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History of Archaeological Survey of India

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History
From
1784 to 1861 | 1861 to 1901 | 1901 - 1947 | 1947 onwards

FROM 1784 TO 1861

Archaeological and historical pursuits in India started with
the efforts of Sir William Jones, who put together a group of
antiquarians to form the Asiatic Society on 15th January
1784 in Calcuta. The efforts put by Jones had a long
backing, of enthusiasts and dilettantes like Tavernier, Finch
and Bernier, Thevenot, Careri, Fryer, Ovington, Hamilton,
Anquetil du Perron, Joseph Tieffenthaler, William Chamber,
to name a few, who carried out survey of monuments in
various parts of India, earlier.
This endeavour put forward by Jones culminated in the
publication of a periodical journal named, Asiatick
Researches started in 1788. The journal brought to light the
researches, surveys carried out by the society to make the
public aware of the antiquarian wealth of India . The
continuing fieldwork soon brought to light many antiquities
and other remains which were later housed in a museum in
1814. Later, similar societies were started at Bombay (Mumbai) in 1804 and at Madras (Chennai)
in 1818.

History
Activities
Organisation
Headquarters
Circles
Excavation Branches
Prehistory Branch
Architectural Survey
Projects
Epigraphical Studies &
Branches
Underwater
Archaeology Wing
Science Branch
Horticulture Branch
Central Antiquity
Collection
Central Archaeological
Library
Institute of Archaeology

The identification of Chandragupta Maurya with Sandrokottos of Greek historians by Jones

enabled to fix a chronological horizon of Indian history. This was followed by the identification of
Pataliputra (Palibothra of classical writings) at the confluence of the Ganga and Son. The
decipherment of Gupta and Kutila script by Charles Wilkinson was a landmark in this aspect.
Many individuals like H.T. Colebrooke, H.H. Wilson, Sir Charles Warre Malet, Lt. Manby, William
Erskine, Collin Mackenzie contributed enormously in furthering the research and documentation.
The appointment of Francis Buchanan in 1800 by Marquis of Wellesley to survey Mysore was a
positive step by the then government. In 1807 he was engaged to survey monuments and
antiquities in parts of present day Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The repair to the monuments were not
thought of during this period and very sparsely certain monuments like Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri
and Sikandara were repaired.
The Bengal Regulation XIX of 1810 was the first attempt to make the government to intervene in
case of risks to monuments through legislation.
In 1833 James Prinsep became the secretary of the
Asiatic Society. His most eventful achievement is the
decipherment of the Brahmi and Kharoshthi scripts
between 1834 and 1837. The identification of Piyadasi
with Asoka and the contemporary kings mentioned in
his Rock Edict XIII enabled to fix a clear chronological
bench mark for Indian history. The excavations at
Manikyala stupa (now in Bangladesh) in 1830 and in
sites in the Indus Jhelum region in 1833 and 1834
revealed Buddhist relics and through coins a new
ruling family, the Kushanas was identified.

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Many individuals who contributed enormously, included
James Fergusson who carried out extensive surveys of the
rock-cut monuments in India between 1829 and 1847;
Markham Kittoe in east India discovering the Dhauli rockedict, and his surveys in Gaya and Sarnath; Edward Thomas
in the field of numismatics; Cunningham who helped
Prinsep in the investigations on the Indo-Greek and IndoScythic dynasties and also explored stupas in Bhilsa, etc;
Walter Eliott who followed the work of Collin Mackenzie and
copied nearly 595 inscriptions from Dharwar, Sonda and
north Mysore, also reconstructed dynastic history of
Chalukyas and other south Indian dynasties through coins;
Colonel Meadows Taylor who carried out extensive surveys
on the megalithic monuments of south India; Dr. Stevenson
and Dr. Bhau Daji carried out surveys of the caveinscriptions of western India.

Meanwhile Alexander Cunningham a Second Lieutenant of

the Bengal Engineers who initially assisted James Prinsep
formulated a plan in 1848 for an Indian Archaeological
Survey and placed it before the British government, but,
without success. During the same period many eventful
decisions were taken by the government on the
recommendations of the Royal Asiatic Society of the United
Kingdom . Upon these recommendations, the Indian
government sanctioned a small amount for repairs to the
monuments. Lord Hardinge initiated a system approving
proposals submitted by individuals based on their research
and knowledge of Indian antiquities. Some of them were
Markham Kittoe, for conducting operations in Bihar and
Banares; Major F. Maisey, for drawing the antiquities at
Kalinjar and sculptures at Sanchi and Captain Gill to copy
the paintings of Ajanta Caves; Lt. Brett to take impressions of
the cave-inscriptions. The following years saw the uprising
of the Indian soldiers and the First War of Indian Independence in 1857 virtually put a standstill of
archaeological pursuits.

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FROM 1861 TO 1901

The fresh proposal put by Alexander Cunningham was given due attention by Lord Canning, who
sanctioned a scheme of survey in northern India . It was defined as: - an accurate descriptionillustrated by plans, measurements, drawings or photographs and by copies of inscriptions-of
such remains as deserve notice, with the history of them so far as it may be traceable, and a
record of the traditions that are retained regarding them.
Cunningham was appointed as the first Archaeological Surveyor from December 1861. He
surveyed areas stretching from Gaya in the east to the Indus in the northwest, and from Kalsi in
the north to the Narmada in the south, between 1861 and 1865. For this, he largely followed the
footsteps of the Chinese pilgrim Hieun Tsang. However, the endeavours came to a sudden halt
due to the abolition of the Archaeological Survey in 1866 by Lord Lawrence. In the meanwhile
however an act (XX) was passed in 1863, which vested powers with the government to prevent
injury to and preserve buildings remarkable for their antiquity or for their historical or architectural
value.
Lord Lawrence based on the suggestions by the then Secretary of State, Sir Stafford Northcote,
called on the local governments to list historical buildings and obtain photographs of them. This
was later followed by instructions to prepare casts of important buildings to understand the
different architectural styles of India . The work was entrusted to four independent parties in
Bombay , Madras , Bengal and the Northwestern Provinces . Individuals like Sykes and Burgess in
Bombay; Lt. H.H. Cole in Kashmir, Mathura and other places; Rajendralal Mitra in Orissa
contributed a lot under this scheme.
The attention of the government for undertaking repairs and conservation, protecting the ancient
monuments from falling into disuse was not drawn until Duke of Argyll, the new Secretary of State,
advised the Government of India to establish a central department to tackle the archaeological
problems of the whole country. He also stressed on the need for conservation of monuments
stating that it was the bounden duty of the Government to prevent its own servants from wantonly
accelerating the decay of monuments.
The Archaeological Survey was revived as a distinct department of the government and
Cunningham was appointed as Director General who assumed his charge in February 1871. The
department was entrusted with the task of doing - a complete search over the whole country, and
a systematic record and description of all architectural and other remains that are either
remarkable for their antiquity, or their beauty or their historical interest.
Cunningham was also entrusted - to direct his attention to the preparation of a brief summary of
the labours of former enquirers and of the results which had already been obtained and to the
formulation of a general scheme of systematic enquiry for the guidance of a staff of assistance in
present and future researches.
Cunningham was given two assistants J.D. Beglar and A.C. Carlleyle who were later joined by

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H.B.W. Garrik. Cunningham resumed surveys in Delhi and Agra in 1871; in 1872 he surveyed
Rajputana, Bundelkhand, Mathura , Bodh Gaya and Gaur; in 1873, Panjab; between 1873 and
1877, Central Province , Bundelkhand and Malwa. To initiate the survey in a systematic way
Alexander Cunningham chose to record the Buddhist finds and monuments by plotting them on a
map so as to understand the ancient trade route.
The surveys of Cunningham led to several discoveries such as monolithic capitals and other
remains of Asoka, specimens of architecture of Gupta and post-Gupta period; great stupa of
Bharhut; identification of ancient cities namely: Sankisa, Sravasti and Kausambi. He also brought
to prominence the Gupta temples at Tigawa, Bilsar, Bhitargaon, Kuthra, Deogarh and Gupta
inscriptions at Eran, Udayagiri and other places.
The founding of the journal Indian Antiquary in 1872 by
James Burgess enabled publication of important
inscriptions and their decipherment by scholars like Buhler
and Fleet, Eggeling and Rice, Bhandarkar and Indraji.
Cunningham also brought a new volume known as Corpus
Inscriptionum Indicarum which was aimed at publishing
inscriptions of connected epigraphical material in a compact
and handy volume. On the proposal of Cunningham to set
up an Epigraphical Survey to meet the growing demand of
deciphering and interpreting the inscriptions, the
government appointed J.F. Fleet as Government Epigraphist
in January 1883 for a period of three years. Fleet extensively
surveyed and brought to light many new inscriptions and
also solved the problem related to Gupta era and he set up a
new pattern and standard for the publication process of
inscriptions which is followed even today.
The enactment of the Treasure Trove Act, 1878 was a landmark in the confiscation and safety of
treasures and antiquities found during chance digging. Lytton in 1878 observed that conservation
of ancient monuments cannot be exclusively left to the charge of the Provincial Governments as
directed by the Central Government in 1873 and this has to be brought under the purview of the
Government of India. Thus regard Major H.H. Cole was appointed as Curator of ancient
monuments during the period of Ripon in 1881 to assist the Provincial and Central government in
all matters related to conservation of monuments. He produced many preliminary reports on the
monuments of Bombay , Madras , Rajputana, Hyderabad , Panjab and the Northwestern
Provinces . Again the conservation work was assigned to the local governments when the tenure
of Cole ended in 1883.
By the time Cunningham retired in 1885 he recommended to the government to abolish the post
of Director General and reorganise north India into three independent circles, viz., Panjab, Sind
and Rajputana; Northwestern Provinces (Uttar Pradesh) and Central Provinces; and Bengal
including Bihar, Orissa, Assam and Chhota Nagpur, each managed by a Surveyor with a staff of
two assistants and two draftsmen. The regions of Madras , Bombay and Hyderabad were
recommended to be placed under Burgess and epigraphy under Fleet. Thus Bengal came under
Beglar, Northwestern Provinces under Major J.B. Keith with Dr. A. Fuhrer as his assistant, Panjab
came under C.J. Rodgers.
The other important events during this period was the extensive surveys carried out by Burgess in
western India between 1871 and 1885 and also with his assistants Alexander Rea in south India
from 1882 many new areas were explored and discovered. Dr. E. Hultzsch was appointed as
Epigraphist in 1886 for a period of five years for deciphering and interpreting Sanskrit, Pali and
Dravidian languages. Burgess was also called to take the additional responsibility along with the
archaeological surveyor of south India to scrutinise the reports submitted by the three new
Circles.
Burgess became the Director General in March 1886 and on his recommendations the
government unified the three separate circles under one head along with the three different fields
of operation namely exploration, conservation and epigraphy. Among the major works carried out
by Burgess the important ones are survey made by Fuherer and Smith between 1886 and 1887 of
the Sharqi architecture of Jaunpur and monuments of Zafarabad, Saheth and Maheth and
Ayodhya. Smith also carried out surveys in Budaon, Lalitpur, Orcha, Bundelkhand. Henry Cousens
carried out surveys in north Gujarat and Bijapur while Rea undertook survey of Mahabalipuram,
Krishna , Nellore and Godavari .
During the tenure of Burgess the Kankali Tila at Mathura was excavated in 1887-1888. He was
also instrumental in bringing out two important directives which debarred public officers from
disposing antiquities without official approval and prohibiting digging of ancient remains without
the consent of the Archaeological Survey. He also started a new publication known as Epigraphica
Indica in 1888 which was edited by great scholars like Buhler, Kielhorn and Eggeling.
He also published twenty volumes of which seven formed part of the Archaeological Survey of
India , New Imperial Series. Perhaps in retrospection on the voluminous work done Burgess also,
like Cunningham, thought that a large survey organization is not required to do the remaining
work. He therefore recommended to the government to abolish the post of Director General and
divide the entire country into two circles one under Cousens and other under Rea. Thus chaos
and confusion returned and Archaeological Survey as a central body ceased to exist. There were
only two Surveyors now known as Superintendents working in the west and south while Fleet was
assigned the duties of epigraphical research. Hultzch was also retained as Government
Epigraphist at Madras for a period of three years.
The following years saw utter chaos and disorganization while the publication of survey reports
virtually ended. In each and every field the results were lagging behind and voluminous quantity of
work was to be done. In 1895 the Government of India understood the reality and for a while
requested the Asiatic Society to bear the responsibilities which the latter refused. However it took
a long time before proposals were called from the local governments, scholars from Royal Asiatic
Society and Tawney, Buhler and Fleet. The proposal submitted to the Secretary of State put forth

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the following recommendations:
1. Creation of five circles with an Archaeological Surveyor as head at: Bombay with Sind and
Berar ; Madras and Coorg; Panjab, Baluchistan and Ajmer ; Northwestern Provinces and
Central Provinces ; Bengal and Assam .
2. Conservation as the main aim of the Circle heads, excavation as secondary objective.
3. Whatever funds available were to be utilized for the preservation of monuments rather than
exploration of unknown.
4. Epigraphy received a major support and Hultzsch was retained for south Indian
inscriptions while honorary epigraphists were considered for other regions.
The recommendations were accepted in May 1899 and also made provision of pension of those
who joined Survey before that date. However, inspite of the firm footing for archaeological works
the problem pointed out by Lord Lytton earlier in 1878 was not addressed.
The arrival of Lord Curzon was a blessing in disguise for the
revival of Archaeological Survey of India. He observing the
lack of coordinated efforts and the total disorganization of
Circles proposed the revival of the post of Director General.
He should be a trained explorer with archaeological
knowledge and engineering skill - He was required to
exercise a general supervision over all the archaeological
work of the country, whether it was that of excavation, of
preservation or of repair, of epigraphy, or of the registration
and description of monuments and ancient remains. He
would co-ordinate and bring up-to-date the local surveys and
reports and should in addition present to Government an
annual report of his work.

FROM 1901 TO 1947

In 1901 the recommendations were accepted and John

Marshall was appointed as the new Director General. Lord
Curzon totally centralized the Survey and vested the powers
with the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of
India. Marshall assumed charges in 1902 and a new era
started in Indian archaeology.
His principles on archaeological conservation are still valid
and followed even by modern conservation experts. The
main observations of Marshall were:

1. Hypothetical restorations were unwarranted, unless they

were essential to the stability of a building;
2. Every original member of a building should be preserved in tact, and demolition and
reconstruction should be undertaken only if the structure could not be otherwise
maintained;
3. Restoration of carved stone, carved wood or plaster-moulding should be undertaken only if
artisans were able to attain the excellence of the old; and
4. In no case should mythological or other scenes be re-carved.
He started the new series of publications namely Annual Reports of the Director General which
contained the works and research activities carried out by the Survey. A separate branch for Arabic
and Persian in Epigraphy was also created and Dr. Ross was appointed for this purpose. The
most remarkable event in relation to protection of monuments is the enactment of Ancient
Monuments Preservation Act 1904. In addition to the five Circles created in 1899 certain changes
were made by appointing an architect for Muhammadan buildings in north India in 1902. On a
strong pleading by Marshall in 1904 on the verge of expiry of his five years tenure for the retention
of the Survey, the government accepted the proposal temporarily. Further, on 28th April 1906 , the
government announced that the Survey was placed on a permanent and improved footing.
The sanctioned strength on that date was the Director General of Archaeology and Government
Epigraphist for the whole of India; Superintendents of Western Circle covering Bombay, Sind,
Hyderabad, Central India and Rajputana; Superintendent of the Southern Circle, covering Madras
and Coorg, and an attached Assistant Superintendent for Epigraphy; Superintendent and
Archaeological Surveyor of the Northern Circle, covering the United Provinces, Panjab, Ajmer,
Kashmir and Nepal; Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of the Eastern Circle, covering
Bengal, Assam, Central Provinces and Berar; Superintendent of the Frontier Circle, covering the
Northwest Frontier Province and Baluchistan; and Superintendent of the Burma Circle.
In 1912 the government again seriously considered to abolish the post of Director General and
replace it by a Professor of archaeology attached to a proposed oriental research institute.
However, it was not carried through. An Archaeological Chemist and Deputy Director General were
added to the strength in 1917 and 1918 respectively. The Montague-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919
made important changes in the administration of the Survey while the Devolution Rules of 1921
laid down archaeology as a Central subject. The Eastern Circle was renamed as Central Circle
and a new Eastern Circle , with Calcutta as headquarters, was created.

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The years 1921-22 saw the discovery of the Indus Civilization and subsequently a separate
Exploration Branch with a Deputy Director General and three Assistant Superintendents was
created. Explorations and excavations were given due attention. The Provincial Governments were
left with only the statutory power of declaring a monument protected.
Sir John Marshall relinquished the post of Director General in 1928 and retired on 19th March
1931 as he had to write a series of monographs on Mohenjodaro, Harappa , Taxila, Sanchi,
Mandu, Delhi , Agra and Multan . H. Hargreaves succeeded Marshall as Director General in 1928
and his recommendation for abolition of the Superintendent of Hindu and Buddhist Monuments at
Lahore and Superintendent of Muhammadan and British Monuments at Agra into an Assistant
Superintendent attached to Frontier Circle and Superintendent of Northern Circle was accepted in
1931.
Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni succeeded him in July 1931. His period saw a curtailment both in
posts and funds to be followed by a reverse trend in functioning. The Annual Reports soon had a
huge backlog and in 1935 a special officer was appointed to clear them. J.F. Blakiston succeeded
as Director General in 1935 during which period through the Government of India Act of 1935 the
Central Government assumed all powers vested with the Provincial Government. Under certain
amendments in the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act foreign institutions were allowed to
undertake fieldwork in India , through which Chanhudaro in Sind was explored and excavated.
Rao Bahadur K.N.
Dikshit succeeded in
1937 and the
exploration in Sind was
revived. However, it met
with a tragic end with
the death of the team
leader Shri N.G.
Majumdar at the hand
of dacoits. During this
period Sir Leonard
Woolley was appointed
as a foreign expert to
report on the matters
relating to future
excavations. His report
highly condemned the
nature and policies of the government relating to excavation, the techniques adopted and involved.
However he praised the conservation activities carried out by the survey and he did not comment
anything on epigraphical activities. He also recommended large-scale excavation of certain sites;
the prominent among them was Ahichchhatra in Bareilly district, Uttar Pradesh under the
supervision of a competent archaeologist. Hence Ahichchhatra was excavated under the direction
of K.N. Dikshit between 1940-1944. The intervening period saw some setback due to World War II,
which slowed down the progress of survey.
R.E.M. Wheeler succeeded K.N. Dikshit as Director
General in 1944 on a contract of four years. He revived
the Excavation Branch under an Assistant
Superintendent, which was later elevated to
Superintendent. He laid special emphasis on
exploration, excavation techniques and to solve the
problems related to chronology. In 1945 conservation
was centralised and brought under the purview of Survey
for which additional staff were sanctioned. A prehistorian
in the rank of Assistant Superintendent was also created.
To meet the additional work at the headquarters, a post
of Joint Director General was created in 1935. A
Superintendent of Publications was also created to cater
to the needs of high quality publication on the works
carried out by the Survey.
He excavated three important sites namely Arikamedu in
Pondicherry Brahmagiri in Karnataka and Taxila (now in
Pakistan ) to ascertain and fix clear chronological
timeframe for Indian history which was eluding the
archaeologists so long. These excavations were also
utilized for training the Indian students in excavation
technique, conservation and other related aspects.
Wheeler introduced the stratification technique of excavation which was in vogue during that time
and improved the system of reporting and publishing. He brought out a new series of publication
namely the Ancient India which itself contained detailed excavation reports of many sites apart
from research articles and reports on field surveys.

From 1947 onwards

N.P. Chakravarti succeeded Wheeler in April 1948. His period saw the organization of a largescale exhibition at New Delhi in 1948 on the Indian art objects. These objects were originally
exhibited in London in 1947 and later on its return to India formed the nucleus of the National
Museum which was opened on 15th August 1949 .
On India becoming a republic and adopting the Constitution the following functions relating to
archaeology pertaining to the Union and the State Governments were made:
1. Union : ancient and historical monuments .and archaeological sites and remains,

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declared by the Parliament by law to be of national importance;
2. State: ancient and historical monuments other than those declared by Parliament to be
of national importance.
3. Besides these two categories, both the Union and the States would have concurrent
jurisdiction over archaeological sites and remains other than those declared by Parliament
by law to be of national importance. N.P. Chakravarti relinquished his post in June 1950 to
continue until 1952 as advisor to the Survey. Madhav Swaroop Vats succeeded him and
his period saw the enactment of the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological
Sites and Remains (Declaration of National Importance) Act in 1951. A. Ghosh succeeded
Vats in 1953.
The activities in post-Independence India saw great strides and development in the field of
Archaeological Survey of India. The Circles which were created on regional basis largely following
the geographical jurisdiction the States, are now rechristened on the basis of the city where the
Circle Headquarter is located. Mostly, every state had a Circle usually in the state capital and
named after the city in which the Circle is located. However, in states having larger area often two
or three circles look after the protection of monuments. For example, three Circles administer
Uttar Pradesh with headquarters at: Agra , Lucknow and Patna , while Chandigarh Circle looks
after monuments located in the states of Haryana and Punjab .
At present there are 24 Circles looking after more than 3600 monuments.
The following Acts were enacted for better preservation and maintenance of monuments and also
to prevent illegal trafficking of antiquities and art treasures.
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act,1958
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains(Amendment and Validation) Act,
2010
Antiquities and Art Treasures Act,1972
In addition to the above periodical amendments and regulations were added to cope with the
changing scenario and to protect the monuments. One such action is the declaration of Prohibited
area, 100 m from protected limits and further 200 m as Regulated Area from the prohibited limits,
to prevent encroachments and unregulated constructions near protected monuments.
The Treasure Trove Act 1878 and the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 are also in vogue
in addition to the above mentioned legislations.
Many new publications were also started during the post-Independence era. Prominent among
them were the Indian Archaeology-A Review an annual publication reviewing all the activities
conducted in the country.
In addition many publications started earlier like the Epigraphia Indica and its supplements
Epigraphia Indo-Moslemica which was later renamed as Epigraphia Indo-Moslemica - Arabic and
Persian Supplement, Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India, Corpus Inscriptionum
Indicarum, etc. are also continue.

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