History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c30.s3.34

v1.c30.s3.34

Towns and cities in Southern India slightly later in date than the Ganga valley fortifications were surrounded by town walls and ramparts. A number of places, more especially in Andhra Pradesh, like Satanikota, Dharanikota have been explored and partially excavated to reveal town walls. It was however, Nagarjunakonda that gave a detailed picture of defensive architecture as practiced in the South (Fig. 7). Two separate areas, both surrounded by protective walls were revealed during the explorations. The one on the northern side enclosed a large Buddhist vihar-cum-caitya area, consisting of a number of stupas and vihāras (Fig. 8). The walls around these were renovated, strengthened and enlarged often but it remained an enclosure wall and nothing more. On the southern side a trapezoidal area 900m × 750m referred to by the excavators as the Citadel, had fortifications proper. The southern side of this area was protected by the Pedakundelgutta hill with an average height of 170'. On the other three sides was a moat 12' in depth and between 74' and 132' in breadth, fronting the ramparts. The maximum extant height of these ramparts, above the surrounding plains is 16' and they run along the ridge of the hill on the southern side. The excavators had noticed two phases; in the first phase a rampart of rubble and earth was constructed with a basal width of 80'; in the second phase a wall of baked brick 9' to 14' in thickness was built over the earthen rampart.