Bhubaneswar

Sisupalgarh

Temples, heritage and monuments

Sisupalgarh is located close to the famous Lingaraj temple of Bhubaneswar. It is a historic place with the ruins of a fortified city strewn all over the area. Historians believe that this city dates back to the third or fourth century. Sisupalgarh is a token of the rich civilization of Odisha. Excavation conducted here by the ASI in 1948 has revealed that the site was in occupation from the beginning of the 3rd century B.C. to the middle of the 4th century A.D. The early Period, 300 to 220 B.C., represents the settlement in its formative stage when the people used plain pottery, from dull-grey to terracotta-red in colour.

The culture of the site reached its height in the early phase, 200 B.C, to A.D. 100 when a sophisticated bright-red polished ware appears in a variety of forms, with applied and incised decorative designs. In the late phase of the Period, A.D. 100-200, the glorious of the culture is obvious. It seemed to be a large city, which could have been governed under one ruler. The ancient population inhabiting the place was estimated to be 25,000. Archaeological Survey of India and University of California discovered the remains of a 2500 – year – old city at Sisupalgarh, situated on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, Odisha on February 10, 2008.