LOST JUNGLE CITIES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22320, 18 January 1936, Page 2 (Supplement)

LOST JUNGLE CITIES

SURVEY FROM AEROPLANES The Government of India has ordered an air survey of all the dead, forgotten cities hidden in the jungles of India. They are to be photographed and charted, so that, after centuries of desolation, they can be restored. They are especially required to-day by airmen, to whom India's dense, impenetrated jungles present dangers more cruel than the desert or the ocean.

Plague, pestilence, famine, the foreign invader and the native religious fanatic drove men away from these cities. Where the jungle has now come in there were arable fields, villages plentifully supplied with wells, and all such amenities of life as an agrarian people need. Two famous examples of these ancient cities are the marble ruins of Amber and Fathepur Sikri. The second, built by the greatest of India's rulers, Akbar the Great, in the 17th century, has some of the most famous buildings in the world. But at night, when the sightseers have departed, the wolf, the tiger and the snake hold revel there. Using maps based on the historical records of the Government of India, airmen specially appointed for the task will attempt to bring back details of other dead cities.