Director: Dr. Akira Shimada, in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India
Project Asssitant: Ms. Catherine Becker, University of California, Berkeley
Project Advisors: Mr. R. Balasubramanian, The Government Museum, Chennai; Prof. Dr. Jens-Uwe Hartmann, Ludwig Maximilians Universit盲t, M眉nchen; Dr. Jennifer Howes, The British Library, London; Dr Janice Stargardt, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge; Dr. Michael Willis, The British Museum, London.
The st奴pa at Amar膩vat墨 is one of the most celebrated monuments in India. A flourishing centre of Buddhism for over five hundred years from c. 200 BCE, it remained active until the 14th century when the st奴pa was finally abandoned.
Numerous sculptures and inscriptions were found at Amar膩vat墨 during excavations in the 19th and 20th centuries. However due to the use of the st奴pa as quarry for building material and the unsystematic nature of early surveys, many sculptures were removed from the site and their context lost. Amar膩vat墨 sculptures are now found in museums throughout India and other parts the world.
The World Corpus of Amar膩vat墨 Sculpture is a web-based node for the st奴pa’s widely-dispersed remains. The aims of the project are to facilitate access to the site鈥檚 sculpture and documentation, to encourage the interdisciplinary and international discussion of Amar膩vat墨 and to promote new research and publication on Amar膩vat墨 and Buddhist archaeology.
Photo: Coping stone from Amar膩vat墨 showing elephants worshipping a st奴pa. The British Museum (Asia 1880. 7-9. 108)
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