This is a picture of the walls of the Brihadeswara Temple. The writing on the stone is an inscription- a record of the history of Thanjavur, carved onto the rocks of its monuments, sometimes on specially-made stone plaques, or even on thin, pocket-sized copper tablets. Thanjavur’s inscriptions have helped archaeologists and historians paint a picture of this city's history. So if you've ever wondered how we know about the different gifts and donations that the Brihadeswara temple received or how we know how much revenue the temple collected in taxes, this is one answer to that question.