk in 2007, who after cleaning the stone and inspecting it read:


title: Barabar Caves

text: In particular, Falk reconstructs the last line as 𑀲𑀼𑀧𑀺𑀬𑁂𑀔𑀆𑀚𑀺𑀯𑀺𑀓𑁂𑀳𑀺𑀤𑀺𑀦𑀸 ("Su[p]i[y]ekha (Ajivikehi) dinā"), which means "Supriyekṣā was given to the Ājivikas".


title: Barabar Caves

text: In the entrance hall an inscription from the Gupta period mentions "Daridra Kantara" ("The Cave of the Beggars"). A mound decorated with later Buddhist sculptures is also near the entrance, another element which suggested the belonging of this cave to the Buddhists.


title: Barabar Caves

text: The Visvakarma cave, also called Viswa Mitra, is accessible by the "steps of Ashoka" carved into the cliff. It is a hundred meters and a little east of the main granite hill . It consists of a rectangular room entirely open to the outside, a sort of elongated porch, and an unfinished semi-hemispherical room: the rectangular space measures 4.27x2.54m, and the circular room is 2.8m in diameter . One goes from the rectangular room to the half-hemispherical room by a narrow trapezoidal passage. On the floor of the porch, four holes were made, which are thought to allow the cave to be closed with a wooden picket fence.


title: Barabar Caves

text: The cave of Visvakarma was offered by Ashoka to the Ajivikas in the year 12 of his reign, about 261 BCE:


title: Barabar Caves

text: Visvakarma cave, despite the fact that it is not finished, was nonetheless consecrated by Ashoka. This somewhat questions the theory that Lomas Rishi's cave would not have received Ashoka's inscription because it was in a state of incompletion. This could justify that Lomas Rishi, with his bas-reliefs, is actually posterior to Ashoka, as late as 185 BCE. This does not explain, however, why Visvakarma, consecrated in 260 BCE, has been interrupted, in the absence of a significant problem in the rock, whereas 7 years later Ashoka dedicated Karan Chaupar cave, perfectly finished, a short distance from there. Visvakarma is also the only cave that does not have "historical" inscriptions after Ashoka.


title: Barabar Caves

text: The nearby caves of Nagarjuni hill were built few decades later than the Barabar caves, and consecrated by Dasaratha Maurya, Ashoka's grandson and successor, each for the Ajivikas sect. They are 1.6 kilometers east of the Barabar Caves. The three caves are:


title: Barabar Caves

text: Also called Gopi or Gopi-ka-Kubha or simply Nagarjuni, Gopika cave is the largest of all the caves of the Barabar complex (). It consists of a single large oblong room of 13.95x5.84m. The two ends of the room have the particularity of being circular, contrary to the other caves. The cave lies on the south bank of the hill, dug by King Dasharatha grandson of Emperor Ashoka, according to the inscription that was engraved above the front door:


title: Barabar Caves

text: The cave also has the "Gopika Cave Inscription" in the entrance corridor, dated to the 5-6th century CE.


title: Barabar Caves

text: These two caves are a little higher on the north side of the hill, 300m as the crow flies (). Although small, they are very beautiful, perfectly carved, caves.


title: Barabar Caves

text: The caves were carved out of granite, an extremely hard rock, then finished with a very nice polishing of the inner surface, giving a mirror effect of a great regularity, as well as an echo effect. This large-scale polish is reminiscent of polishing on smaller surfaces of the Maurya statuary, particularly visible on the pillars and capitals of the Ashoka pillars.


title: Barabar Caves

text: Commenting of Mauryan sculpture, John Marshall once wrote about the "extraordinary precision and accuracy which characterizes all Mauryan works, and which has never, we venture to say, been surpassed even by the finest workmanship on Athenian buildings".


title: Barabar Caves

text: This remarkable and large-scale polishing technique, and in many ways without parallel, seems nevertheless to have been derived from polishing techniques in Achaemenid statuary, the stone-working techniques having spread in India after the destruction of the empire by Alexander the Great in 330 BC and the displacement of Persian and Perso-Greek artists and technicians. This know-how seems to have disappeared again after the Maurya period, none of the later caves such as the Ajanta caves having this characteristic of polished surfaces.


title: Barabar Caves

text: The very act of digging artificial caves in the rock, of which the Barabar caves represent the oldest case in India, was probably inspired by the caves dug in the rock of the Achaemenids, as is the case in Naqsh-e Rostam. It seems, however, that in India there had been an ancient tradition of ascetics using caves.


title: Barabar Caves

text: According to Gupta, the polishing of rocks could have a local origin, citing the existence of polishing technologies of the neolithic, as visible in various stone tools such as axes. There is, however, no trace of evolution from these neolitical tools to polished stone architecture, and the Barabar caves are essentially a sudden technological break with no local history, suggesting the import of these techniques from another culture. Nor are there any known examples of stone architecture in India before the Maurya period. According to Gupta, the Son Bhandar Caves could be such an intermediate step, although relatively unique, and subject to questioning its chronology, since it is generally dated to the 2nd-4th centuries of our era.


title: Barabar Caves

text: The Ashoka inscriptions of the Barabar Caves were engraved during the 12th year and the 19th year of Ashoka's reign (about 258 BCE and 251 BCE respectively, based on a coronation date of 269 BCE), for the dedication of several caves to the sect of the Ajivikas, a sect of ascetics, which flourished at the same time as Buddhism and Jainism. The words "Ajivikas" were later attacked by the chisel, probably by religious rivals, at a time when the Brahmi script was still understood (probably before the 5th century CE). However, the original inscriptions being deep, they remain easily decipherable.


title: Barabar Caves

text: The Ashoka inscriptions in the Barabar Caves are part of Ashoka's "Minor Rock Edicts", and appear in the three caves named Sudama, Visvakarma and Karna Chopar. Lomas Rishi, meanwhile, has no Ashoka inscription (only an inscription of Anantavarman above the entrance, 5-6th century CE), perhaps because she did not never been completed due to structural rock slide problems.


title: Barabar Caves

text: In addition to the inscriptions indicating that they were made in the 12th year of Ashoka's reign (250 BC), it is generally considered that the construction of the Barabar caves itself also dates from his reign. The fact that the cave of Vivaskarma was not consecrated by Ashoka during the 12th year of his reign, but only seven years later, argues for the hypothesis of a gradual construction of the caves under Ashoka. Similarly, the fact that the caves on Nagarjuni Hill were not consecrated by Ashoka but by his successor Dasaratha, suggests that these caves were only built after the reign of Ashoka.


title: Barabar Caves

text: Dasaratha Maurya, Ashoka's grandson and regnal successor, wrote dedicatory inscriptions in the three other caves, forming the Nagarjuni group (Gopika, Vadathi and Vapiya caves) of the Barabar hills. It is generally considered that their construction dates from his reign.


title: Barabar Caves

text: The three caves were offered to the Ajivikas upon the accession to the throne of Dasaratha, confirming that these were still active around 230 BCE, and that Buddhism was not the exclusive religion of the Mauryas at that time.