Target Exam

CUET

Subject

History

Chapter

Ancient India: Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings

Question:

Walter Elliot, the Commissioner of Guntur, visited which site in 1854?

Options:

Sanchi

Lumbini

Sarnath

Amaravati

Correct Answer:

Amaravati

Explanation:

The correct answer is Option (4) → Amaravati

In 1796, a local raja who wanted to build a temple stumbled upon the ruins of the stupa at Amaravati. He decided to use the stone, and thought there might be some treasure buried in what seemed to be a hill. Some years later, a British official named Colin Mackenzie visited the site. Although he found several pieces of sculpture and made detailed drawings of them, these reports were never published. In 1854, Walter Elliot, the commissioner of Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), visited Amaravati and collected several sculpture panels and took them away to Madras. (These came to be called the Elliot marbles after him.) He also discovered the remains of the western gateway and came to the conclusion that the structure at Amaravati was one of the largest and most magnificent Buddhist stupas ever built.