| The Chapel of Our Lady Of The Mount built in 1557 is one of the
symbols of the Portuguese victory. It
is vaulted and has the dimensions of a reasonable church, with three altars , the middle
one being consecrated to Our Lady of the Mount. A building with two floors is attached to
it , with some cells and apartments fot the residence of the Chaplain.
Constructed to house a few hundred devotees
, the chapel is a rectangular hall oriented in the East-west direction ; the east
end with the main sanctuary and the west end with a mezzanine to house the choir and is
approached by a spiral staircase in the northern wall. The Vestry and The Sarcristy are
located adjacent to the main sanctuary.
The chapel is constructed over a laterite
hill that forms a strong base for its foundation. It has load bearing masonry walls of
laterite with a mixture of mud and laterite aggregates sandwiched between the two leaves
of single block thick laterite masonry , laid in lime
mortar.
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