VIZAGAPATAM.
The ruins of a very large fortress, built at the base of two hills and now all cultivated, are still to be seen in it, and local tradition gives the names of seven forts with which it was once defended. These are said to have been constructed by the Golla kings already referred to. A tale is told of their having kidnapped a daughter of the ruler of Mádgole and held out here against his attacks for months until they were betrayed by a woman of their own caste who showed the enemy how to cut off their water-supply. They then slew their womenkind, says the story, dashed out against the besiegers, and fell to a man, fighting to the last. Small gold coins of two kinds, neither of which have yet been satisfactorily identified, are found round about the fort after heavy rain, and a small square stone with old Telugu inscriptions on all four sides is to be seen near the middle of its eastern wall.
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