Introduction to Amaravati Circle

Amaravati Circle became the twenty-sixth Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India. Amaravati Circle became functional from FY 2017-18. Its territorial jurisdiction extends all over the newly created State of Andhra Pradesh.

• There are 135 monuments in the jurisdiction of the Circle, which is Andhra Pradesh.
• There are three site museums located at Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, and Chandragiri, housing objects of historical, artistic, and religious significance.
• The protected remains represent the kaleidoscopic richness of Andhra Pradesh's built heritage from circa 3rd century BCE.

Amaravati Maha stupa is a venerated maha stupa from 3rd century BCE to 4th century CE, which was embellished with numerous sculptured panels. The choicest collection of Amaravati panels are no more at the site as they were transported during the British rule to many museums within the country and around the world. However, the remaining sculptural assemblage and the relic caskets are still significant and preserved in the Site Museum.

★ The excavation in the 1950’s to salvage the archaeological remains from submergence due to construction of Nagarjunasagar Dam, is still an outstanding archaeological achievement of modern India. The excavated remains are reconstituted on the hillock and the antiquities recovered from the excavation are preserved in the Site Museum. They include relic caskets, sculptures, architectural members, inscriptions, coins, ceramics etc
★ The other significant Buddhist sites under the circle are Salihundam, Bhattiprolu, Gantasala known for their remains of stupas and the rock cut and brick monasteries, votive stupas at Guntupalli, Kapavaram, Ramatirtham and Sankaram.
★ The linga at Gudimallam (2ndcentury BCE) near Tirupati is an unique specimen imbued with philosophical connotations.
★ The brick architecture tradition, noted earlier in the Buddhist idiom, continued to be adopted for temples as well as witnessed by early brick temples at Chejarla (fifth century CE) and Pitikayalagulla (seventh century CE).
★ The eighth century rock-cut temples located at Vijayawada, Mogalrajapuram, Undavalli and Bhairavakonda are significant for their architectural form and iconographical features.
★ The large image of Ganesa at Biccavolu and the massive Basava at Lepakshi are gems of monolithic carvings.
★ The all stone temples of this circle are also varied in form and size. The temples at Satyavolu and Srimukhalingam with their curvilinear sikharas indicate the adoption of popular paradigm of the northern region.
★ Other temples following the Dakshinapatha architectural tradition are the ones at Draksharama, Samarlakota, Pondugulla, Hemavati, Kalakada, Gudimallam, Nandalur, Attirala, Pushpagiri, Chilamakur, to name a few.
★ Expansive temples of the Vijayanagara period are found at Vonttimitta, Udayagiri, Lepakshi, Srinivasamangapuram, Gandikota and other places.
★ The Circle has some of the best specimens of hill forts, datable from early historical period. The forts of Sidhout, Gandikota, Udayagiri, Gooty, Adoni, Ratnagiri, Rayadurgam, Chandragiri, Gurramkonda were seen many sieges and had played an important role in the war ravaged medieval period. The Kondareddy Burzu Kurnool is a significant military architecture.
★ The mosque at Gandikota and Abdul Wahab Khan’s tomb at Kurnool represent the Islamic built heritage of the Circle.
★ In addition, there are a few important isolated epigraphical remains like the Asokan edicts at Jonnagiri and Rajulamandagiri, early Andhra records at Chinnakadaburu, Rayachoti, Ipuru that are historically significant.
★ The colonial vestiges are found at Machilipatnam, the place from where the EIC traders sailed for finding a new place for them. The mural paintings are seen at Lepakshi and Somapalle.
★ The monumental heritage of Amaravati Circle belongs to the famous dynasties like the Sathavahana, the Ikshavaku, the Salankayanas, the Pallavas, the Vishnukundins, the Cholas, the Eastern Chalukya, the Nolambas, the Kakatiya, the Vijayanagara, the Gajapati besides other minor dynasties.

Adarsh Monuments & World Heritage Sites

Three monuments – Virabhadra and Basava temple at Lepakshi, Reconstituted monuments on Nagarjunakonda, and Buddhist Remains at Salihundam – are included in the Adarsh Monuments list of ASI. Visitor’s amenities of international standard are being provided.

There are no World Heritage Monuments in Andhra Pradesh, but efforts are underway to place Lepakshi in the Tentative List.

Typewise Monuments, Amaravati Circle

S.No	Categorisation of Monuments	Numbers
1	Buddhist Stupa remains, Buddhist rock temples, Buddhist sites	31
2	Temple	56
3	Fort	14
4	Colonial structures	3
5	Muslim structures / Mausoleum	1
6	Ancient site/inscriptions sites/sculptures	30
Total		135