ANCIENT INDIA

Map of India, Points of Interest

Ritual baths at Mohenjo-Daro, c. 2500 BC.

Taxila, capital of Raja Ombhi in the Punjab. Ombhi gave Alexander the Great a beach head into the Indus Valley in 327 BC, enabling him to seize control of the northern tributaries of the Indus.

Stupa, or religious shrine to the Buddha, constructed by the great Indian king of the Mauryan dynasty, Ashoka, c. 250 BC.

Pillar of Ashoka at Dehli, c. 250 BC (Photograph by Mike Witt, left); Statue of the Buddha, Prince Gautama, 5th century AD.

Military Procession at Pataliputra, based on a relief on the Gate of the Great Stupa at Sanchi (artwork by John Hill). This elaborately scene carved in relief on one of the gateways to the Great Stupa at Sanchi depicts a vibrant military procession or parade through the streets of a large city such as Pataliputra. Founded by the fifth century B.C., Pataliputra stood in the tongue of land formed by the confluence of the Son with the Ganges, where modern Patna stands today. According to Megasthenes, the ancient city extended approximately nine miles along the river. It was defended by a massive timber palisade, with 64 gates and 570 towers. It was additionally protected by a broad deep moat, fed by the neighboring rivers. The portion of the relief reproduced above closely matches the descriptions of Pataliputra. Its depiction of townhouses likewise resembles the design of modern Indian residential quarters, known as a havelis or mansions. Urban townhouses such as these were occupied by extended families and employed clearly demarcated spaces to accommodate the complex interpersonal relationships of multiple occupancy. Public and private areas were kept rigidly separate to keep the activities of women hidden from view. Access to the internal courtyard was restricted to family members alone. Often built on narrow streets, the outer walls of larger havelis rose three to four stories above the street and employed a combination of stone columns and wooden pillars to create imposing multi-storied facades. As the relief demonstrates rooms on the upper floors exhibited canopied balconies.

View of the Recent Excavations at Arikamedu (left); Right: Koan (Aegean) Amphora Neck recovered at Arikamedu (both photos by E. Lyding Will)