Bihar sends fresh proposal seeking UNESCO's heritage tag for 2,500-yr-old 'Cyclopean wall'

The Cyclopean Wall of Rajgir is a 40 km long wall of stone which encircled the ancient city of Rajgir to protect it from external enemies and invaders, built before 3rd century BC.

Patna: Bihar government has sent a fresh proposal to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to get Cyclopean wall, a more than 2,500 years old structure at Rajgir, listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Cyclopean Wall of Rajgir is a 40 km long wall of stone which encircled the ancient city of Rajgir to protect it from external enemies and invaders, built before 3rd century BC. We are leaving no stone unturned to get Cyclopean wall listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. We have submitted a fresh proposal highlighting the historical significance and features of the Cyclopean Wall to the ASI following their request, Additional Secretary cum Director (Archaeology), of Bihar's Art, Culture and Youth department, Deepak Anand told the media.

Anand said the wall is among the oldest examples of cyclopean masonry in the world and it must be listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Earlier, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also said on several occasions that Cyclopean wall must be listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Earlier too we had sent proposal seeking UNESCO World Heritage site tag to Cyclopean wall. But it was not accepted. This time we are confident that this wall will get UNESCO tag. We are in constant touch with the authorities concerned in this regard, said Anand.

The 40-km long Cyclopean Wall of Rajgir is believed to have been built in the pre-Mauryan era, using massive undressed stones. It is believed that the Cyclopean Wall at Rajgir is similar to Frontiers of the Roman Empire that runs through Germany, UK and Northern Ireland, which was included on UNESCO's world heritage list in 1987. Bihar is the home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites and quite a few sites on the tentative list. Nalanda University is one of the two UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bihar and was listed in 2002. It is listed as the Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda, Bihar in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of India list. Another ancient monument in the state that has been included in UNESCO World Heritage Site list, is Mahabodhi temple of Bodhygaya.

PTI