Historical Monuments of Assam
The Rangghar in Sivasagar town, built in the 18th century, is Asia’s first amphitheatre and is an example of great Ahom architecture. The Rangghar has an octagonal plan with two levels, and is made from an elaborate combination of materials, e.g., jaggery, black gram, elephant grass, limestone, snail excreta, filtered lime powder, lengthy fish bones, mustard oil, incense, and, of course, bricks and large stones. The upper level was used by royalty to observe fights between buffalo and elephants, duels, and sporting events while the commoners observed their sport from earthen mounds that once surrounded the Rangghar.
The amphitheatre is within site of the Talatal Ghar or the underground palace. The Talatal Ghar is the largest of all Ahom monuments and it is irregularly shaped. There are seven storeys with three of them underground, and it has two secret tunnels – one 16 km long, which could be used as escapes routes when the enemy attacked. The underground levels have been sealed, but visitors can see remnants of the above-ground levels. Also notable is the Kareng Ghar, another multi-storeyed underground palace.
The Sivasagar District is surrounded by medieval tanks – each called sagar (sea) by locals because of the impressive indigenous technology that helps maintain the water levels even during extreme dry seasons. Not far from Sivasagar town at Charaideo are the maidams or the pyramid-shaped royal burial vaults. Every maidam has a closed domed superstructure whose hemispherical earthen mound is more than likely part of the structure. There are further archaeological sites of great importance.
Da-Parbatia: The ruins of the entrance frame of Da-Parbatia Temple, located a few kilometers from Tezpur town, is arguably the best and most ancient example of sculptural or iconoclastic art in Assam. It’s adornment bears the attributes of the art style of early Gupta School of sculpture. The door-jambs with two goddesses, Ganga and Yamuna, standing beneath with garlands in their hands, in artistic posture and graciousness, are bedecked with beautiful ornamental foliage.
Madan Kamdev: A mere 40 kms. from the sprawling metropolitan Guwahati, on N.H. 52 Madan Kamdev is kingly, a puzzle, a wonder, and to quarrel with Omar Khayam, “a veil past which I could not see”. Very little is known about the origin of this amazing archaeological ruins. Written history is almost mute on it, providing plenty of room for conjectures and hypotheses. The Madan Kamdev ruins, scattered over a hillock, is itself two centuries more ancient. Remains of 12 temples were discovered here 35 years ago. Apart from Hindu deities, there are ruins with erotic works similar to the Khajuraho in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
Agnigarh: “Preserving the sweet memory of young lovers,” Agnigarh or the rampart, surrounded by fire, is arguably the most stunning tourist sites in Tezpur. According to folklore, Princess Usha the only daughter of King Bana was housed within the palace which was surrounded by a rampart of fire. The present Agnigarh, now only a hillock facing the mighty Brahmaputra, provides the tourist a soul touching panoramic view of both the river and Tezpur town.
Suryapahar: Located 136 km west of Guwahati, Suryapahar has a distinct archaeological site on a hillock that contains Hindu, Buddhist and Jain relics together. There are hundreds of relics with ancient engraved Shiva Lingas of multiple sizes, a series of stupas dedicated to Buddha and sculptures associated with different stands of Jain religious beliefs. Remains of planned houses and ornamental bricks at Suryapahar have confirmed the long-held belief that there was a civilization some centuries ago.
Deoparbat: Deoparbat is located adjacent to Kaziranga National Park, Deoparbat is a hillock with stone carvings and the remains of temples from the 8th and 9th centuries. The main Shiva temple here was destroyed by a major earthquake in 1897. The archaeological site is adjacent to the Deopahar Reserve Forest and is close to Garampani Wildlife Sanctuary on National Highway 39. The sanctuary has hoolock gibbons and golden langurs and derives its name from a hot spring in the area.
Ambari excavations: Ambari excavations is located in the centre of Guwahati, next to the Dighalipukhuri tank where Ambari spans two distinct cultural periods ranging from 7-12th AD and 13-17th AD, with the breadth showing a ceramic industry with kaolin ware, red ware and buff ware. The excavation also turned up Chinese celadon ware and green glazed ware.
Moidams: Moidams are pyramid like burial mounds of members of the Ahom royalty. The best-known Moidams are some 40 tombs in the former 1st capital of the Ahoms after Sukapha (1228-1268) establish his kingdom at Charaideo about 30 km from Sivasagar town. At Hoolungapara, 16 km from Jorhat, is Lachit Moidam that preserves the remains of Lachit Barphukan (1622-72), the great Ahom general who defeated the Mughal forces in the Battle of Saraighat in 1671. Close to Jorhat are Raja Moidam, the tomb of king Purandar Singha, and Purnananda Buragohain Moidam, the tomb of a general near Tocklai.