INTRODUCTION

Sisupalgarh is a walled city of the early historicperiod, measuring over one kilometre squareand representing one of the most regularlyorganized urban centres from that era in thesubcontinent. The earthen ramparts are still wellpreserved and show the presence of stone andbrick walls at the top of the rampart. There areeight formal brick and stone gateways, two oneach side of the rampart placed at an equaldistance. Near the centre of the walled city thereis monumental architecture in the form of free-standing stone columns and several stone-linedreservoirs (tanks). The formal gateways of thecity indicate the presence of a regular grid ofroads within the urban centre, a configurationconfirmed by geophysical survey andexcavation.

HISTORY OF THE SITE

The original name of the site is not known andthere are no inscriptions from the site itself thatindicate its ancient name. The Hathigumphainscription at Udayagiri, a cave site located eightkilometres away from Sisupalgarh, refers to acity called ìKalinganagariî which is likely to bethe ancient name of Sisupalgarh given that it isthe largest known archaeological site in theregion. Some researchers suggest thatSisupalgarh also may be identified with Tosali,mentioned in the edicts of the Mauryan rulerAsoka at Dhauli and Jaugadh. The associationof the site with Sisupal who, according to theMahabharata, was slain by Krishna, is ofunknown origin.

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REGIONAL PLACEMENT

Sisupalgarh is located on an alluvial plainbetween the Daya River and a graduallysloping laterite upland to the west. This lateriteupland would have provided stones forconstruction along with timber, fuel wood, wildanimals, and other forest products. The Dayariver separates into two rivulets approximately2 kilometres downstream from the walledsettlement, a factor that may have providedsome additional protection or riverine accessto the site.

The archaeological record of Odisha as awhole includes a long trajectory of humanactivities including Paleolithic, Mesolithic,

Chalcolithic, and Neolithic sites (such as GolbaiSasan, located 35 kilometres southwest ofSisupalgarh), as well as towns and cities of theearly historic period. Sisupalgarh iscontemporaneous with the early historic citiesof Jaugadh (130 kilometres southwest) andRadhanagar (65 kilometres northeast) and twosignificant religious establishments in theimmediate vicinity. The Buddhist site of Dhauliis four kilometres southwest of Sisupalgarh,where there is a small number of caves and anAsokan inscription of the 3rd century BC. At thetwin hills of Khandagiri and Udayagiri, locatedeight kilometres northwest of Sisupalgarh,there are numerous rock-cut caves of the early

Fig. 1. Aerial view of Sisupalgarh, 1948 showing the fortification walls and gateways, with moat on northern andwestern sides (courtesy: Archaeological Survey of India).

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historic period along with the Hathigumphainscription attributed to the first-century BC rulerKharavela.

Much of Odisha remains underexplored forthe early historic period relative to other regionsof south Asia. Other urban sites are known tothe north (such as Tamluk and Chandraketugarhin West Bengal) and south (Dantapali in AndhraPradesh), but no comprehensive archaeologicalreports have been produced for those sites.Many fortified settlements can be found inwestern Odisha but they similarly not beenextensively investigated. Recent investigationsin coastal Odisha have identified ruralsettlements such as Narisho (Taluka Balipatana,Dist. Khorda) and town-sized sites with formalrampart configurations similar to Sisupalgarhís,such as Talapada and Lathi. Future research atthose sites will provide an opportunity toinvestigate regional integration of social,political, and economic activities in the EarlyHistoric period.

Odisha also was very active in the medievalperiod, with substantial temple constructionsaccompanied by settlements at Bhubaneswar,Jajpur, Konark and Puri. During this era, fortifiedsettlements such as Sisupalgarh, Jaugadh andRadhanagar were eclipsed by those newpopulation centres, indicating a change of focusaway from fortified settlements to the expressionof political and social investment in religious andpilgrimage centres.

RESEARCH HISTORY

In 1948, the site of Sisupalgarh was excavatedby B.B. Lal of the Archaeological Survey of Indiaas one of the first research projects undertakenin independent India. Additional excavations inthe northern exterior suburbs of the site wereundertaken by B.K. Thapar in 1950, and a smallclearing operation of the westernmost north

gateway was carried out by the Orissa StateDepartment of Archaeology in 1966. Computer-design reconstructions of the monumentalarchitecture (gateway and pillars) have beenpublished by M. Brandtner and P. Yule.Subsequent investigations include a systematicsurvey programme from 2001-03 by M.L. Smith(University of California) and a joint excavationproject from 2005-09 by R.K. Mohanty (DeccanCollege) and M.L. Smith (University ofCalifornia).

CHRONOLOGY

Within the rampart, Sisupalgarh has a 5 to 6.5metres thick cultural deposit indicative of manycenturies of continuous occupation. Much of theexcavation at the site has been in the uppermosttwo metres of the deposit because of changesin the water table that have resulted in the lowestlevels of the site now being inundated. However,

Fig. 2. Outline of the fortification walls of Sisupalgarhillustrating areas of ancient remains and years in whichexcavations were taken out in the various locations.

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concerted efforts to dig deep soundings utilizingpumps to remove the subsurface water wereundertaken in 1948 and again in the more recentexcavations which reached natural soil in severalareas. These deep soundings have provided acomplete depositional sequence of artifacts andarchitectural remains.

The relative dating of the site has been doneon the basis of Rouletted Ware, coins, semi-precious stone beads, metal objects, and asealing in Brahmi script which indicate thatSisupalgarh participated in regional trade in theearly historic period. Radiocarbon dating hasrevealed that the initial occupation of the sitecan be identified as having taken place in themid-first millennium BC. However, the site doesnot appear to have an in situ Neolithiccomponent as compared with materials fromnearby sites in Odisha such as Golbai Sasan.Excavations under the northern and westerngateways of Sisupalgarh indicate that theencircling rampart of the site was placed directlyover pre-existing settlements of the mid-firstmillennium BC, but that those settlements werealready utilizing the distinctive high-fired andslipped pottery that continued in use throughoutthe first half of the siteís occupation.

Around the 3rd-4th centuries BC there was asignificant shift in manufactured goods with theappearance of low-fired pottery in medium redfabric as well as the first appearance of bricks,tiles, and terracotta ornaments. These artifacttypes also correspond to the upper two metresof deposits where the architectural plans oflaterite-block stone and brick structures can betraced. The archaeological investigationsconfirm that in this era, the entirety of the walledarea was full of habitation remains as seenthrough surface collections and the remains ofarchitecture whenever the subsurface is probed.The occupational density of both the interior and

the exterior indicates a projected settlement sizethat at times likely numbered 25,000 or moreindividuals.

Investigations throughout the site indicatethat in the subsequent latest period ofoccupation there was a thin (less than 10 cm)layer of early medieval pottery, a period of usethat would have coincided with the shift ofpopulation away from Sisupalgarh and thedevelopment of Old Town Bhubaneswar as areligious centre less than two kilometres away.

ARCHITECTURE

Sisupalgarh is graced with monumental anddomestic architecture indicative of large-scaleplanning, sophisticated engineering skills and adensely populated urban environment. Themonumental architecture at the site consists ofthe encircling perimeter wall, the eight formalgateways, and the pillar structures and stone-lined reservoirs (tanks) in the centre of the site.The siteís encircling perimeter wall measures1.1 kilometre on each side, with a cross-sectionmeasuring 33 metres wide at the base and up to9 metres above the surrounding plain. On thenorthern side of the site, the interior depositsreach up to the top of the rampart, indicatingthat this portion of the site was the longest-lived.

The early stages of rampart constructionconsisted of earth that had been dug out fromthe exterior, a process that formed a surroundingmoat that is still visible on the northern andwestern sides of the site. On the western sideof the site, this moat also joins a small tributary,the Gangua nala. Excavated cross-sections of therampart show that it was continually augmentedthroughout the siteís occupation with bands oflaterite gravel and earthen fill that includeddomestic debris such as pottery and brickfragments. The upper levels of the rampart alsohad walls of stone and brick, although these were

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not uniform throughout the site and may havebeen the result of neighbourhood-levelrestoration and civic responsibility.

The formal gateways that are visible todayconsist of massive laterite blocks each measuringup to 1.8 metres in length, with up to 18 layersof such blocks still preserved lining thepassageways of the gates and in some casestopped with up to 27 courses of bricks. In 1948the northernmost of the western gateways wascompletely exposed, revealing a mainpassageway 7 metres wide with two restrictedentry points with door sockets, along withstaircases leading to the top of the rampart.There also was a broad landing platform that ledfrom the siteís western moat to the gateway, andan ancillary passage within the gateway thatwould have permitted pedestrian traffic to enterthe site when the main passageway was closed.

Fig. 3. Monumental gateway, excavated in 1948.

In 2009, the westernmost of the northerngateways that been previously partially clearedin 1966 was excavated. Four major constructionepisodes were identified, each one increasingthe size and grandeur of the gateway andshowing a continued investment in the cityísinfrastructure.

The monumental pillar area consists ofmonolithic laterite uprights in the centre of thesite, a configuration locally known asìSolakumbaî (sixteen pillars). Even by the1940s, however, only 14 of these pillars werestill visible in the two extant groups: a lineararrangement of ten pillars with a cluster of fourpillars in a square at the eastern side, and fouradditional pillars in a random arrangement onan adjacent mound. Excavations of the pillar areain 2008-09 revealed that the 100-metre moundof the pillar area contained numerous other

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broken-off pillars indicative of an apsidalarrangement. The opening of this structure wasto the east, where there was also recovered onewhite sandstone chandrashila (semi-circulardoorstep).

The excavations at the pillar mound alsocontained the remains of other structures, twoof which were partially exposed. One rectilinearstructure immediately northwest of and adjacentto the pillars had seven preserved courses ofregularly cut laterite blocks in a configurationdistinct from the siteís domestic architecture andindicative of a special-purpose building(possibly a hermitage or a monastery). Another

structure on the western side of the mound wasalso rectilinear and consisted of three preservedcourses of different-sized laterite blockssurmounted with bricks in a configuration thatwas similar to the siteís domestic architecture(perhaps a store-house or residence).

The dating of the pillar mound is difficult toassess as the pottery that comprised the moundwas all pulverized, redeposited material andthere were virtually no organic remains. Onlyone radiocarbon date was recovered in the pillarmound area, providing a date of the secondcentury BC for the lower levels of the monastery-like structure. Thus the final pillar configuration

Fig. 4. Another view of gateway.

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is likely to be of at least the early centuries AD ifnot later.

Two other areas of stone pillars also areevident in the central portion of the site. To thesoutheast of the main pillar group on the westernexterior flank of the central bunded pond, thereis one standing pillar and the stumps of at leasttwo additional pillars that would have resultedin a square configuration. To the east of themain pillar group on a separate mound thereare several pillar fragments that have beenexposed by recent agricultural and buildingactivity. These additional pillar groups indicatethe presence of substantial engineeringinvestment and architectural expertise innumerous monumental buildings at the site.

The reservoirs of the site also indicate aconsiderable effort of engineering and siteorganization. The rectilinear stone-linedreservoirs measure up to 25 metres in size, andthe circular earthen-bank reservoir in the centre

of the site measures 75 x 75 metres in size.Adjacent to one reservoir is a stone trough withan elephant carving that is stylistically similar tocarvings from Konark (9th century AD) indicatingsome continued occupation of the site; the otherreservoirs could not be dated but still hold waterand are used by the local villagers. In each ofthe four interior corners of the site there alsoare shallow depressions measuring up to 100metres in size that would have collected waterin the rainy season. In addition to thesereservoirs there are several dozen square wellsand ring wells within the rampart, similar to thosefound at other early historic sites but having solidrings of laterite in the upper courses. Thesewells probably constituted a neighborhood levelof water provisioning, and some of themcontinue in use today.

The domestic architecture consists of housestructures of varying sizes. The largest excavateddomestic constructions, measuring 7.5 x 10

Fig. 5. Monolithic pillars of laterite stone at centre of the site.

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metres in size, have foundations of rectilinearlaterite blocks that would have been the basisfor mud (pisé) walls. The rooms within thesestructures are arranged with a verandah facingthe street. These well-made structures can becontrasted with smaller domestic structures

whose foundations were made from reusedmaterials such as broken bricks and a variety ofsizes of laterite blocks. Even in these moremodest buildings the largest laterite blocksmeasured over one metre in size. The quarriesfor these blocks would have been located in thelaterite upland to the west of the site at least500 metres distant from the urban settlement.The movement and placing of these blocks,which today require eight men, indicatecooperation in home construction.

Some structures would have had tile roofs,indicating a robust architecture of walls andcross-beams that would have been made oforganic material. No tile roofs have been foundcomplete, and tiles are primarily found reusedas paving material in the latest phases ofoccupation. Domestic structures weresurrounded by empty spaces in which manyactivities probably would have taken place inthe temperate climate of eastern India. Theseopen spaces contained large amounts ofdiscarded pottery and other refuse such as tiles,bricks, and laterite blocks that may have beenstockpiled by the residents in anticipation offuture building projects and architectural repairs.

Sisupalgarh is the most regularly laid out ofthe known urban centres of the Indiansubcontinent. The site organization can be

Fig. 6. Reservoir (tank) with stone steps.

Fig. 7. Bunded pond at centre of site.

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compared with the text of the Arthasastra ofKautilya (which also dates to the early historicperiod, perhaps as early as the 4th century BC)and which indicates the desirable particularitiesof a fortified siteís ramparts, gateways andavenues (Lal 2011:34-35). These descriptionstally by and large with the site of Sisupalgarh,although the siteís eight gateways number fewerthan the prescribed dozen of the Arthasastra.Geophysical surveys and excavations haveconfirmed that there are broad streets connectingeach of the eight monumental gateways.Excavations of domestic structures within thegrid plan however illustrate that there is not

always a regular orientation of the individualhouses. On the western side of the site,structures were lined up alongside one of theprincipal streets. However, on the northern sideof the site, houses appear to have beenconstructed with an idiosyncratic layout of size,shape and doorway placement.

Extensive ìsuburbsî also are evident througharchaeological remains of pottery, bricks andtiles in the regions to the north and west of thesite, although these areas are now covered forthe most part with modern housing. Excavationsin 1950 and in 2009 in the northern exterior ofthe rampart revealed the remains of domestic

Fig. 8. Areas of ancient domestic habitation from excavations from 1948 (background) and 2005 (foreground).

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habitation such as trash deposition and jumbledand broken laterite blocks possibly stockpiledfor construction. More importantly this exteriorarea was revealed to have circular, mud-toppedconstructions (measuring 6.5 to 10 metres indiameter) that had a stupa-like configuration. Thepresence of Buddhist or Jain activities also isattested through the prior recovery of sculpturesin the vicinity that are now housed in the OrissaState Museum.

ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

The inhabitants of Sisupalgarh had access to awide variety of objects that would have beenproduced outside of the city, such as stoneblocks, bricks, and tiles for construction. Fooditems also would have been brought into the city,as seen in the abundant quantities of rice andfish bones found in the excavations. Starting inthe 3rd-4th centuries BC there also was anabundance of moulded terracotta ornamentssuch as bangles, pendants and ear ornamentsthat were found in the hundreds in the course

of the excavations of the domestic architecture.The excavations also revealed the presence ofsome wild animal remains, indicating that thesurrounding regions remained forested throughthe first millennium BC.

The pottery of the site indicates a continuousoccupation with a significant shift in productionpractices at the midpoint of the culturalsequence. In the initial phases of occupation,pottery was highly fired and carefully slippedincluding large black incurved-rim bowl formswith a pointed boss at the centre (ìknobbedwareî) as well as jar forms with glossy red slip.These vessels were sometimes marked withpost-firing graffiti that may have been marks ofproduction or ownership. By around the 3rdcentury BC, the corpus of pottery shifted to low-fired red wares in medium sandy fabric, utilizingnew designs for jars such as appliquèthumbprints and rope design, and new formsfor serving vessels including ledge-rim bowlsand rapidly made string-cut cups. Graffiti marksceased and the only fine ware was RoulettedWare, although this design has been recoveredonly in very small numbers.

The presence of knobbed ware andRouletted ware indicates that Sisupalgarh wastied into a long-distance trade sphere. Thesewares have been found at numerous other sitesalong the eastern coast of the subcontinent, fromTamluk in the north as far south as Arikameduin the south, as well as in Southeast Asia.Sisupalgarh had a monetized economy assuggested both in the regional inscription dataand in the recovery of coins at the site. In theHathigumpha inscription, Kharavela expressedthe cost in coins of repairing the fortification wallafter a storm. Few coins were found in theexcavations, however, indicating that manytransactions may have been carried out throughbarter or through mutual obligation. Only two

Fig. 9. Sisupalgarh: Possible layout of the site asinterpreted from Arthasastra (Courtesy ArchaeologicalSurvey of India).

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items with script have been found: a sealingwith a few letters of Brahmi from excavationson the northern part of the site, and one Kushangold coin with Brahmi letters indicative of a royalname from the 1948 excavations on the westernportion of the site.

Artefacts indicative of regional exchange atSisupalgarh include iron objects (nails, knives,arrowheads, sickles and other utilitarian items),copper objects (bangles, sticks, and fishhook),stone beads (agate, carnelian, jasper, and onyx)and stone querns made of materials such aschromite that are not locally available. The rawmaterials or the finished products themselveswere likely to have come down the Mahanadiriver from western Odisha. Regional productioncentres for pottery, bricks, tiles, terracottaornaments and other fuel-intensive crafts mustalso have existed in the immediate forestedhinterlands of the site but the locations of theseproduction centres have not yet been identified.

In counterbalance to the widespreadevidence of consumption, there are few signsof production in the urban sphere. On thewestern side of the site in the habitation area,finds of two terracotta coin-moulds and severalkilos of 10-cm size crucibles along with a smallproportion of mica flakes suggest the presenceof some metal-working or other industrial

activity although no furnaces or other large-scaleproduction facilities were located within therampart walls. In a limited excavation on thenorthern exterior of the rampart, one metal-working hoard consisting of a single small potof broken bangles and wire fragments indicatesthe stockpiling of metal for eventual re-use.

END OF SISUPALGARHíS OCCUPATION

Based on the pottery and architecture, the lastmajor phase of occupation at Sisupalgarhappears to have ended by around the 6th-7thcenturies AD, just at the time when the new ritualcentre of Old Town Bhubaneswar was becomingestablished two kilometres to the northwest. Theshift of population to Old Town probably tookplace over several generations, in which peopleelected to move closer to the new zone of ritualactivity.

The uppermost and surface layers ofSisupalgarh contain pottery similar to that foundat early medieval (9-11th century) siteselsewhere in the eastern subcontinent. Althoughthere are no architectural remains of this periodat the site, the presence of early medievalpottery demonstrates that some occupationcontinued until the present day, although inmuch reduced numbers. A modern village,surrounded by agricultural fields, currentlyoccupies the northeastern and central portionof the site in which some of the residences havemade use of archaeological material in theirconstruction. This traditional habit of reusingconstruction material indicates a long continuityof use at this site as is the case in many otherearly historic settlements.

HERITAGE STATUS AND SITE CONDITION

Sisupalgarh is located on the outskirts ofBhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha state. Thisplacement has both beneficial and detrimental

Fig. 10. Terracotta artefacts from habitation areas ofSisupalgarh including rings, bangle fragments, earornaments and pendants.

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aspects. The easy accessibility of the siteprovides an opportunity to increase visitationand develop a tourism programme for this well-planned ancient city so that visitors may enjoyand appreciate the impressive gateways andramparts along with the unique configuration of

monolithic pillars and other structural remains.However, the demand for housing in the outskirtsof the growing city also has resulted in theconversion of many agricultural fields to housingareas, including those encompassed inSisupalgarhís walled area.

REFERENCES CITED/FURTHER READING

Joshi, A. 1984. Recent Archaeological Discoveries inOrissa. Glimpses of Orissan Art and Culture(Golden Jubilee Volume of the Orissa HistoricalResearch Journal) 30:(2,3,4): 227-30. UdyogPrinters, Bhubaneswar.

Lal, B.B. 2011. Piecing Together: Memoirs of anArchaeologist. Aryan Books, New Delhi.

óñ. 1991. Planned Cooperation betweenArchaeologists and Scholars of Ancient LiteratureóA Crying Need. Man and Environment 16(1): 5-21.

óñ. 1949. Sisupalgarh 1948: An Early Historical Fort inEastern India. Ancient India 5: 62-105.

Mohanty, Rabindra Kumar and Monica L. Smith. 2009.Excavations at Sisupalgarh 2008. Man andEnvironment 34(1): 47-56.

óñ. 2008. Excavations at Sisupalgarh, Orissa. IndianArchaeological Society, New Delhi.

óñ. 2007. Excavations at Sisupalgarh 2005-06: A BriefReport. Bulletin of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute 66-67: 191-98.

óñ. 2006. Excavations at Sisupalgarh 2005. Man andEnvironment 31(1): 27-32.

Mohanty, Rabindra Kumar, Monica L. Smith, T. Matney,A. Donkin and G. Greene. 2007. ArchaeologicalResearch at Sisupalgarh 2007: An Early HistoricalCity in Orissa. Puratattva 37: 142-54.

Mohanty, Rabindra Kumar, Monica L. Smith, and T.Matney. 2007. A Preliminary Report of theArchaeological Investigations at Sisupalgarh 2006.Man and Environment 32(1): 57-66.

Ota, S.B. 2007. Evidence of a Stupa at Sisupalgarh, Orissa:Re-Interpreting Earlier Excavation Data. Man andEnvironment 32(1): 67-73.

Smith, Monica L. 2008. Urban Empty Spaces:Contentious Places for Consensus Building.Archaeological Dialogues 15(2): 216-31.

óñ. 2005. Archaeological Research at Sisupalgarh, anEarly Historic City in Eastern India. South AsianArchaeology 2003, edited by Ute Franke-Vogtand Hans-Joachim Weisshaar, pp. 297-306.Kommission für Archäologie AuereuropäischerKulturen, Aachen.

óñ. 2003. Urban Social Networks: Early Walled Citiesof the Indian Subcontinent as ëSmall Worldsí. InMonica L. Smith (ed.), The Social Construction ofAncient Cities. Smithsonian Institution Press,Washington D.C., pp. 269-89.

óñ. 2002. The Role of Local Trade Networks in theIndian Subcontinent During the Early HistoricPeriod. Man and Environment 27(1): 139-51.

óñ. 2002. Systematic Survey at the Early Historic UrbanSite of Sisupalgarh, Orissa. In Gautam Senguptaand Sheena Panja (eds.), Archaeology of EasternIndia: New Perspectives. Centre for ArchaeologicalStudies and Training, East India, Kolkata, pp. 109-25.

Smith, Monica L. and Rabindra Kumar Mohanty. 2010.Investigations at the Early Historic City ofSisupalgarh, India 2005-07. In Pierfrancesco Callieriand Luca Colliva (eds.), Proceedings of the 19thMeeting of the European Association of SouthAsian Archaeology, Ravenna. BritishArchaeological Reports, Oxford, pp. 337-44.

[BBL, RKM & MS]