Bhismaknagar is an archeological site in Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located east of Roing in Lower Dibang Valley district. The remains are ascribed to the rule of the Chutias, a Tibeto-Burmn ethnic group,The Sutiyas belong to the Bodos, a linguistic group of the Brahmaputra valley, speaking a Tibeto-Burman language and having different cognate groups within them. who ruled over the region of Sadiya from the 11th to the 16th Century CE.http://asiguwahaticircle.gov.in/bhismaknagar.html Remains at Bhismaknagar (ASI official website), "The remains are generally ascribed to the rule of the 'Chutias', a Tibeto-Burmese tribe who ruled over the region of Sadiya from 11th to 16th Century CE." It formed part of the historical Sadhayapura capital region of the Chutia kingdom and can be identified with the fortified hill city of Doi-Thang described in the Buranjis. Doi-Thang (also known as Thanggiri), was one of the three fortified cities mentioned in the Buranjis, the others being Barnagar (Che-lung in Tai) and Chandangiri (Doi-Chantan).Barua, Gopal Chandra,"Ahom Buranji",p.56-63 The original fort may have been associated with the line of hill-foot forts attributed to the Chutia king Gaurinarayan. According to the Chutia chronicles, Gaurinarayan, after consolidating his kingdom, “built a line of forts along the foot of the hills”, along with large tanks and temples. During an Assam Rifles expedition in 1919–20, British officer L. W. Shakespear recorded traces of tanks, numerous plinths and stone platforms within the fortified enclosure, including a large brick plinth and the brick foundations of an extensive building. Excavations have yielded roof tiles and decorative finials, providing evidence for the use of tiled roofing in at least some structures within the fortified settlement. The discovery of kaolin (China clay) pottery at Bhismaknagar has been interpreted as evidence of early cultural contact with China and the transmission of ceramic ideas into Northeast India. Location Bhismaknagar is located in the Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh, about 29 km from Roing, on plateau-like terrain along the foothills. The fortified settlement extends over an area of approximately . It occupies an elongated foothill setting in which the adjoining mountains provided natural protection, while the constructed fortifications defended the more exposed approaches. The surviving earthen rampart, recorded as continuing for more than 5 km, enclosed a large settlement containing the principal architectural complex, gateways and other remains.
Etymology The name Bhismaknagar for the present-day site was first recorded in the book "Northeast Frontier of India" (1883) and later in the "Assam District Gazetteer" (1928)"Again at Bishemnagar or Bishmuknagar, situated near Chipulin village up the Balijan (Sunpura) river and accessible from mile 27 on the Lohit valley road, is the remains of a large fort and settlement. It is supposed to have been built by Raja Bishmook or Bhikrum, Raja of Kundilpur, father of Rukmini.", where it appears to have been derived from references to works, attributed to the 16th-century Vaishnavite reformer Sankardev, that were popular in the Sadiya region (which eventually found its way into the later Chutia chronicles).
Earlier colonial accounts by T. Rowlatt in 1845 and S. F. Hannay in 1848, however, referred to the present-day Bhismaknagar site as Sishupal Nagar, while applying the name Bhismaknagar or Bishmook Nuggur to a different archaeological location in the Dibang-Dikrong foothill region. This suggests that the identification of the modern-day site with Bhismaknagar emerged from a later conflation of distinct archaeological sites during the late 19th and early 20th centuries."The ruins of two forts in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh are said to be the remains of Bhīṣmaka’s city, viz. Bhismaknagar (sk. Bhīṣmakanagara): one ruin about 16 miles northwest of Sadiya at the foot of the hills between the rivers Dikrang and Dibang is known as the fort of Bhīṣmaka, and the other about 24 miles north of Sadiya between the gorges of those two rivers is believed to be the fort of Śiśupāla. Based on an inscribed brick with the name of Śrī-śrī-Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa, discovered from the ruins of the forts in Bhismaknagar, it is assumed that Chutiya king Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa of the early fifteenth century had his capital in the area. The paleographical analysis of the inscription supports this dating."
Historically, the entire region was known as Sadhayapura (the rulers being Sadhayapur-ishwar) as per copper inscriptions"Furthermore, it is fairly certain from the dates available in the inscriptions that Nandin and Satyanārāyaṇa ruled Sadhayāpurī in the latter half of the fourteenth century, while Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa belonged to the beginning, and Dharmanārāyaṇa to the middle of the fifteenth century. It is also nearly clear that Sadhayāpurī (or Svadhayāpurī) mentioned in the inscriptions is the same as Sadhiyā or Sadiya of later times." and the fort formed part of the capital region of the Chutia king Laksminarayana."The ruins of two forts in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh are said to be the remains of Bhīṣmaka’s city, viz. Bhismaknagar (sk. Bhīṣmakanagara): one ruin about 16 miles northwest of Sadiya at the foot of the hills between the rivers Dikrang and Dibang is known as the fort of Bhīṣmaka, and the other about 24 miles north of Sadiya between the gorges of those two rivers is believed to be the fort of Śiśupāla. Based on an inscribed brick with the name of Śrī-śrī-Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa, discovered from the ruins of the forts in Bhismaknagar, it is assumed that Chutiya king Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa of the early fifteenth century had his capital in the area. The paleographical analysis of the inscription supports this dating."
Identification
The Buranjis mention two hill-fortified cities of the Chutia kingdom in the capital region, namely Chandangiri (Doi-Chantan), located near the Dibang river, and Thanggiri (Doi-Thang), situated near the Kundil river, in addition to the capital city of Barnagar (Che-lung). The present-day site of Bhismaknagar, located near the Kundil river, has been identified with the historical Doi-Thang hill fortification described in the Buranjis.Barua, Gopal Chandra, Ahom Buranji, pp. 56–63.
Captain John Mitchell in his book "Northeast Frontier of India" (1883) noted that the hills to the north of Bhismaknagar were known as Thengri-thaya by the Mishmis,The map titled "Karte von Assam und seinen Nachbar-Ländern" by Heinrich Berghaus, dated 1834, showing Tengri-Thaya hill above present day Bhismaknagar where thaya means "hill" in the Mishmi language. This linguistic continuity suggests that the Bhismaknagar hill may have been historically known as Thanggiri.
History Bhismaknagar is an important ancient archaeological site. The site was one of the strongholds of the Chutia Kingdom. The ruins have been dated between the 11th–16th centuries. Bhismaknagar formed part of Sadhayapura (or Svadhayapura), the political centre of the Chutia Kingdom.
The Buranjis record that the fortified hill city of Doi-Thang served as the seat of the Chutia minister Kasitora (written as Kai-tora). He was attacked by the Ahom general Chao-seng-kung-rin (Kong-Sheng) in 1524, who killed and beheaded him, presenting his head to the Ahom king Suhungmung, then stationed at Barnagar.Barua, Gopal Chandra, Ahom Buranji, pp. 56–57. The Chutias of Doi-Thang are further recorded to have revolted in 1529 CE, though the uprising was subsequently suppressed.Barua, Gopal Chandra, Ahom Buranji, pp. 62–63.
Architecture According to early accounts by T. Rowlatt (1845), the fort was situated on an elevated plain at the foot of the hills and was protected by a double line of defence. This consisted of a rampart of compact red clay, likely transported from elsewhere, with a terrace approximately 20 yards wide below it. Beyond this, the hillside was sharply scarped, rising between 10 and 30 feet in height. The fort appears to have been defended on three sides, with the steep slopes of the Mishmi Hills to the north providing a natural barrier, eliminating the need for additional fortifications.
The principal entrance and adjoining defensive sections were constructed of brick, and remains of multiple brick structures within the enclosure suggest that residential buildings were built of masonry. British explorer Rowlatt writes, In 1905, archaeologist T. Bloch explored the outer fortification of Bhismaknagar and collected decorated tiles bearing representations of animals, birds and human figures, together with floral and geometric motifs.
During an Assam Rifles expedition of 1919–20, L. W. Shakespear recorded further details of the ruins. He described a high earthen rampart with a ditch in front, and observed that masses of bricks scattered around it indicated that the rampart had originally been topped by a brick wall. The rampart enclosed what he described as “a vast space”, within which were traces of tanks then choked with earth and jungle growth, numerous brick plinths and stone platforms, and the brick foundations of what had evidently been an extensive building. Parts of the walls of this brick foundation remained standing to a height of three to five feet. Shakespear noted that the bricks were large, thick and nearly square, without visible marks or ornamentation. Formal excavations at Bhismaknagar were undertaken by the Research Department of NEFA between 1969 and 1972. The excavations exposed remains of the fortification and recovered pottery, terracotta objects, decorative tiles and inscribed bricks.
The fortifications and associated structures are largely composed of fired bricks, and the fortified city covers an area of approximately . Tada describes its overall plan as elongated and semi-circular, with the adjoining mountains contributing to its natural defence. A defensive rampart about high and wide extends for more than , with occasional gaps.
Although only limited excavation has been carried out, preliminary investigations have revealed the presence of three tanks and two gateways located along the eastern and western sides of the fortification. At the centre of the fortified complex are the remains of a brick-built structure which Tada tentatively identified as part of a palace. Its plinth covers approximately and the structure contains three halls, extension rooms and six entrances. A stone wall about high surrounds the building, while portions of its brick walls survive to a height of about . The exterior base was formed with offset courses of brick, while the walls were laid almost directly upon the natural soil. Decorative tiles were fixed along the inner faces of the boundary walls, and no brick paving was observed on the floor. The material culture recovered from the site, including pottery, terracotta figurines, terracotta plaques, and decorative tiles, reflects the artistic and architectural traditions of the medieval period.
Two principal gateways survive on the eastern and western sides of the fortification. The western gateway is the larger of the two and contains two adjoining rooms, while the eastern gateway has one. Their entrances were arranged so that an initially straight approach was blocked and an entrant was required to turn left, producing an offset or bent passage through the gateway. Tada records the western gateway as facing north and the eastern gateway as facing south; both were already highly dilapidated when described.
Archaeological finds