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Institute of Archaeology

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Ramtek Survey

In 2006 reconnaissance survey work was carried out in northern Maharashtra, at Mansar and Ramtek, key ritual centres during the reign of the Eastern Vakataka kings (c. 4th - 5th centuries AD).

The main aim was to relate the Brahmanical remains here to their surrounding ritual and social landscape, building upon earlier explorations in the 1930s by T.A. Wellsted, and the long-standing research of Hans Bakker, in collaboration with whom the work was conducted.

The survey used a combination of satellite remote sensing, and GPS mapping. Significant remains included a dam mentioned in the Kevala Narasimha Temple inscription. The dam was studied using a combination of archaeological and hydrological analysis using similar methods to those developed during the Sanchi Survey Project.

The area offers interesting parallels to Sanchi due to evidence that water management played a major role in the administration and land policy of the Vakatakas, this time within the context of orthodox Brahmanical religion rather than Buddhism, as at Sanchi.

Related outputs

  • Shaw, J., J., Sutcliffe, E. Cork, and H. Bakker. 'Archaeological landscapes at Ramtek and Mansar: religion, politics and water in the Vakataka empire', South Asian Studies (2012)

Funding

  • British Association for South Asian Studies