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Sisupalgarh

India · Odisha, Khordha

Ancient cityIntermittent excavation
Approximate period700 BCE — 600 CEEarly Historic Period and later use See on the map ↓

In brief

Sisupalgarh is a large Early Historic city known for its fortifications and regularly arranged gates. Excavations and geophysical surveys have investigated houses, streets, water structures and the monumental pillar area.

What was found?

  • 1Monumental city gates

    The gates, built of laterite blocks and bricks, contain passageways, stairs and gate sockets. A side passage that could be used when the main passage was closed shows that entry and exit were regulated.

  • 2Laterite pillars

    The monolithic stone pillars in the city center belong to a monumental architectural complex. Excavations found additional pillar fragments and traces of an apsidal arrangement.

  • 3Stone-lined water reservoirs

    The sides of the water reservoirs in the center are lined with stone. They show that water storage was part of the city’s layout.

  • 4Rouletted Ware pottery

    A small number of examples of this pottery, with regular decoration made using a rotating tool, were recovered. Researchers consider them among the evidence for the city’s regional trade connections.

  • 5Seal impression with Brahmi writing

    The inscribed seal impression documents the use of sealing and writing in the city. Together with other finds, it contributes to the assessment of economic relations.

What does it point to?

The gates, roads, pillared structures and water reservoirs indicate organized urban life that invested in shared infrastructure. According to researchers, the pottery, coins and seal impression show that Sisupalgarh participated in regional trade.

What did it teach us?

  1. Geophysical surveys and excavations confirmed the regular road network within the city.
  2. The gates’ different construction phases showed that urban infrastructure was expanded over time.
  3. They revealed that monumental structures and houses existed within the same planned urban fabric.

Images

Columns at Sisupalgarh at Sunset
Rohit Agarwal · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Record

Culture
Urban culture of the Kalinga region
First modern dig
1948
Team / historical
Deccan College ve University of California, Los Angeles; R. K. Mohanty ve Monica L. Smith
Coordinates
20.2294°, 85.8474°

Sources

  1. anthro.ucla.edu
  2. publications.dainst.org
  3. fid4sa-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de

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12.000

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