Archaeological Museum Fatehpur Sikri

Fatehpur-Sikri, unique among the medieval cities of India, was established by the third Mughal emperor Akbar the Great. It was the first planned city of the Mughals in India. Akbar shifted his residence and court from Agra to here to honour the Sufi saint Sheikh Salim Chishti and lived to 13 years from 1572 to 1585 A.D. Practically, all Mughal institutions such as the Ibadat-Khannah, Din-i-Illahi, Tarikh-i-Illahi, Jharokha-Darshan, the doctrine of Sulh-i-Kul and a policy of liberal patronage to indigenous arts and literature, were founded here. In spite of building a city with many grand imperial edifices, he had to leave the city in 1585 A.D to Lahore. He never came back to reside here again. Since then, the city was deserted and thf, citizens moved back to Agra and other imperial cities. Soon, the structure became dilapidated as noted by poet Faizi in 1591. Over the centuries, the quarters of noblemen and the houses of commons ruined to become an archaeological site. However, archaeological excavations at the site have provided important information on the layout of prosperous medieval city.

Archaeological Museum, Fatehpur Sikri

The excavations carried out at different localities of Fatehpur Sikri between 1976-77 to 1999-2000 have revealed a variety of cultural material belonging to different periods , both pre-Mughal and Mughal. With a view to showcase the selected antiquities recovered from excavation, the site museum at Fatehpur Sikri was conceived.
The building housing the Archaeological Museum is known as Treasury Building, a centrally protected monument. It was built during Akbar's period. It was in a dilapidated condition and Archaeological Survey of India restored it extensively during 2002-04.

Museum Galleries :- There are four galleries in the building at present. A future expansion of the museum is also possible.

Gallery-1:- In this Gallery, the displayed objects include micro lithic stone tools of pre-historic period collected during surface exploration from Rasulpur and Patsal near Fatehpur Sikri. Ochre Coloured Pottery, Painted and plain grey ware pot shreds, associated Black and Red ware shreds of Painted Grey Ware culture of early Iron Age, Kushana period pottery from excavation near Hada Mahal. Red ware pottery of different shapes from excavation at Bir Chhabili Tila and also from Mughal city area (Fatehpur Sikri-1, Fatehpur Sikri-2, Fatehpur Sikri-3, Fatehpur Sikri —4, Fatehpur Sikri-5, Fatehpur Sikri-6) dating from 6th century A.D. to Mughal period. Besides, Caledon and Chinese porcelain pottery of Mughal period are also on display in this gallery.

Gallery-2:- Selected Jaina sculptures discovered from excavation at Bir Chhabili Tila (Fatehpur Sikri-7) are displayed here. The images include Sruti Devi Jaina Saraswati which is displayed as this centerpiece of this gallery. In addition, image of Yakshini Ambika, 1st tirthankara Adinatha in Kayotsarga, Adinatha image in Padmasana posture and 3rd Jaina tirthankara Sambhavanatha in Kayotsarga posture are displayed here. Most of the tirthankara images contain Nagari script inscription on the pedestal providing valuable epigraphic information. The image of Saraswati is an outstanding discovery from Bir Chhabili Tila. This is a well-modeled image, with pleasing anatomical contours and outstanding details in ornamentation. The pedestal is inscribed with a short inscription mentioning that it was installed by the sresthis (Seths, merchants) of the Sanchmara and Bhallikya group (gotra) in the habitat of Santi Vimalacarya, at Sekrikya (Sikri), during the reign of Vajram (Vajradaman of Kachchhapaghata dynasty) on the Suddha Navami of Vaisakha of Vikram Samvat 1067 (=April-May, A.D. 1010). Ahilen (possibly the sculptor) also contributed.

Gallery-3: Small stone sculptures Bir Chhabili Tila, miniature human heads in stone, terracotta animal figurines, terracotta human figurines, terracotta gamesmen and metal objects like iron axe, iron clamp, copper bell, bowl etc. from excavations at Fatehpur Sikri belonging to different cultural periods from early iron age to Mughal period are on disc this gallery.

Gallery-4 :- Terracotta lamps of different types discovered from excavations at Fatehpur Sikri including Bir Chhabili Tila are displayed in one showcase. Miniature pots, vases, Iota from Bir Chhabili Tila excavation mostly of pre-Mughal period are also displayed in this gallery. Jewellery molds in stone and terracotta, beads of terracotta, semi-precious stones, bone stylus etc. are also displayed. Stone objects displayed in this gallery include rotatory quern, grinder, pestle belonging to Mughal period. In addition to the above, Inscription on a large slab belonging to Babur's time discovered from Indravali Baoli on the way from Hiran Minar to Ajmeri Gate is displayed in gallery-4. This Persian epigraph in Thulth style is of Mughal Emperor Zahirud-din Babur. It records the construction of a well in year A.H. 933=1526-27 A. D. during the reign of emperor Babur at the time of his return from the battle with Rana Sanga. Three stone slabs with inscription of Aurangzeb's time and one undated Naskh characters Arabic and Persian inscription are also displayed in the Museum in Galley-1 utilizing the space below the arches of the Verandah. A huge stone slab with engraved and embossed designs on one side which possibly was an unfinished old plan of the city is also displayed on open space inside the Museum complex on the right side of the pathway. The objects in the museum were discovered from different excavations at Fatehpur Sikri. For better understanding, brief about the excavations are given below:

Excavations at Fatehpur Sikri:- Large scale excavations were carried out in the ridge area within the fortified city and also outside the fortification between 1976-77 to 1999-2000. Initially, the excavations were conducted by Archaeological Survey of India and later Aligarh Muslim University joined the National Project. The excavations at Fatehpur Sikri are briefly given below

Excavation in the ridge area: - The extensive excavations in the ridge area brought to light the remains of many a structures. Among them, Mughal bazar with 175 shops along the road leading from Agra Gate to this museum, the remains of the Christian Chapel near Khwabgah, Khushbu Khana, to name a few, are significant. Plans of single and multiple residential quarters, sanitation facilities like toilets, many hydraulic structures exhibiting advanced means of transportation of water, baths (hammam), paved pathways, stables of medieval Fatehpur Sikri was also revealed by excavations. Allbthese information reveal that the urban planning at Fatehpur Sikri was outstanding.

Excavations outside the fortification:-

A. Excavation near Hada Mahal The ancient mound located near Hada Mahal (near Ajmeri gate) was excavated by Archaeological Survey of India, Agra Circle during 1987-88 and 1988-89. The excavation at this site has revealed five cultural periods which has pushed the antiquity of the place by at least four thousand years before present. The locality was occupied by communities who habited in the Ganga-Yamuna doab during the second millennium B.C. and belongs to Ochre Coloured Ware Culture of copper age. During early Iron Age, the area was habited by Painted Grey ware culture people. Early historic period cultures i.e. Northern Polished Ware, Sunga-Kushana and remains of medieval period have also been revealed from here. In addition to the pottery, a variety of antiquities were discovered from this excavation.

B. Excavation at Bir Chhabili Tila:- Bir Chhabili Tila, a small mound located near Sikri village and to the north of the ridge. It was excavated by Archaeological Survey of India during the field season 1999-2000 with a view to uncover the buried vestiges beyond the ridge.

The excavations at this mound revealed four cultural periods.

Period-1 (Circa 6th-8th Century A.D.): The deposits of the earliest period were excavated in a small area. Therefore, the finds were not too many. A few brick walls of this period and a sculpture of Yakshini Ambika, which is displayed here, are the noteworthy find of this period. In addition, number of small antiquities was also recovered.

Period-2 (Circa 9th-12th Century A.D.): Period-2 revealed remains of a Jaina temple, several outstanding Jaina images and smaller antiquities. The platform (base of adhishthana) of the Jaina temple measuring 18 m in length and 9 m wide was constructed with massive undressed stone blocks with an extant height of 2.8 meters. It had a 1.8 thick peripheral stone wall (33 m x 20 m). Few architectural members such as pillar base, kumbha, amalaka, griva of the temple were also discovered.

Period-3 (Circa 12th-16th Century A.D.) And Period-4 (Circa 16th-18th Century A.D.): The latter two cultural periods i.e. Period-3 and Period-4 did not reveal any significant discovery. In addition to the sculptures of Jaina pantheon, the excavation brought to light many small artefacts like fragments of sculptures, terracotta figurines, beads, Jewellery molds, potter's dabber, miniature pots, metal objects, house hold objects etc. The excavation of Bir Chhabili Tila has provided an interesting pre- Mughal facet of Fatehpur Sikri.