Bhopal: An 80km-long fortification that criss-crosses the amazing teakwood forests and the picturesque Vindhyachal mountain range in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district has remained an enigma for archaeologists and historians, who seem oblivious of the resplendence.
Unfortunately, with their aloofness, they are denying the ancient gigantic wall a worthy place among prominent heritage sites.
Originating at a forest near Gorakhpur village, around 150 kms from Bhopal, and ending at Chowkigarh, the fortification stands at a height of 15 feet at some places while, in a deplorable contrast, it lies in ruins in other places. A more sombre reality is that a stretch of the wall remains incomplete.
The wall is made of evenly cut sandstones that are interlocked.
“Physical verification of the fortification clearly establishes that at the planning level, it was supposed to be a continuous structure. A vast stretch of wall is visible prominently, while a portion of it lies in tatters. There are heaps of evenly cut stone bricks at some places along the route indicating that the particular stretch could not be completed due to unfathomable reasons”, conservation enthusiastic Rajiv Choubey told this correspondent on Tuesday.
Mr Choubey recently completed physical verification of the fortification along with former archaeologist of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Narayan Vyas and historian, Vinod Tiwari. They literally made physical verification of ‘every inch’ of the ‘ancient’ fortification.
This is probably the longest wall in India after the 36 kms long one at Kumbalgarh in Rajasthan, he said.
“Preliminary examination of the structure suggests that the fortification may be 1,000-year-old and perhaps built by the Parmar dynasty that ruled west-Central India from 9th-13th century. But, more archaeological studies are needed to ascertain the exact period when it was built,” Mr Vyas said.
