Evidence period of Mahasthangarh

The individual mounds which have been excavated in mahasthangarh and its vicinity have generally revealed structures which are not earlier in any case than the late Gupta period . most of these structures in fact belong to the later periods. The Gupta-post-Gupta and later structural evidence from these mounds will be considered in a later chapter. Here we are concerned with the excavated data from the earlier levels.In an excavated fortified city the history of the defense wall is a major item of interest. The published literature on Mahasthangarh does not suggest that any co-ordinate and determined effort has ever been made to know the history of its fortification wall. The following extract from the published literature will support our inference. The nature of the fortress wall and its bastion was ascertained by operations on a high mound at one of the re-entrant angles of the eastern rampart, locally known as munir ghat situated not far from sila Devir ghat. The rampart wall here was found standing to a height of 10 feet and at least 11 feet broad of which about 2 feet on either face was brick work and the core built up of brick bats laid in mud mortar. The general direction of the wall is north-south but before it turns to the west for a distance of 100 feet and resumes its course to the north.The outwork at the re-entrant angular projection consisted of two semi-circular bastions both of which were later encased in a superficial brick-work. The floor associated with the great wall which points to the bastion’s later date of construction.The structure was probably intended to serve as a watch tower to guard the river bank. A terrace was also constructed along the inner side of the outwork. The date of the rampart wall here was ascertained by associated antiquities ans characteristics of the pala period.The foregoing is Nazimuddin ahmed’s summary of the work done on the rampart in the archaeological survey of India excavations at the site in 1928-9.This earlier defense composed of conspicuously large sized bricks has a pronounced barrier on the outside.An inscribed clay seal of the Gupta period found associated with the earlier defense wall indicates its date but their mutual relation remains yet obscure. Considerable extent of the northern fortification wall, dated to eighth century was exposed during the operation. It shows several repair and rebuilding phases, and in average measures about 13 feet width and still stands to general height of about 4 to 5 feet Deep digging seems to have been done Lin two area ahmed. The Govinda Bhita area outside the northeastern corner of the fortification and the north eastern area within the fortification. In the Govina Bhita area the virgin soil was reached at a depth of 25 feet from the surface.

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