{"id":350770,"date":"2025-11-27T17:40:59","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T12:10:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=350770"},"modified":"2025-11-27T17:42:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T12:12:49","slug":"sirpur-archaeological-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/sirpur-archaeological-site\/","title":{"rendered":"Sirpur Archaeological Site"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>News: <\/strong>Chhattisgarh government is giving the Sirpur archaeological site a major upgrade, including battery-operated golf carts, digital exhibits, and immersive storytelling modules, as part of its efforts to prepare Sirpur for a UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>About Sirpur Archaeological Site<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 446px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/images.indianexpress.com\/2025\/11\/Untitled-design-20-1.png?resize=446%2C251&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Sirpur archaeological site\" width=\"446\" height=\"251\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: IE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Location:<\/strong> Sirpur is located in the <strong>Mahasamund district of Chhattisgarh<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">The <strong>site dates back to the 5th\u201312th centuries CE<\/strong> and contains monuments from <strong>multiple religious traditions.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sirpur stands on the banks of the <strong>Mahanadi River. <\/strong>Historically, it was known as Shripur or Sripura during its flourishing phase.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>History:<\/strong> Sirpur served as the<strong> capital of Dakshina Kosala under the Panduvanshi and later the Somavamshi kings.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Discovery:<\/strong> The archaeological site was<strong> first discovered in 1882 by Alexander Cunningham.<\/strong>\u00a0Major excavations were <strong>conducted in the 1950s, 1990s and again in 2003.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Archaeological Discoveries in Sirpur<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Temples and Monasteries:<\/strong>\u00a0Archaeologists uncovered <strong>22 Shiva temples across the site.<\/strong> Excavations also revealed five temples dedicated to Vishnu.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>The<strong> Laxman Temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu,<\/strong> is a notable example of Nagara-style architecture.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Gandheshwar Temple is renowned for its detailed carvings<\/strong> that highlight the artistic excellence of the period.<\/li>\n<li>The<strong> Surang Tila complex features a raised terrace<\/strong> accessed by 37 steps and built in panchayatana style.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Budhist Centres:<\/strong> <strong>Ten Buddhist viharas<\/strong> have been found along with large monasteries like the <strong>Tivaradeva Mahavihara<\/strong> which was a major Buddhist centre.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jain Centres:<\/strong> Three Jain viharas form part of the multi-religious blend of the site.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sculptures and Artifacts:\u00a0<\/strong>Exquisite sculptures of deities and fragments of ancient pottery demonstrate the skilled craftsmanship of the region\u2019s artisans.<\/p>\n<h2><strong data-start=\"2131\" data-end=\"2162\">Sirpur\u2019s Trade and Commerce<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Sirpur\u2019s position along the Mahanadi River made it a strategically important trade centre. The region prospered as a hub for trading goods such as gemstones, textiles, and spices.Remains of old marketplaces highlight the city\u2019s significance in regional and long-distance trade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: Chhattisgarh government is giving the Sirpur archaeological site a major upgrade, including battery-operated golf carts, digital exhibits, and immersive storytelling modules, as part of its efforts to prepare Sirpur for a UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination. About Sirpur Archaeological Site Location: Sirpur is located in the Mahasamund district of Chhattisgarh. The site dates back&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/sirpur-archaeological-site\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Sirpur Archaeological Site<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10366,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,11212,12039],"tags":[11872,10500],"class_list":["post-350770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-history-and-art-culture-in-news","category-knolls","tag-9pm-daily-factly","tag-indian-express","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10366"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350770\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}