Amaravati Stupa

The stupa at Amaravati was built and enlarged between roughly the third century BC and the third century AD and was among the largest in India, faced with limestone panels carved in a school of sculpture that influenced Buddhist art across Southeast Asia. It was dismantled over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, its stone burned for lime and its sculpture removed: a large collection went to the British Museum, another to the Government Museum in Chennai, and some remained on site. What survives at Amaravati is the circular base, a reconstructed model, and a site museum holding the panels that stayed. Excavation continues in the surrounding area.

History

The stupa was probably built in phases between the third century BCE and about 250 CE, perhaps founded in the time of Asoka, though there is no decisive evidence; its earliest surviving remains seem to be post-Mauryan, from the 2nd century BCE. From around 50 BCE it was enlarged and refaced with new railings and carved slabs, the old ones reused or discarded, and when James Burgess studied the site in 1887 broken slabs and statues were found jammed behind the outer rail wherever he dug (Wikipedia, Amaravati Stupa).

What to look for

• The stupa base - the circular foundation of the great monument.
• The site museum - the carved panels that were not removed.
• The reconstruction model - a scale model of the stupa as it stood.
• The excavations - continuing work around the ancient settlement.

When to go

October to March; the Krishna delta is hot and humid the rest of the year. The museum closes on Fridays. The site is quiet and sees few visitors.

Practical notes

Most of the celebrated sculpture is in London and Chennai, not here, which disappoints visitors expecting the panels in place. What remains on site is a low base and a small museum. Photography is restricted in the museum.

Nearby

Guntur lies southeast; Vijayawada is northeast.

Key facts