Crowing the Hill top of Sanchi, nearly 91 meters in height the group of the Buddhist establishment commands a grand views even from a distance. Sanchi is known for its stupas, monasteries, temples and pillors stretching from the 3rd Century BC to the 12 Century AD. The most famous of these monuments the sanchi stupa was orginally built by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, then Governor of Uijjayini, whose wife Devi was the daughter of a Merchant from adjacent vidisha. Their son Mahindra and daughter sanghamitra were born in uijjayini and sent to Sri Lanka where they converted the king, the Queen and their people to Buddhism.
The Most imposing edific is stupa, also know as the Great Stupa and it was from her, where emperor Ashoka built eight stupas. The foundation of the great religious establishment at Sanchi destined to have a glorious career as an impor¬tant centre of Buddihism for many centuries to come, was probably laid by the great Haurya emperor Ashoka (273 -236 BC).
From the fourteenth Century AD onwards Sanchi was left deserted and unnoticed till in the year 1818 AD. General Taylor brought it to public attention by discovering its ruins of which he found styps 1,2 and 3 imtact. The great intersh which this discovery created accounts to a large extent for the immense damages suffered by the monuments.
In 1822 AD, Captain
Johnson Assistant political agent in Bhopal opened up stupa 1 from top to bottom on one side in 1851 AD. Alexander cunninghan, together with capitain F.C. Maisey, excavated stupas 2 and 3 found relic-easkets within.
The question of repairs and preservation was not at all considered till 1881 AD, when Major Cole took up the working right earnest and succeeded in the course of the next three years in clearing off vegetation, filling in the bregate ways and a part of its railing and restoring the gateway in front of stupa 3. The other monuments however were left uncared for and no attempt was made to expose the structures lying buried under debris.
This work was later on under taken creditably by Sir John Marshall, Director General of Archacology in India who between the years 1912 and 1919 AD
brought the monuments to their present conidtion. His work entailed a large scale clearance of Jungle. He was complate all works
&nbs p; In 1036 AD Mohammed hamid excavated the ruins on the hill slope between stupas land 2 and brought to light the well preseved shell of a monastcery, Since them. thought no excavation has been done , the monumetns have received persistent attention and have this been saved for posterity,
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