Bauddhakshetram, A. P. State Protected Monument

The Buddhist stupa is located on top of the hill and stupa is excavated two times 1981 to 82 & 1984 to 85 by Birla Archaeological & Cultural Research Institute, Hyderabad. On the South- west of the northern terrace, another group of huge elongated boulders are noticed. One of the boulders, sketches of two stupas which furnishes the architectural models and might have served as models of the proposed constructions. The Southern slope of hill has water cisterns which are in oval to ellipsoidal in shape ranging from 3mts to 5mts in depth. A flight of steps is seen adjacent to the cisterns to reach the hill top. During the excavation Votive stupa, Boulder stupa, Vihara complex and Hearths were noticed and also potsherds like Black and Red ware, Black ware and Northern Blackish ware and also some potteries with graffiti are traced out. Several antiquities like coins (Gold, Copper & Lead), decorative items like beads & bangles were noticed. Many other objects like Terracotta objects, Non- metallic objects, Stone objects, and Bone & Ivory objects were also traced out. The several lime stone sculptured pieces with exquisite carvings displaying the earliest art traditions in Coastal Andhra and the pieces like pillars, cross bars, pedestals, chatra fragments etc are exposed. The stucco objects like human figurines and animal figurines were yielded. The stone inscriptions like Rock cut inscription, Rail pillar inscriptions and Inscriptions on the coping slabs are also seen. The site may be dated between 2nd B.C.E. to 3rd C.E.

Historical