In 1845, a British civil servant dug into a crumbling brick mound near the Krishna river and pulled out some of the finest Buddhist sculpture ever carved in India. He didn’t work alone. Four more colonial-era scholars, over the following ninety years, kept following the same trail across South India.
MCQquestion.comAncHist0130 · Ancient Indian History
Five Diggers, One Lost South India
Ninety years of colonial-era excavation, 1845–1931
1845
Walter Elliot digs into Amaravati
Excavates the Amaravati Stupa. The sculptures he recovers become known as the “Elliot Marbles.”
1873–89
James Burgess heads two circles
Founds The Indian Antiquary, then leads the Archaeological Survey for Western India, then all of India.
1900
Robert Sewell writes Vijayanagara back into history
Publishes A Forgotten Empire, drawing on two Portuguese travellers’ chronicles.
1902–13
Alexander Rea leads Southern India’s survey
First Superintendent of the Archaeological Survey of Southern India. Returns to dig at Amaravati twice more.
1926–31
A.H. Longhurst unearths Nagarjunakonda
Digs out a great stupa, eight smaller ones, and four monasteries on the Krishna’s bank.
One thread, five careers
None of these five ever worked together. But each one added a piece to the same picture: a lost South Indian past, dug up one site at a time.
✅ The UPSC Answer
Five Names, One Connecting Thread
- The Link Alexander Rea, A.H. Longhurst, Robert Sewell, James Burgess, and Walter Elliot were all associated with archaeological excavations in colonial India.
- Not a Coincidence All five worked for, or alongside, the Archaeological Survey of India or its regional circles. Between them they dug or documented Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, and dozens of other South Indian sites.
- Timespan Their careers span nearly a century, from Elliot’s 1845 dig at Amaravati to Longhurst’s 1931 excavations at Nagarjunakonda.
✅ Rea and Longhurst
Alexander Rea, Superintendent of Southern India
- Career Alexander Rea joined the Archaeological Survey of Southern India in 1882. In 1902 he became its first Superintendent.
- Amaravati Rea excavated at Amaravati three times: 1888–89, 1905–06, and 1908–09. His work followed decades after Elliot’s original 1845 dig at the same site.
- Adichanallur He also excavated the Adichanallur burial site in Tamil Nadu, where he found 20 gold diadems.
A.H. Longhurst and Nagarjunakonda
- Who Albert Henry Longhurst was a British archaeologist and art historian, active in India and Ceylon.
- Nagarjunakonda From 1926 to 1931, he led systematic digging at Nagarjunakonda on the Krishna river.
- What He Found His team uncovered a great stupa, eight smaller stupas, four monasteries, six apsidal temples, and a stone wharf.
- His Book Longhurst published his findings in The Buddhist Antiquities of Nagarjunakonda (1938).
📘 Sewell and Burgess
Robert Sewell and A Forgotten Empire
- Role Robert Sewell was a Madras Civil Service official, not a field excavator. He served as Keeper of the Madras Record Office and recorded old inscriptions and monuments.
- The Book In 1900 he published A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar, one of the first serious modern histories of the Vijayanagara Empire.
- His Sources Sewell translated two Portuguese travellers’ accounts for the book: Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz, both of whom had visited the Vijayanagara capital.
James Burgess and the Archaeological Survey
- Indian Antiquary James Burgess founded the journal The Indian Antiquary in 1872, still a key record of 19th-century Indian archaeology.
- Western India In 1873, he became Head of the Archaeological Survey for Western India, documenting the region’s rock-cut caves and monuments.
- Director General He went on to lead the Survey for South India in 1881, then served as Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1886 to 1889.
⚡ Elliot and the Legacy
Walter Elliot and the Elliot Marbles
- 1845 Sir Walter Elliot, a Madras civil servant and naturalist, excavated and collected sculptures from the Amaravati Stupa in 1845.
- Elliot Marbles These sculptures were, for a time, known as the “Elliot Marbles.” Most went to the Madras Museum, later the Government Museum, Chennai.
- British Museum A smaller portion of the collection later reached London, where it forms part of the Amaravati Marbles at the British Museum today.
Why Their Work Still Matters
- Building the Record Elliot’s 1845 dig started a chain of excavation at Amaravati that Rea continued decades later. Their combined work is why the site’s sculpture survives at all today.
- Beyond One Site Burgess and Rea both went on to lead full regional circles of the Archaeological Survey of India, professionalising the documentation of Indian monuments.
- See Also For the Amaravati Stupa itself, see AncHist0123 — The Amaravati Stupa. For a related colonial-era rock-cut site, see ArtnCulture0174 — Bagh Caves, Madhya Pradesh.
Test Yourself
📝 Previous Year Questions
UPSC CSP 2023 — Rea, Longhurst, Sewell, Burgess and Elliot
- UPSC 2023 The correct answer is archaeological excavations. All five men were associated with excavating or documenting India’s ancient sites, mostly across South India. Asked as: “With reference to the Indian History, Alexander Rea, A. H. Longhurst, Robert Sewell, James Burgess and Walter Elliot were associated with…” (UPSC CSP 2023, GS Paper I).
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