2019.04.06 Final Report Volume IB Conservation Studio 2071 Batch

Report on Documentation and Conservation of Simroungarh
Prepared to partially fulfill the requirement of fifth year first part of Bachelor's Degree in
Architecture under Department of Architecture, IOE Thapathali Campus, Tribhuvan University
Site Study and Analysis

Volume IB
2071 Batch
Department of Architecture,
IOE Thapathali Campus, Thapathali, Kathmandu,
Tribhuvan University
March 2019
Acknowledgment
This report is not the result of single effort but the combined efforts of all group members without
whom it would not have been possible to accomplish the study. It is our immense pleasure and
profuse happiness to present this report entitled “Report on the conservation of Simroungarh".
We would like to thank our teachers Associate Prof. Deepak Pant, Ar. Sudeep Sharma Paudyal,
Dr. Sanjaya Uprety, Ar. Pradeep Adhikari and Ar. Sujata Shakya Bajracharya for the knowledge,
support, valuable suggestion and time they give us during this project. We would like to thank
Mayor Mr. Bijay Sankhar Yadav for supporting us in the site visit and also provide thanks to Mr.
Bharat Shah who has provided key information about the history of Simroungarh. And we have
to be grateful for the whole people of Simroungarh for cooperating with us.
We would like to thank all our friends of Architecture from Thapathali campus. In addition, we
are grateful to the authors and publishers of all books and reports mentioned in the reference list.
This case study report including literature review, case study, and proposal for the conservation
of Simroungarh.
We would appreciate any feedback and suggestion on the topic.
2
Executive Summary
This report contains information on literature review, Case study about the fort and fortified city.
In the literature review, the report identifies the historical, social, cultural and architectural value
of fort and fortified city. We gathered information about the architecture of the fort and its design
element. We studied heritage and its conservation measure on the reference of charter and acts of
heritage conservation. This report contains theories of architectural conservation (Emmanuel
Viollet-le-Duc, John Ruskin, and William Morris) and charter with the different philosophical
idea on the conservation of fort and its settlement. To our study, we gathered information from
the ancient monument Act 2013 on this report.
On the further in the case study, we did research according to national, regional and international
cases for fort architecture and fortified city. The national case study includes Jitighadi Killa,
Chisapani Gadhi, Makanwanpur Gadhi, and hariharpur Gadhi, on other hand regional case study
was from Fort of Ramkot and Balahissar Citadel was Done. Fort of San Diego and Fort of
Bourtangle on an international case study. We gathered information on geographical location,
climatic condition, present situation, historical time line, architectural attributes and conservation
approach of each case study and compared with analysis.
Fort of Simroungarh and its settlement was our conservation studio site. This report provides
geographical information, history of Simroungarh fort and sociodemographic data (which we had
performed with the help of kobo Toolbox) of Simroungarh. The present scenario of Kankali
complex, Ranibas complex and its settlement along the street of Kankali to Ranibas and their
analysis of tangible and intangible heritage are reported on this report. Through the study of
Simroungarh we prepared inventory of all heritage and did their value assessment with proper
reference and guidelines. Finally, this report contain proposal on conservation approach of kanali
complex, Ranibas Complex, Housing typology, Street Section through the result and analysis of
inventory and value assessment table we prepared. This report also maintains the methodology
of our study, data collection and necessary survey what we have done in this process.
3
Table of Contents
I. Acknowledgment
II. Executive Summary
1 Study of Historic Medieval Kingdom of Simroungarh ....................................................... 13
1.1 Location ....................................................................................................................... 13
1.2 Geographical Settings .................................................................................................. 14
1.1.1 Topography of Site .................................................................................................. 15
1.2.1.1 Soil Condition ................................................................................................ 16
1.2.1.1.1 Soil Texture................................................................................................ 16
1.2.1.1.2 Soil pH ....................................................................................................... 17
1.2.2 Climatic Data of Simroungarh ................................................................................. 18
1.2.2.1 Mean Precipitation ......................................................................................... 18
1.2.2.2 Mean Monthly Temperature........................................................................... 19
1.2.2.3 Mean Maximum Air Temperature ................................................................. 20
1.2.2.4 Precipitation ................................................................................................... 24
1.2.3 Water sources .......................................................................................................... 24
1.2 Historic Medieval Kingdom of Simroungarh .............................................................. 25
1.2.1 Establishment of the Kingdom ................................................................................ 25
1.2.2 Fort structure and Labyrinth wall of Simroungarh .................................................. 25
1.2.3 Fall of the Tirhoot kingdom..................................................................................... 26
1.2.4 Important monuments and archaeological sites in Simroungarh............................. 27
1.2.4.1 History narration by Father Cassiano da Macerata ........................................ 27
1.2.4.2 Archaeological Investigations at Simroungarh, February-March 1991 ......... 29
1.2.4.2.1 Preliminary Remarks ................................................................................. 30
1.2.4.2.2 The Site: General Remarks ........................................................................ 31
1.2.4.2.3 The impact of agriculture and village growth ............................................ 31
1.2.5 A Test Trench through the Fortifications of Simroungarh ...................................... 32
4
1.2.5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 32
1.2.5.2 Simroungarh ................................................................................................... 32
1.2.5.3 A trench through the main defense rampart ................................................... 33
1.2.5.3.1 SMG -4: the archaeological sequence of the main rampart ....................... 35
1.2.5.3.2 Natural substratum and possible traces of a pre-defense settlement.......... 35
1.2.5.3.3 The rampart: first phase of construction .................................................... 35
1.2.5.3.4 The main ditch ........................................................................................... 35
1.2.5.3.5 The rampart and the main ditch: second phase of construction ................. 35
1.2.5.3.6 The outer ditch ........................................................................................... 36
1.2.5.3.7 Life, destruction and decay of the rampart and the ditches ....................... 36
1.2.5.3.8 A period of abandonment........................................................................... 36
1.2.5.3.9 The recent agricultural phase ..................................................................... 36
1.2.6 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................. 36
1.3 Base Maps and Graphical Representations for Existing Site Study ............................ 38
1.4 Study Area: Simroungarh ............................................................................................ 38
1.4.1 Monumental Area – A: ............................................................................................ 39
1.4.2 Monumental Area – B: ............................................................................................ 39
1.4.3 Transitional Area – C: ............................................................................................. 39
1.2.4 Vehicular & Pedestrian Movement of Site .............................................................. 39
1.2.5 Landuse .................................................................................................................... 43
1.2.5.1 Heritage Zone: ................................................................................................ 43
1.2.5.2 Residential Area: ............................................................................................ 44
1.2.5.3 Commercial Area: .......................................................................................... 44
1.2.5.4 Institutional Area: ........................................................................................... 44
1.2.5.5 Public Space: .................................................................................................. 44
1.2.5.6 Agricultural Area: .......................................................................................... 45
1.2.5.7 Forest Area: .................................................................................................... 45
1.2.6 Infrastructures & Services ....................................................................................... 48
5
2 Sociodemographic of Simroungarh ..................................................................................... 49
2.1 General information ..................................................................................................... 49
2.2 Ethnicity & Religion .................................................................................................... 50
2.3 Languages spoken........................................................................................................ 51
2.4 Gender ......................................................................................................................... 52
2.5 Family type & size ....................................................................................................... 53
2.6 Location ....................................................................................................................... 54
2.7 No. of Children & elderly (>60 yrs.) ........................................................................... 55
2.8 Occupation ................................................................................................................... 56
2.9 Monthly Income and Expenditure ............................................................................... 57
2.10 Land area & Ownership ............................................................................................... 58
2.11 Building style and Storey ............................................................................................ 58
2.12 Building materials........................................................................................................ 60
2.13 Building age and technology ....................................................................................... 61
2.14 Building use ................................................................................................................. 61
2.15 Water supply conditions .............................................................................................. 62
2.16 Electricity availability and Alternative energy source ................................................ 63
2.17 Communication media................................................................................................. 64
2.18 Shop’s source of goods and storage ............................................................................ 66
2.19 Shop’s Service time and Type of Customer ................................................................ 66
3 Major issues of heritage deterioration of Simroungarh ....................................................... 67
3.1 Temple complex: ......................................................................................................... 67
3.2 Human threat ............................................................................................................... 67
3.3 Socio-culture values: ................................................................................................... 68
3.4 Traditional Settlement & Building: ............................................................................. 68
4 Descriptive Analysis and Discussions ................................................................................. 68
4.1 Introduction to Tangible and Intangible Heritage of Simroungarh ............................. 68
4.2 Settlement of Simroungarh .......................................................................................... 68
6
4.3 The Kankali Temple Complex .................................................................................... 69
4.4 The Ranibas Heritage Complex................................................................................... 70
4.5 Analysis of Tangible Heritage value ........................................................................... 71
4.5.1 Material and technology used .................................................................................. 71
4.5.1.1 Typical Housing Elements of Simroungarh ................................................... 71
4.5.1.1.1 Materials Used ........................................................................................... 71
4.5.1.1.1.1 Bamboo ............................................................................................... 71
4.5.1.1.1.2 Mud ..................................................................................................... 71
4.5.1.1.1.3 Brick .................................................................................................... 71
4.5.1.1.1.4 Planks .................................................................................................. 71
4.5.1.1.1.5 Timber ................................................................................................. 71
4.5.1.1.1.6 Khar..................................................................................................... 71
4.5.1.1.1.7 Khapada .............................................................................................. 72
4.5.1.1.2 Evolution in architecture of Simroungarh.................................................. 72
4.5.1.1.2.1 Thatch roof with bamboo wall ............................................................ 72
4.5.1.1.2.2 Thatch roof with brick wall................................................................. 72
4.5.1.1.2.3 Khapada roof with bamboo wall ......................................................... 72
4.5.1.1.2.4 Khapada roof with brick wall ............................................................. 72
4.5.1.1.2.5 Concrete roof with brick loadbearing wall ......................................... 72
4.5.1.1.2.6 Frame structure ................................................................................... 72
4.5.2 Architecture of Ordinary/Local Vernacular Architecture ....................................... 72
4.5.2.1 Physical structure ........................................................................................... 73
4.5.2.2 Interior function.............................................................................................. 73
4.5.2.3 Typical Khapada House Of Simroungarh ...................................................... 75
4.5.2.4 Thatch roof ..................................................................................................... 76
4.5.2.5 Bamboo Wall.................................................................................................. 76
4.5.2.6 Element supporting house in daily life ........................................................... 77
4.5.2.6.1 Bheri ........................................................................................................... 77
7
4.5.2.6.2 Chulo .......................................................................................................... 77
4.6 Intangible heritage of Simroungarh ............................................................................. 78
4.6.1 Natural, Historical and Archaeological Values ....................................................... 78
4.6.1.1 Kankali Heritage Complex ............................................................................. 78
4.6.1.1.1 Kankali Mai Temple .................................................................................. 78
4.6.1.1.1.1 Existing Condition .............................................................................. 79
4.6.1.1.2 Ishara Pokhari ............................................................................................ 80
4.6.1.1.3 Mansaram Baba Temple ............................................................................ 81
4.6.1.1.4 Shiva Temple ............................................................................................. 82
4.6.1.2 Ranibas Heritage Complex............................................................................. 82
4.6.1.2.1 Ram Janaki Temple.................................................................................... 82
4.6.1.2.2 Ranibas Sattal............................................................................................. 85
4.6.1.2.3 Chardhoi Pokhari ....................................................................................... 86
4.6.1.2.4 Horse Stable ............................................................................................... 87
4.6.1.2.5 Thunuwa Ghar ........................................................................................... 88
4.6.2 Social, Cultural and Traditional practice of the people ........................................... 89
4.6.2.1 Jhijhiya dance: ................................................................................................ 90
4.6.2.2 Satomai and Barhambaba: .............................................................................. 90
4.6.3 Cuisine ..................................................................................................................... 90
4.6.4 Performing Art and Craft:........................................................................................ 91
4.6.5 Family & village Relationship................................................................................. 91
4.6.6 Jatras ........................................................................................................................ 91
8
4.6.6.1 Hanuman jatra: ............................................................................................... 91
4.6.6.2 Ramnawami jatra: .......................................................................................... 91
4.6.7 Supporting pictures: ................................................................................................. 92
5 Heritage Value Assessment of Simroungarh ....................................................................... 93
5.1 Natural values of cultural landscapes .......................................................................... 93
5.2 Historic Values ............................................................................................................ 94
5.3 Archaeological Values ................................................................................................. 94
5.4 Social Values ............................................................................................................... 94
5.5 Cultural Values ............................................................................................................ 94
5.6 Religious Values .......................................................................................................... 94
6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 95
7 References ........................................................................................................................... 96
9
List of figures
Figure 1: Location of Simroungarh ............................................................................................. 13
Figure 2: Location of Simroungarh with details .......................................................................... 14
Figure 3: Geographical Location of Simraungadh ...................................................................... 15
Figure 4: Simraungadh Topography ( Raniwas to Kankali)........................................................ 15
Figure 5: Soil Texture Status of nearby Location from site ........................................................ 16
Figure 6: Soil pH Status of nearby Location from site ................................................................ 17
Figure 7: Location of Chardhoi ................................................................................................... 24
Figure 8: Ishara Pokhari .............................................................................................................. 24
Figure 1: The city of Scimangada as depicted in the Cassiano manuscript ................................ 26
Figure 10: Base Map of Simroungarh showing major road access, ponds, green areas and
monuments................................................................................................................................... 38
Figure 11: Vehicular and Pedestrian Access in Simraungadh ..................................................... 39
Figure 12: Existing Land Use Map of Simraungadh(Kankali-Raniwas ) ................................... 42
Figure 13: Ownership of Heritage Monuments in Simroungarh provided by Simroungarh
Municipality................................................................................................................................. 44
Figure 14: Vegetations found in settlements during site observation ......................................... 45
Figure 15: Pattern of vegetation farming in settlements of Simroungarh ................................... 45
Figure 16`: Varieties of trees near heritage complexes and settlements ..................................... 46
Figure 20: Municipality Office .................................................................................................... 48
Figure 20: Irrigation and Fishing Office...................................................................................... 48
Figure 20: Youth Club Under Construction ................................................................................ 48
Figure 21:Carpentry..................................................................................................................... 48
Figure 17: Cattle farming ............................................................................................................ 48
Figure 22: Thatch Roof with Bamboo Wall ................................................................................ 72
Figure 23: Thatch Roof with Brick Wall ..................................................................................... 72
Figure 24: Khapad Roof With Bamboo Wall .............................................................................. 72
Figure 25: Kapada Roof With Brick Wall ................................................................................... 72
Figure 26: Frame Structure Building ........................................................................................... 72
Figure 27: sketches showing building form with element ........................................................... 73
Figure 28: Wall Niches ................................................................................................................ 74
Figure 29: Wall cornices.............................................................................................................. 74
Figure 30: Wall Takha ................................................................................................................. 74
Figure 31: Typical house plan ..................................................................................................... 74
Figure 32: Showing element of Khapad roof .............................................................................. 75
10
Figure 33: Khapada Roof Ridge Details...................................................................................... 75
Figure 34: Khapada Roof Corner Detail...................................................................................... 75
Figure 35: Section of thatch roof house....................................................................................... 76
Figure 36: Bamboo wall Called as Tati ....................................................................................... 76
Figure 37: Sketches OF Bheri with Section ................................................................................ 77
Figure 38: Showing Details of Chulo .......................................................................................... 78
Figure 39 Kankali Mai Temple ................................................................................................... 79
Figure 40 Ishara Pokhari.............................................................................................................. 80
Figure 41 Mansaram Baba Temple ............................................................................................. 81
Figure 42 Shiva Temple .............................................................................................................. 82
Figure 43: Ruins from ancient city Simraungadh(Karnatak origin) showing similarity in temple
construction ................................................................................................................................. 83
Figure 44: Artefacts found in temple premises ........................................................................... 84
Figure 45: The inner shrine: Ranibas Temple ............................................................................. 84
Figure 47: Post details ................................................................................................................. 85
Figure 47: Front View of Ranibas Sattal with central pediment ................................................. 85
Figure 48: Arch technology, towers and brick ............................................................................ 85
Figure 49: Northern and Western wing of Sattal ......................................................................... 86
Figure 50: The wall masonry of different plinths of Chardhoi pokhari ...................................... 86
Figure 51: Architectural elements: Posts and arches ................................................................... 86
Figure 52: Lack of maintenance of the pond ............................................................................... 87
Figure 53: Present Condition of the Stable.................................................................................. 87
Figure 54: I- Beams on the slab ................................................................................................... 87
Figure 56: Traces of wooden flooring ......................................................................................... 88
Figure 56: Level difference of the structure ................................................................................ 88
Figure 57: Burnt facades, distorted walls and debris accumulation ............................................ 88
Figure 58: Women making seating tools called Chatai ............................................................... 89
Figure 59: women crafting clothes for dining area...................................................................... 89
Figure 60: women showing jhadu ............................................................................................... 90
Figure 61:Women carrying matki................................................................................................ 90
Figure 62:Satomai and Barhambaba............................................................................................ 90
Figure 63: Kodo roti .................................................................................................................... 90
Figure 64: Gilo roti ...................................................................................................................... 91
Figure 65: Maduwa roti ............................................................................................................... 91
Figure 67: Making Dagara ........................................................................................................... 91
11
Figure 66: Murti........................................................................................................................... 91
Figure 68: Goraha ........................................................................................................................ 92
Figure 69: Bheri ........................................................................................................................... 92
Figure 70: Kothi........................................................................................................................... 92
Figure 71: Shikha......................................................................................................................... 92
Figure 72: Takha .......................................................................................................................... 92
12
1 Study of Historic Medieval Kingdom of Simroungarh
1.1 Location
Figure 1: Location of Simroungarh Image source: Google map

Image source: Nepal Hydrological and Meteorological Research Center and Consultancy P. Ltd
Simroungarh, which inherits historic, cultural and archeological importance, is situated in Bara
district of Narayani zone of mid –Terai according to the political geography of Nepal. Presently
it is a municipality of Nepal, located in Bara District, Province No. 2. The municipality was
created in 2014 by agglomerating the Village Development Committees of Amrijung, Golaganj,
Hariharpur, and Uchidia. The city is located along the border between India and Nepal. It lies 90
km south of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, and 28 km east of Birgunj metro city. This place is
spread in the area of about 26 sq. km at the altitude of 300-500 m from the sea level.
13
Figure 2: Location of Simroungarh with details Image source: Google map
1.2 Geographical Settings

Simroungarh which can be considered as an open museum of history, art, and culture, has
preserved a historic legacy placing the past of human in its heart.
14
Physiographic Region of Nepal
Figure 3: Geographical Location of Simraungadh
1.1.1 Topography of Site
With slopes of 0 to 1% soils of swales develop by receiving enriched seepage and runoff water
from the surrounding. (Map of potential Vegetation in Nepal, 2005)
Source: GIS 61 new Municipality Map; Source: Geolocation, Sketchup

281 sq. ft
294 sq ft
292 sq. ft
295 sq. ft
280 sq. ft
272 sq. ft
Figure 4: Simraungadh Topography ( Raniwas to Kankali)
Simraungadh that falls under the Terai region is mainly comprised of plain fertile lands. The lands
are used for cultivation and agriculture. The following table shows the use of land in the existing
condition of Simraungadh:
15
1.2.1.1 Soil Condition
 Loose and Fertile
Table 1: Existing use of land
 Color: Between Grayish Brown and Dark Grayish Brown
Source: LRMP 1996, gfkL ljefu
 Structure: Angular Blocky
 Seismic Zone: V
 Risk: Mainly Flood due to Heavy Rainfall
1.2.1.1.1 Soil Texture
Soil texture - extremely significant influence on the physical and mechanical behaviors of the
soil. The proportion of silt and clay content was high in the farm, because of such characteristics
Figure 5: Soil Texture Status of nearby Location from site

Land Area in sq.m. Percentage
Plain Land Plain 0.01 0.02
Agricultural land 41.14 99.22
Forest 0.00 0.01
Garden 0.10 0.23
Rivers 0.15 0.37
Lakes and ponds 0.06 0.14
Simsar 0.00 0.01
Bagar 0.00 0.01
Total 41.46 100.00
there might be problems of soil compaction, hence directly affecting for tillage operation and
water drainage - tillage operation should have to do in the appropriate moisture conditions.
Overflooding during irrigation may cause water stagnation stress for plants. Soil texture (silt loam
and loam) has proper water and nutrient holding capacity; hence suitable for most of the crops.
Observed structure (angular blocky) also indicates medium permeability of the water in the farm.
16
1.2.1.1.2 Soil pH
The measure of soil pH is an important parameter which helps in identification of the chemical
nature of the soil as it affects the availability of essential plants nutrients. Soil pH was moderately
acidic in the majority of the area, but possesses different classes from very acidic to slightly
alkaline (Figure). The adoption of heterogeneous management practice during experimentation
from a longer period might be the reason for this. The acidity causing practice like unbalanced
long-term use of urea might also be the cause of high acidity. The normal pH range for optimal
mineral elements availability for most crops - 6.0 to 7.5. Simroungarh has good capabilities of
growing crops. As they grow paddy, wheat, Masur and also vegetables which can they sell for
their livelihood.
Figure 6: Soil pH Status of nearby Location from site
17
1.2.2 Climatic Data of Simroungarh
1.2.2.1 Mean Precipitation
18
1.2.2.2 Mean Monthly Temperature
19
1.2.2.3 Mean Maximum Air Temperature
20
21
22
23
1.2.2.4 Precipitation
1.2.3 Water sources

Simroungarh is referred to as the City of Ponds
which is allocated in the backside of Raniwas
temple. We can find ponds at every 20-30 meters
in and around the main market. Along with this,
there are more religious and natural ponds like
Jharaukhar, Rajabada, Manaharwa, Dhobiniya,
Narkoti, Jokahi, Aamawa, Hathaiya, Khajani
Pokhari, Chardhoi pokhari, Ishara pokhari, and so
on. It is known as a Hub for Fishery, it is the main Figure 8: Ishara Pokhari
occupation of the natives due to the presence of
several self-owned ponds.
Figure 7: Location of Chardhoi
24
1.2 Historic Medieval Kingdom of Simroungarh
1.2.1 Establishment of the Kingdom
The kingdom of Simroungarh was established in 1097 CE by king Nanyadev who came from
Karnatak state of India. The area of the kingdom lies currently in Bara District in Nepal. The
kingdom controlled the areas we today know as Tirhoot or Mithila in India and Nepal. The
kingdom is said to have flourished during the rule of king Nanyadev and Karnat dynasty. The
descendants of Nanyadev continued ruling this kingdom until its destruction in 1324 CE.
The rulers of Simroungarh are:
• Nanya Dev - 1097 - 1147 CE
• Ganga Dev - 1147 - 1187 CE
• Narsingh Dev - 1187 - 1227 CE
• Ramsingh Dev - 1227 - 1285 CE
• Shaktisingh Dev - 1285 - 1295 CE
Harisingh Dev - 1295 - 1324 CE (Simraungadh, n.d.)
1.2.2 Fort structure and Labyrinth wall of Simroungarh
The plan shows a labyrinth of the ‘classical’ type with the familiar central cross design and eight
walls. It seems clear that the labyrinth is not only a symbol of a city or of the city-walls, but also
symbolizes that the city, due to its labyrinthine defenses, has a strong protection. The story of
Scimangada is also a story of how the almost impregnable defenses of the labyrinth were forced.
Cassiano writes that the produce of the fields in the area enclosed by the walls was sufficient to
feed the whole population, which I infer meant that the city could not be starved by a besieging
enemy, and the height of the walls supposedly made them invulnerable to direct assault. Thus,
the only way in was through the entrance, but the enemy entering here was forced to try for a
month to pass along the whole circuit of the labyrinth and beneath the four fortresses.
The treacherous minister nevertheless managed to get the enemy through these formidable
defenses by taking possession of the entrance to the labyrinth (supposedly to let the enemy in
through the gate, if there was one) and by collapsing the two walls situated “opposite (i.e. of the
entrance) and on the other side,” where Cassiano has marked “g-g” his plan of Scimangada.
(Presumably the location of the breaches was pointed out to Cassiano, either on a sketched
drawing of a labyrinth or possibly on the relief in the palace at Batgao.
In this way a quick passage was created between the entrance of the labyrinth and centre of the
city, through which the enemy - and the king’s son - could pass without the need to traverse the
tortuous passages of the labyrinth. Thus, the blending of historical events and the widespread
concept that the labyrinth represents a famous city from the past formed the story of how the
labyrinthine defenses of Scimangada were overcome and how the dynasty of Batgao originated.
(Lundén, 1994, pp. 2,3,6,7)
25
A: Entrance to enter into the fortifications of the City
of Scimangada.
B: First Fortress, which one has to pass to come to the
city
C: Second Fortress
D: Third Fortress
E: Fourth Fortress
F: The City of Scimangada
g-g: The place where the Vice-King led the enemies in
and betrayed his fatherland.
It can perhaps be noted that the idea of a

labyrinth as a symbol of a city could have been
felt to resemble the deep-rooted Nepali
conception of a city as a mandala, and that the
protective qualities of the labyrinth
Figure 9: The city of Scimangada as depicted in the corresponded to the belief that a city was
Cassiano manuscript protected by the mandala’s concentric rings of
Source: (Lundén, 1994, pp. 2,3)
divine power, existing both inside and around
the city. (Lundén, 1994, p. 7)
1.2.3 Fall of the Tirhoot kingdom
The last king of Karnat dynasty to rule Simraungarh was Harisingh Dev, who was defeated by
Islamic ruler Ghyasuddin Tughluq, the Sultan of Delhi. In a year 1324 CE, Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
attacked Simroungarh and demolished the fort. The remains are still scattered all over the
Simroungarh region.
After being defeated, the king Harisingh Deva fled northwards into the then Nepal. The son of
Harisingh Dev, Jagatsingh Dev married the widow princess of Bhaktapur, Nayak Devi. Later
Harisimha Dev’s descendant, Rajalla Devi, became successor to the Nepalese throne, paving the
way for the emergence of the powerful medieval king, Jayasthiti Malla, as her consort. (Cimino,
1986)
26
1.2.4 Important monuments and archaeological sites in Simroungarh
1.2.4.1 History narration by Father Cassiano da Macerata

The missionary Father Cassiano da Macerata was travelling in 1740 through Nepal on his way
from India to Tibet. In his account of the journey he writes that he saw some ruins in the jungle,
which he later was told were the remains of the ancient city of Scimangada, whose walls was said
to have formed a labyrinth around the city. Cassiano adds that the plan of this City can be found,
wrought in stone, in the royal palace of Batgao (modern Bhaktapur/Bhadgaon) in Nepal. The
work of Cassiano (1708-1791) has the title Giornale di Fra Cassiano da Macerata nella Marca
d'Ancona, Missionario Apostolico Cappuccino nel Tibet e Regni adiacenti, dalla suaa partenza
da Macerata suguita li agosto 1738 sino al suo ritorno nel 1756; diviso in due libri. Libro Primo,
and is an account of his journey to and subsequent stay in Nepal and Tibet.
In February 1740, Cassiano and seven other Capuchin missionaries, together with a Nepalese
Bavanidat (Bhavani Datt) and porters, left Patna on the Ganges in India (in Cassiano's time in the
Mogol Empire) on their way to Batgao, capital of one of the kingdoms in Nepal, and their ultimate
goal, Lhasa in Tibet. On this journey they came across a jungle in the Rautahat district of the
Tarai in Nepal, close to the modern Indian border. Cassiano writes that the journey is not without
danger, as the jungle is inhabited by tigers, elephants and rhinoceroses. On the 29th of February,
after having commented that the large number of animal bones indicated that tigers were not rare,
Cassiano continues:
27
“We also saw in several places some old ruins, and some seemed to be remains of substantial
buildings. We could not understand how, in such a large forest which judging from the old trees
is of considerable age, there could be buildings of any significance. During the following years
when I was staying in Nepal, I did not neglect to inform myself about such ruins which I made
Bavanidat observe during the journey and whose answer I did not understand, because I did not
yet know the language; and although I have received these knowledge four years later, I am of
the opinion that I should treat it here, despite the small digression I have to do from our journey.
I was assured by many Nepalese from Batgao that these ruins were some small vestiges
remaining of the very ancient and famous city of Scimangada, from which their Kings originated,
and which was not possible to enter without wheeling it around again and again for about a
month, because it was a city situated in the centre of a quasi-labyrinth enclosed by high walls, a
labyrinth which it was impossible to enter except on a single spot, and after having entered there
one had to pass beneath four fortresses, which were evenly distributed from place to place
between the barriers of the labyrinth; and these barriers had a distance from one side to the
other of about one Kos, [i.e. two miles] and the walls were extremely high with a width in
proportion. Within the enclosures there were pleasant fields and small streams which watered
them. The food supplies produced by the fields within the enclosures were sufficient to feed the
large population, which was governed by a great King, who also had a vast domain around
outside the enclosures, which were governed by one of his prime ministers. One of these, who
had received the disapproval of the King, swore to take vengeance by betraying his fatherland
and surrendering it to the Muslims; therefore, the plan was agreed with the Emperor, and with
numerous troops he [i.e. the prime minister] took up position at the entrance to the labyrinth,
and then forcing the defensive wall opposite and on the other side, they entered the city before
anyone had noticed the enemies, who massacred the inhabitants. Some succeeded in saving
themselves through the breach in the wall made by the enemies, and one of these was one of
the sons of the King, who escaped to Nepal, where he eventually managed to settle and subdue
the native King and seize the Kingdom. So much has repeatedly been told me in brief about the
city of Scimangada in Nepal, where in the royal palace in Batgao, the plan of the city was
preserved engraved in stone, such as I have roughly sketched it here. An ancient king of Batgao
in his time struck coins with some hieroglyphs on one side, the plan of Scimangada on the other
side. These coins, which are of silver have the value of one lire, about two roman paoli; but today
these with the plan of Scimangada are very rare...” (Lundén, 1994, pp. 1,2)
28
In the story, Scimangada is described as an almost impregnable city, but nevertheless, we are
told in the story that disaster one day fell upon this city. It fell through treachery, betrayed by a
minister whose troops took control of the entrance to the labyrinth, and after some walls had
been collapsed, the enemy entered the city and slaughtered its inhabitants. Among the few
survivors, who escaped the same way the enemies entered, was a son of the King who
eventually became King of Nepal. At this point we may wonder what the connection between
this story, the ruins in the jungle and the labyrinth in Batgao is. First the question of whether the
story of the fall of the city has a foundation in real events or is fictitious has to be considered.
Cassiano concludes:
But even if it is true that Scimangada once existed, it is not possible to trace the truth among
pagans, as one gets entangled in their stories and great tales. (Lundén, 1994, p. 3)
However, Cassiano did not have a good knowledge of the history of the Muslim powers in India,
and the story of the fall of Scimangada is, contrary to Cassiano’s opinion, to some degree based
on actual events. Scimangada is also known in Nepali sources as Simraongarh, Simaramapura or
Simraon. It was founded in 1097 CE by Nanyadeva from Karnataka as the capital of Mithila
(Tirhut). The city remained the seat of the dynasty until its destruction by the Muslims in 1325.
The ruins of the city, seen by Cassiano, are still quite substantial, with much relief sculpture still
visible. Subsequently the Karnataka family of Simraongarh gained the throne of Batgao through
marriage. Thus, the story told to Cassiano is to some extent based on historical reality; the city
was destroyed by the Muslims and the dynasty of Batgao did originate from Simraongarh. Still it
is evident that the real Simraongarh did not have any labyrinthine defences and we may ask from
where this idea came and why the plan of the city’s fortifications was reproduced as a labyrinth
in the royal palace in Batgao. (Lundén, 1994, pp. 4,5)
The connection of a city destroyed long ago with a labyrinth, fits well into the very widespread
pattern of the labyrinth as a symbol of a fabulous city from remote times. In Europe this
symbolism is common and well attested, and it is possible that - although it cannot be proven -
that the concept of the labyrinth as a symbol of a city is of considerable antiquity. The inscription
TRUIA in the labyrinth on the Tragliatella oinochoe, dated to the second half of the 7th century
BCE, should perhaps be read as “Troy,” i.e. the labyrinth is the city of Troy/Ilion. It is also
possible that the walls depicted around the roman mosaic labyrinths are also symbolized cities.
(Lundén, 1994, p. 5)
1.2.4.2 Archaeological Investigations at Simroungarh, February-March 1991

The first campaign of archaeological exploration of the large urban site of Simraongarh(1), in
the Nepali Tarai, was conceived as a preliminary surface survey accompanied by the recording
of selected stratigraphic sections, as well as by a general study of the surface ceramic material.
In fact, a previous visit to the site by the Italian Mission and the Dept. of Archaeology of H.M.G.
of Nepal showed us that agricultural and irrigation works made available several sections cutting
through major archaeological features. These sections could provide substantial information
with a minimum disturbance of the archaeological deposits in situ.
29
-Massimo Vidale and Francesca Lugli with an Introduction by Giovanni Verardi
Excavating at Simroangarh is a challenging undertaking for anybody interested in the

archaeology of the Indian subcontinent, and is a matter of particular consideration for anybody
pursuing a better understanding of the history of medieval Nepal. The relation between the
Karnatas of Muhila and the political events taking place in the Valley of Kathmandu is a major
point here. Several scholars have dealt at length with this subject, among which Luciano Petech
(second revised edition of his Medieval History of Nepal, Rome 1984) may be recalled. However,
there are a number of problems involved in such an undertaking as well. First of all, a detailed
study of the medieval settlement is needed. Secondly, the quest for the pre-urban evidences of
the site should be pursued. The cultic level deserves close examination here. Once the crucial
problems are brought into focus, results cannot be lacking.
After Brian H. Hodgson visited and identified the site in the 19th century, only in 1958 a brief
expedition led by Thomas O. Ballinger could retrace the extensive ruins of Simraongarh. On that
occasion, the stelae still remaining on the site were photographed and briefly described. After
Hodgson's visit, number of murtis were carried for display to museums outside Nepal which is a
major loss for the country. As stressed below by M. Vidale and F. Lugli, the site has suffered
even greater damages since Ballinger's visit, mainly due to the area being extensively exploited
for agricultural purposes.
Still, the site has great potential and thus Simraongarh stands as the most important settlement of
medieval Mithila. The report cannot but refer briefly to the fortification system encircling the
town, first described by the Tibetan traveler Dharmaswami in 1236 A.D. However it deals mainly
with the ceramics found when exposing a section along a modern canal in front of the main
mound. The functionalist approach chosen by the excavators has been questioned on general
terms and on the basis of a very detailed analysis carried out on the pottery production in present
day India. Future activity will show, among other things, what can be revealed to us of past
Simraongarh through the methods of inquiry that have been considered more suitable by the
excavators.
1.2.4.2.1 Preliminary Remarks
In the frame of this first phase of work we could accomplish a preliminary exploration of the
north and eastern sides of the city's fortification, a cursorily survey of the major mounds of the
compound, and a somehow more detailed survey of the mound of Raniwas, presently the major
elevation of Simraongarh. We then recorded and sampled a long section exposed by a recent
irrigation canal on the south-eastern border of the Raniwas mound. This major effort was labelled
SMG-1.
The blue print maps of a recent topographic mapping of the site, carried out by H.M.G. were an
invaluable help for our research, and will doubtless represent the basis for any further exploration
and archaeological research at Simraongarh.
30
1.2.4.2.2 The Site: General Remarks
The ruins of the ancient city of Simraongarh are enclosed within an impressive system of earthen
walls and filled ditches. On the south side of the fortress, the international boundary between
India and Nepal runs along the main inner wall, and part of the earthen walls remains in Indian
territories. The ground plan of this system of fortifications resembles an irregular trapezium, with
the major sides oriented in north-south and an oblique side at north. The orientation could suggest
that the north side of the fortification followed, in ancient times, a river channel (possibly active).
The main feature of the fortifications is an inner wall which is still in some parts, more than 7m
high. This wall measures more than 6km in direction north-south and about 4.5km in direction
west-east. Given the extension of these ruins Simraongarh must be regarded as one of the largest
urban archaeological sites in the subcontinent. During our survey we identified in the south-
western corner the remains of a huge round tower, and possible more defensive architectural
features will be identified in the future. Actually, the four corners ramparts could be the four
"fortresses" which were still remembered in the 17th century in the Kathmandu Valley (Cimino
1986).
The city of Simroungarh, most probably was built on the base of a well-planned urban and
hydraulic project and the reconstruction of the original course of the river and its relationships
with the walls, the ditches and the needs of the inner gardens and fields is a primary aim of our
future investigations. The enclosed compound in spite of the recent heavy disturbance still shows
major depressions that are used by cereals in waterlogged conditions, these depressions (the major
running north-south at west of the Ranibas mound) might be an old feature of the site or on the
contrary might be a recent geomorphological evolution. Understanding the urban layout of
Simroungarh will be to a great extent a geomorphological and hydro geological problem.
The Ranibas mound, nowadays capped by the imposing and partially ruined temple of Ramjanaki,
due to a restructuration by the Rana rulers, is the most important geomorphological feature of the
site and with every probability corresponds to the most important political and cultural center of
Simroungarh. At east, Kankali Mandir equally rebuilt in recent times, covers the ruins of a major
Pala-Sena cultural complex.
A major result of our survey was the discovery of an impressive wall in baked bricks recently
damaged by brick robbing activities. The presence of this monumental wall suggests the
possibility that other well-preserved architectural features might be found and not only in the
elevated areas of the compound.
1.2.4.2.3 The impact of agriculture and village growth
Besides the excavation of modern channels, destruction of the earthen walls for levelling the
fields and recovering bricks is a major factor of destruction of the city ruins; given the
demographic pressure and the growth of the villages, the compound is under the threaten of a fast
decay.
Another agent of extensive destruction is agriculture. Our preliminary analysis of Raniwas
showed that the mound is surrounded by the remnants of dumps extremely rich in ceramics. As
far as the irrigation is concerned, although in few cases ruins seem to be affected by waterlogging,
presently we are not to ascertain its actual impact on the archaeological features of Simraongarh.
31
Finally one has to mention that brick factories are active within the site, and their huge trenches,
in some cases, seem to have destroyed other important archaeological deposits.
(Vidale & Lugli, 1991, pp. 5-9)
1.2.5 A Test Trench through the Fortifications of Simroungarh

M.Vidale
C.Balista
V.Torrieri
1.2.5.1 Introduction
In this paper we present a short preliminary report on the main excavation trench carried out in
1992 by the IsMEO project at Simraongarh, labelled SMG-4. This trench was aimed at exploring
the inner stratigraphy of the main rampart of the defenses of Simraongarh. What nowadays
remains of the defenses of this ancient city is really impressive, doubtless. Sir M.Wheeler; with
his colorful prose, could have labelled Simraongarh a 'monstrous artefact' as he did with one of
the famous fortified settlements he excavated in Europe (Hawkes 1982, 163). Although we don’t
not expect that the stratigraphy and history of the defenses of Simraongarh could be reconstructed
with only 1 or 2 trenches, the work carried out in 1992 allowed us to gather preliminary but
valuable information.
1.2.5.2 Simroungarh
Simraongarh is a very large site located about 26 0 55' N, 850 10'E (TPC H-9C) exactly at the
border between India and Nepal. The site is approximately 25 km south-east of Birgunj and
belongs to the Bara district in the Mid-Eastern Terai region of Nepal at south, the main rampart
of the city forms the border line with the state of Bihar.
It is well known that Simraongarh was the capital of an independent Hindu Kingdom flourishing
in the region called Mithila or Tirhut, until the short-lived political unification of great part of
India and Bengal under the Tughluqs of Delhi. The history of Simraongarh is tied to a dynasty of
Kings from Karnataka which ruled this region from 1097 AD (the year in which Nanyadeva
declared himself a ruler) to 1326, when the defenses were stormed and the city was conquered by
an Islamic army lead by Ghyasuddin Tughluq on his way back from a raid in Bengal defeating
the then ruling. Harasimhadeva, the last king of Simroungarh was able to escape his life after the
final destruction of the city, fleeing towards the forest and the mountains. In spite of his death,
his family through complex political events, was somehow able to gain influence in the courts of
Kathmandu valley, and eventually connected itself to the rising power of the Mallas.
Because of the frequent military attacks and political interference of Simraongarh in the politics
of the valley of Kathmandu between the 12th and the early 14th centuries, as well as for the
influence of the refugees from Mithila, the Karnata kings were later recognized as 'rulers' of
Nepal, and the Mallas made a conscious attempt at manipulating the official royal genealogies,
32
claiming a direct descent from Nanyadeva and Harasimhadeva. According to several authors, the
influence of the orthodox Hindu culture brought by the refugees from Mithila is still evident in
many aspects of the social and religious life of the Kathmandu valley (e.g: Joshi 1983: 27, Mishra
1988; Shaha 1989: 47). Still today, Taleju Bhavani, the deity traditionally considered to have
been the household goddess of the Karnatas of Simraongarh is a prominent deity of the valley of
Kathmandu (Singh and Gunand 1966: 118; Joshi 1983; Mishra 1988).
In spite of the great importance of Simraongarh in the history of Nepal; not much is presently
known of its archaeology and history. Historical sources dating to the times of Simraongarh are
few and not very informative, but relatively coherent. Some Islamic manuscripts report the
circumstances of the final defeat of Harasimhadeva and the destruction of Simraongarh.
1.2.5.3 A trench through the main defense rampart
The ruins of Simraongarh are still enclosed within an impressive system of earthen ramparts and
in filled ditches. The main enclosure measures about 7.5 km in direction north-south, and about
4.5km in direction west-east. The ground plan of this fortification resembles an irregular rectangle
with the major sides oriented in direction north-south. The corners of the rectangular fortress have
symmetrical projections in form of huge rectangular bastions. As we shall show, the city ramparts
at west and east were built over two parallel natural embankments emerging from the floodplain,
oriented north-south. On the south side of the fortress, the international boundary between India
and Nepal runs at the foot of the main inner rampart, and here part of the earthen walls remains
in Indian territories. The main feature of the fortification system is an inner rampart, which in
some points still rises more than 6-7m high. The remnants of the rampart are distinguished by the
presence of a wall built with fired bricks, now buried in some points showing regular projections.
Unfortunately, most of this imposing structure has been mined for recovering bricks, and only
small patches of undisturbed stratigraphy were left for study.
33
The site of Simroungarh, most probably, was exploited in early times because of its favorable
topographic setting, the medieval capital was built on the base of a well-planned urban and
hydrographic project, and the reconstruction of the original course of the river and its
relationships with the walls, the ditches and the inner citadels, gardens, ponds and fields is a
primary aim of our future investigations. Given the almost complete destruction of the fired brick
wall of the main rampart, we decided to carry out in 1992 a short rescue intervention for recording
its techniques of construction and if possible, its chrono-stratigraphically setting. The trench we
excavated was 70 X 3 m long, and was oriented according a pre-existing agricultural cut in the
wall. As we tried to respect as much as we could the integrity of the monument our section
34
resulted slightly oblique to the local axis of the wall, with an orientation of 62 degree in direction
north-north east. The excavation took about 2 weeks and the employment of 30 workers. The
maximum depth of the archaeological deposits was 4.5m in the center of the bank.
1.2.5.3.1 SMG -4: the archaeological sequence of the main rampart
The main phases of building, life, restoration and abandonment of the rampart we could recognize
are represented as separate blocks, in which time moves from the base to the upper part of the
diagram. In the following description, the various stratigraphic units are simply identified by their
field number enclosed in parenthesis.
1.2.5.3.2 Natural substratum and possible traces of a pre-defense settlement

The natural substratum below the rampart is a ridge of sand and silty sand slightly protruding
from the present floodplain formed by layers. On the top of this natural ridge we could observe
the residues of the natural soil. We are dealing with the remains of light wooden structures; no
bricks were observed in these layers. Apparently, later the site was abandoned, and another
natural soil developed on the site.
1.2.5.3.3 The rampart: first phase of construction

The surface of the ridge seems to have been prepared through an extensive removal of the surface
sediments. The inner core of the rampart in its first phase of construction is formed by a regular
sequence of pile layers of sand alternating with silty sand. The alternance of lenses of sand with
layers of silty sand is a well-known technique for this type of structures in fluvial environments.
1.2.5.3.4 The main ditch

All the material used for the construction of the rampart, first phase was formed by natural
sediments excavated from the main ditch in front of it. As expectable, the exposure of the ditch
due to weathering, growth of vegetation and surrounding human activities caused a progressive
filling, but, as we said, it was impossible to observe the lowermost filling soaked with water. A
residual layer we ascribed to this early process of filling. Interestingly, we have evidence of large
roots and other forms of biological disturbance penetrating in ancient times within these erosive
formations, suggesting that trees were maintained in the strip between the rampart and the ditch.
1.2.5.3.5 The rampart and the main ditch: second phase of construction
After an unknown interval of time, the structure was partially leveled and rebuilt. This is revealed
by a series of extensive negative interfaces marking the removal of the topmost parts of the
rampart. The study of the structural features of the new wall showed that it had been erected
simultaneously with the deposition of a new series of thick, extended lenses of sandy silt.
35
1.2.5.3.6 The outer ditch
At west, about 15m west of the western side of the main ditch, our section cut another small ditch,
the first of the concentric series of secondary earthen ramparts mapped on surface and visible on
the aerial pictures. We may also presume that the earth excavated from this second feature was
piled into a secondary rampart, at west or east, unfortunately the recent agricultural
transformations removed any positive evidence.
1.2.5.3.7 Life, destruction and decay of the rampart and the ditches
Outside the face of the fired bricks wall, on the top of the rampart, at west, units represent as
many surfaces of trampling and/ or partial erosion connected with human activities along the
fortification. The process of erosion and partial decay of the rampart continued with more
intensity with layers in which fragments of bricks become larger and more common, as well as
other erosive surfaces. In our reconstruction, we assumed that, in a given moment the fortress had
to be captured, and the walls were partially destroyed.
1.2.5.3.8 A period of abandonment

After the destruction and the early stages of erosion this area was abandoned and in time natural
soils could develop on the ruins of the rampart and on the surface of the partially in filled ditches.
Later human interventions had the effect of cancelling great part of the sedimentological evidence
of this phase of pedogenesis.
1.2.5.3.9 The recent agricultural phase

In relatively recent times, the whole area underwent large-scale, radical transformation. Our
observations suggest that large portions of the earthen structures (particularly outside the residues
of the main rampart) were leveled, the ditches were finally filled, and extensive portions of land
were cultivated. On the eastern side of the rampart, layer represents the result of activities of
excavation and re-deposition, aimed at making space for a pathway running all along the
structure.
1.2.6 Concluding remarks

In summary, the section revealed that in this area of Simraongarh a settlement was established on
a natural ridge before the site was protected with a massive system of rampart and ditches.
Unfortunately, during the excavation of our section very few postherds were found in the layers
below the rampart. They are currently under study, but they do not seem to be very informative
from a typological point of view, nor did we find charcoal that could be used for a C14 date.
As no archaeological materials were found within the cores of the rampart, for the moment we
may just limit ourselves to hypothesize that the ramparts and ditches were built during the power
36
of the Karnataka dynasty i.e. in the period of time from 1097 to 1326, and tentatively attribute
the destruction of this part of the fort to the army of Ghyasuddin Tughluq.
We stress that in the present state of our research, the chronology of Simraongarh is still a very
open question, and could reserve in the future unexpected discoveries. The trenches seem to have
been used as dumping and drainage facilities for substantial brick-constructed houses, almost
completely destroyed by later brick robbing pits. Traces of wooden posts and planks were
identified within the trenches, suggesting that they were maintained and periodically cleaned. 2
layers rich in charcoal were sampled for radiocarbon dating; they came respectively from the top
of one of the pit structures of Horizon 2 and from the bottom of the trenches immediately above.
In this light, our first work hypothesis is that the two phases of construction of the rampart and
its ditches could actually be contemporary with the evidence of settlement at Raniwas, i.e.
contemporary with the period historically associated with the Karnata kings. Future research on
the fortification and the cultural centers of the city will enable us to verify or disprove this
hypothesis, as well as to ascertain the absolute chronology of the pre-rampart settlements.
(Vidale, Balista & Torrieri, 1993, pp. 12-26)
37
1.3 Base Maps and Graphical Representations for Existing Site Study
Figure 10: Base Map of Simroungarh showing major road access, ponds, green areas and monuments
1.4 Study Area: Simroungarh

Simroungarh is a town of great historical importance. To stop the ongoing trend and to develop
the town in a planned way the land use plan is regarded as one of important step. For this purpose,
available resources have to mobilized in a planned way. First and foremost, the attention should
be given to the limited land resources around the core area, which have to be utilized
economically and in a planned way.
38
Simroungarh as an entity is regarded as an example of a typical Terai settlement influenced with
its history from the Kartnataka period. The boundary has been taken into account spreading from
the stretch joining Ranibas and Kankali temples.
We divided Simroungarh into different priority area for our study. The zoning of area is the basis
for public investment in restoration and conservation works. For these zones various rules and
regulations for building design and use of material are applied.
1.4.1 Monumental Area – A:

This zone constitutes of agglomeration of objects of utmost architectural and archaeological
values surrounding the Kankali Temple.
1.4.2 Monumental Area – B:

This zone constitutes of agglomeration of objects of utmost architectural and archaeological
values surrounding the Ranibas Temple.
1.4.3 Transitional Area – C:

This zone constitutes of streets, places and buildings bordering these streets which interconnect
A and B zones. They show characteristics like ratio of streets size to height of buildings and
reflect the cultural and economic activities of the area. The boundaries of zones are shown in the
attached map ‘conception of preservation’.
1.2.4 Vehicular & Pedestrian Movement of Site
Main road from Kalaiya to
Local road of Simraungadh
Road from Kalaiya to Ranibas Temple

Vechicular Roads
Pedestrian Roads
Figure 11: Vehicular and Pedestrian Access in Simraungadh
Source:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IuriCqX0tE
39
The main vehicular road that connects Simraungadh area with main highway is Nahar road that
is connected from Kalaiya to Simraungadh. Simraungadh lies at the Indo Nepal Border and has
advantage of trade between both countries through major road access. The major road axis of
Ranibas to Kankali stretch is studied in this report for further development which is explained
below separately. The main stretch is the lively street which connects various aspects of people’s
day to day livelihood and is our major focus for future.
Way To Kankali
To Hariharpur
To Naykatola
To Khajani
F RANIBAS STRETCH
To Khajani
Janaki Temple
40
WORK
STREETS OF RANIWAS STRETCH
MAIN STREET
INNER STREET
Ram and Janaki Temple
41
Way To Kankali
PEDESTRIANFLOW
Ram and Janaki Temple

42
Heritage Zone
Residential Zone
Commercial Zone
Institutional
Public Space
Agricultural Area
Forest Area
AY TO KANKALI
Figure 12: Existing Land Use Map of Simraungadh(Kankali-Raniwas )
1.2.5 Landuse
1.2.5.1 Heritage Zone:

The most important religious, architectural, archaeological items have to be declared as ‘National
Monument’ by the Department of Archaeology.
The basis for the decision will be:
• ‘Inventory of Simroungarh’ provided in annex.
• ‘Value assessment’ also provided in annex.
ef}lts k"jf{wf/
:jfldTj ljz]iftf -wfld{s,
j8f glhssf] ahf/ aflif{s ko{6s
:ynsf] gfd ;8ssf] kx'Fr xf]6n, nh, -gLlh, klAns;fF:s[lts, P]ltxfl;s,
gDa/ s]Gb| ;Ddsf] b'/L cfudg ;+Vof
-k'u]sf]÷gk'u]sf]_ /]i6'/fF ;+Vof ln=, ;fd'bflos_ ko{6sLo/ cGo_
lsdL_
vhfgL ef]n]gfy 1 k'u]sf] 0 1 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 30
g/xL dfO{ dlGb/ 1 k'u]sf] 0 1 ;fd'bflos P]ltxfl;s 102
/fgLjf;
2 k'u]sf] 1 0 ;fd'bflos P]ltxfl;s 280
dlGb/,cd[tu+h
sjn]Zj/L dfO{
2 k'u]sf] 0 1 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 50
dlGb/
;+;f/L dfO{ dlGb/ 2 k'u]sf] 0 1 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 500
A|fxd afaf dlGb/ 2 k'u]sf] 0 1 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 10
Ems8 afaf dlGb/ 2 k'u]sf] 0 1 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 40
thlab'n s'/fg
3 k'u]sf] 0 1 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 80
d:hLb ,lsz'gk'/
A|fxd afaf dlGb/ 3 k'u]sf] 0 1 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 50
xg'dfg dlGb/ 4 k'u]sf 0 3 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 110
Dfxfb]j dlGb/ 4 k'u]sf 1 0 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 1100
>L/fd hfgsL d7 5 k'u]sf 0 3 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 70
v'6jf dfO{ dlGb/ 5 k'u]sf 0 2 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 22
A|fxd afaf dlGb/ 5 k'u]sf 0. 1 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 15
s+sfnL dlGb/
6 k'u]sf 1 0 ;fd'bflos P]ltxfl;s 301
,l;d|f}gu9
a|xd afaf dlGb/ 7 k'u]sf 0 1 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 35
xg'dfg dlGb/,srf]jf{ 8 k'u]sf 0 1 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 40
b'lwof dfO{ dlGb/ 8 k'u]sf 0 0 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 250
43
ef}lts k"jf{wf/
:jfldTj ljz]iftf -wfld{s,
j8f glhssf] ahf/ aflif{s ko{6s
:ynsf] gfd ;8ssf] kx'Fr xf]6n, nh, -gLlh, klAns;fF :s[ lts, P] ltxfl;s,
gDa/ s]Gb| ;Ddsf] b'/L cfudg ;+Vof
/] i6' /fF ;+ V of ln=, ;fd' b flos_ ko{6sLo/ cGo_
-k'u]sf]÷gk'u]sf]_
lsdL_
z}n]z dlFb/ 8 k'u]sf 0 0 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 0
b'uf{ dfO{ dlGb/ 8 k'u]sf 1 0 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 600
Afaf lbgaGw'gfy
8 k'u]sf 1 0 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 250
dlGb/
lzj dlGb/ 9 k'u]sf 0 1 ;fd'bflos wfld{s 20
e}/a dlGb/ 10 k'u]sf] 0 0 ;fd'bflos Wfld{s 30
l8pl8jf/Lg dlGb/ 10 k'u]s 0 0 ;fd'bflos Wfld{s 20
a/xd :yfg dlGb/ 10 Gfk'u]sf] 0 1 ;fd'bflos Wfld{s 10
lji0f' dlGb/ 10 k'u]sf] 0 0 ;fd'bflos Wfld{s 30
z}n]Zj/ dlGb/ 10 k'u]sf] 0 1 ;fd'bflos Wfld{s 10
lzj kfj{lt dlGb/ 11 k'u]sf] 0 1 ;fd'bflos ;fF:s[lts 40
tn]h' ejfgL dlGb/ k'u]sf] 0 1 ;fd'blos wfld{s

sf]O{nf dg k'u]sf] 0 1.5 ;fd'bflos P]ltxfl;s
Figure 13: Ownership of Heritage Monuments in Simroungarh provided by Simroungarh Municipality
1.2.5.2 Residential Area:

The residential zone includes typical traditional residential buildings of more than 100 years old
as well as newer ones of R.C.C. which do not resemble the original architecture of the region.
The zone includes buildings of different built material and construction technology.
1.2.5.3 Commercial Area:

The buildings near the heritage zone along the Main street facilitated commercial activities with
array of activities. The buildings however do not represent the typical architectural characters.
1.2.5.4 Institutional Area:

The institutional areas classify into administration, education and health sector. The
administration area is mostly concentrated in Zone – A including municipality office, police
station, NEA office, etc. while it was sparse in zone – B and Zone – C. The conservation area has
number of secondary level schools, a higher secondary school, private clinics, etc.
1.2.5.5 Public Space:

The public space in the case of Simroungarh includes Haat bazaars in Zone – A and Zone – B,
large play grounds near the old settlement of zone – A, an open public area on the west side of
Ishara pond where major festivals like Chath and public programs are organised.
44
1.2.5.6 Agricultural Area:
About 99.22% of the overall Simroungarh Municipality is agricultural land and tree plantations
are found near Ranibas Temple Complex. The agricultural area
surrounds the central settlements and heritage area.
Moist practically at all times and with abundant vegetation have a high
content of organic matter. If well drained, they are very fertile. Double
rice, winter, summer and spring maize, wheat, potato, mango, lichi, jack
fruit, citrus, wild vegetables, off-season vegetables, tropical vegetable
seed, cash crops and food crops are cultivated.
Also, the vegetation and agriculture are done showing
textures and patterns. The textures are
differentiated with different plants and crops which show
Figure 14: Vegetations found in settlements during site observation

Figure 15: Pattern of vegetation farming in settlements of Simroungarh
beautiful texture of the agricultural crops. This is also tradition showing intangible heritage of the
area.
1.2.5.7 Forest Area:

The forest area is limited to the proximity of Kankali and Ranibas temple – two sides. The Forest
area on the east side of Ishara pond is used for animal grazing and certain portion of it used as
cemetery. While the forest area on the north of Ranibas temple includes the archaeological
excavation site and certain portion of it is dedicated for mango farming by the government.
45
Trees: Pipal, Simal, Tulsi, Sisau, Bar, Peepal, Rudraksh, Mango,
Banyan, etc.
Birds: Silli, Gairi, Lalsal, Dummar etc. (The map of potential

Vegetation in Nepal, 2005)
Figure 16`: Varieties of trees near heritage complexes and settlements
46
BUILDING FOOTPRINT OF RANIWAS STRECTH
Ram Janaki Temple
47
BUILDING TYPOLOGY OF RANIWAS STRETCH
BUILDING FOOTPRINT
Total No. of Buildings =103
(NOT TO SCALE)
Number
61
40 Ram Janaki Temple
Way To Kankali
1.2.6 Infrastructures & Services
Simroungarh municipality consists every infrastructures and
facilities that a town need.
1. Municipality Office
2. Banks and Corporative (Sahakari)
3. Police Station
Figure 20:Carpentry
4. Small scale industries:
Cold Milk Production, Fish farming, Carpentry, etc.
5. Cattle farming
6. Electric and Digital Shops
7. Restaurants
8. Water Tanks & Canals
9. Youth Clubs and Women Clubs
Figure 21: Cattle farming
Figure 19: Youth Club Under

Construction Figure 19: Municipality Office Figure 19: Irrigation and Fishing Office
48
2 Sociodemographic of Simroungarh
2.1 General information
 Zone: Narayani
 District: Bara
 Ancient name: Simara - Vangada
 Area: 20.2 sq.km
 Populatio: 24,615 (2011)
 Restoration: Nanya Dev (11th century)
 Destroyed: 14th century
Simroungarh was the fortified city and an ancient capital of the Tirhut Kingdom founded by
Karnat Kshatriya King Nanyadeva in 1097. Presently it is a municipality of Nepal, located in
Bara District, Province No. 2. The municipality was created in 2014 by agglomerating the Village
Development Committees of Amritganj, Golaganj, Hariharpur, and Uchidia. The city is located
along the border between India and Nepal. It lies 90 km south of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, and
28 km east of Birgunj metro city.
The name Simraon comes from the local language Simra which stands for Simal tree found in the
area. Simraongarh's relationship with the Simal forest has been also revealed by Gopal Raj
Vamshavali, the oldest chronicles of Nepal. The Tibetan monk and traveler, Dharmasavamin
states Simrāongarh as Pa-ta. The word Pata is an abbreviation of the last affix of 'Pattana', which
means capital in the Sanskrit language.
Simraongarh was the capital of an independent Hindu kingdom of the Mithila or Tirhut from the
11th century to early 14th century. The fortified city was built along the present-day border
between India and Nepal. The rule of the Karnata dynasty marks an important milestone and a
golden age in the history of Tirhut. The rise of this empire saw the birth of efficient
administration, social reforms, religious and the development of local folk music and literature.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simraungadh
49
2.2 Ethnicity & Religion
Musli
Musalman 12
m
Chamar/Ram 1
Barahi 1
unknown 1
Sonar 1
Teli 1
Ranjan 1
Hajam 2
Kurmi 3
Dalit 3
ETHNICITY
Hindu
Paishwan 3
Chauhan/ Rajput 4
Tharu 5
Sudhi 5
Tatma 6
Kanu 7
Brahman 9
Kalwar 10
Koiri 18
0 5 10 15 20
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
Among the total no. of respondents (n=93), the higest nuber of individuals follow Hinduism
(87.09%), 12.90 % follow Islam, who are of Musalman ethnicity, while followers of other
religions are not present. Among the Hindus, the highest number of respondents were Koiri who
have surnames Kushwaha, Prasad, and Devi. There were10 Jaiswal Kalwars, 9 Brahmans with
Thakur, Sharma and Pandit surnames, 7 Kanus with surnames Kanu, Shah and Gupta, 6 Das
Tatma people, 5 Mahato Sudhi and 5 Singh and Biswas Tharus. There were 4 Kumar Rajputs and
3 Paishwans with sur names Paishwan and Kali, 3 Mukhiya Dalits, 3 Prasad Kurmis, and 2 Thakur
Hajams. There were 1 each of Chamar, Barahi, Sonar and Teli. There was a Ranjan and one
unknown individual. There were 12 Musalmans with sur names Ansari, Khatun, Mohammed and
Siddhiqui.
50
2.3 Languages spoken
Maithili 2
English 6
LANGUAGES SPOKEN
Hindi 43
Nepali 48
Bhojpuri 92
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
Bhojpuri 34
Nepali, Bhojpuri, Hindi 25
Nepali, Bhojpuri 14
LANGUAGES
Bhojpuri, Hindi 11
Nepali, Bhojpuri, Hindi, English 6
Maithili 1
Nepali, Bhojpuri, Maithili 1
Nepali, Bhojpuri, Hindi, Maithili 1
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
The above first graph on linguistic characteristic of the respondents defines that Bhojpuri
(98.90%) is the highest speaking language followed by Nepali (51.61%) and Hindi (46.23%).
Few number of people also speak English (6.45%) and Maithili (2.15%). From the second graph,
it is well-defined that there is large no. of multilingual people (62.36%). Almost all respondents
spoke Bhojpuri (92) while only 1 individual spoke only Maithili.
51
2.4 Gender
Male 84
GENDER
Female 9
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
Out of total no. of respondents, 90.32% were male and 9.68% female. The majority of the
respondents were above 20 yrs. of age. Out of the female respondents, 2 of them belonged to
Muslim community while the rest 7 were Paishwan, Koiri, Sudhi and Hajam.
52
2.5 Family type & size
20 19
18
16 15
14
12
10
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
8 7
6
6 5
4
4 3 3 3 3
2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0
unknown
5
7
6
4
8
3
15
9
8
12
10
6
9
16
15
5
11
7
26
19
25
20
35
18
14
4
13
unknown Nuclear Joint
FAMILY TYPE AND SIZE
unknown
NO. OF FAMILY MEMBERS
Above 30
26 - 30
21 - 25
16 - 20
11 - 15
6 - 10
Below 5
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Above
Below 5 6 - 10 11 - 15 16 - 20 21 - 25 26 - 30 unknown
30
Joint family 3 21 12 6 1 2 1 0
Nuclear family 22 9 1 0 0 0 0 0
unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15
NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS
In the surveyed area, majority of people live in joint family which is half of the total surveyed
population while 34% of people live in nuclear family. The highest family member is 35 which
is a joint family. Most of the family i.e. 21 families have 5 family members.
53
2.6 Location
70
62
60
50
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
40
30 28
20
10
2
0
Simroungadh Amritgunj Janaki Nagar
SURVEY LOCATIONS
The survey conducted in Simroungarh can be divided into 3 ward areas. Two third of the
respondents were from Simroungadh-2 (66.67 %). There were 30.10% of respondents from
Amritgunj and 2.15% from Janaki Nagar.
54
2.7 No. of Children & elderly (>60 yrs.)
unknown 7
20 1
15 1
10 2
9 4
NO. OF CHILDREN
8 1
7 6
6 2
5 10
4 11
3 17
2 11
1 5
0 15
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
NO. OF HOUSEHOLD
unknown
3
NO. OF ELDERLY ABOVE 60 YRS.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
NO. OF HOUSEHOLD
The highest no. of children in a family was 20. Maximum number of household (18.27 %) had 3
number of children, while following this number, 16.12% of household had no children. 11.82%
of household had 2 and 4 number of children each while 10.75% of household had 5 children.
There were 7 households with unknown number of children due to lack of information.
Highest number of households had 1 elderly person of above 60 yrs. This is only one third of the
total household, as 31.18% had no elderly of above 60 yrs. 13.97% of household had unknown
number of such elderly people while the highest number of elderlies was 3 which were present in
2 of the households. 18.27% of household had 2 number of elderlies above 60 yrs. of age.
55
2.8 Occupation
Trade/Business 34
Agriculture, Trade/Business 34
Agriculture 12
OCCUPATION
Service 5
Agriculture, Service 3
Agriculture, Trade/Business, Service 3
Service, Trade/Business 2
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
NO. OF HOUSEHOLDS
Of the total number of households (n=93) surveyed, the largest number (n=34) are involved solely
in trade/business and an equal number of households (n=34) are involved in trade/business along
with agriculture. 5 households are involved in service solely as an occupation while 3 households
engage in service along with agriculture. The number of households involved in agriculture,
service as well as trade is 3 and the rest work in service as well as business.
Service 13
OCCUPATION
Agriculture 52
Trade/Business 73
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
NO. OF HOUSEHOLDS
Majority of the respondents (52.9%) are involved in trade or business as most of the surveyed
area was along the road where many buildings had shops in them. A large group of people
(37.68%) are involved in agriculture while a few (9.42%) are involved in the service sector as
well.
56
2.9 Monthly Income and Expenditure
40
35
30
25
NO. OF HOUSEHOLD
20
15
10
0
Above Rs. Rs. 20,001 - Rs. Rs. 10,001 - Rs. Below Rs.
unknown
30,000 30,000 20,000 10,000
Monthly Income 37 16 19 8 13
Monthly Expenditure 29 17 24 13 7
Maximum number of households are found to have income as well as expenditure of more than
Rs. 30,000. On the whole, 39.78% of household earn monthly income of above Rs. 30,000 while
17.2% earn Rs.20,0001 to Rs. 30,000 monthlies. 20.43% household have Rs.10,0001 to Rs.
20,000 monthly incomes and 8.6% household have monthly income of less than Rs. 10,000.
Similar to monthly income, the maximum number household (31.18%) have the highest of
monthly expenditure, which is over Rs. 30,000. After that, 20.43% of household have monthly
expenditure of Rs.10,0001 to Rs. 20,000 while 18.27% of house hold have Rs.20,0001 to Rs.
30,000 monthly expenditures. 13.97% of household have monthly expenditure of below Rs.
10,000.
57
2.10 Land area & Ownership
35
30
25
20
NO. OF LAND
15
10
0
5.5 - 20
Below 1.65 - 5.5 1-3 3 - 5.5 5.5 kattha Above 1 unknown
dhur/1
1.65 dhur dhur kattha kattha - 1 bigha bigha land area
kattha
unknown ownership 5 3 4 2 4 4 1 4
Private land 4 7 7 3 2 1 0 1
Guthi land 16 20 3 0 1 0 0 0
In the survey with overall respondents (n = 93), most of the land under Guthi’s ownership is of
areas smaller than 1 kattha (3645.0 sq. ft.). Majority of the households (32.26%) have lands more
than 1.65 dhur but less than 5.5 dhur. About 26.88% of households consist of lands below 1.65
dhur and about 15.05% of households are in land area more than 5.5 dhur but less than 1 kattha.
5.38% of households owned land above one but less than 3 kattha and 12.9% of households have
land more than 3kattha and less than 1 bigha. Only 1.08% household own land more than 1 bigha
and privately owned.
Majority of the land (43.01%) is owned by Guthi. Only 26.88% of land is privately owned.
2.11 Building style and Storey
58
Single Storeyed Two Storeyed Three Storeyed Customized Traditional Traditional Modern
80
72
70
60 54
NUMBER OF BUILDINGS
50
40
30
30
18
20
9
10
2
0
Number of Storey Building Style
BUILDNG CHARACTER
Majority of the buildings in the area (77.4%) are single storied. A number of buildings are
(19.34%) two storied and three storied buildings are lesser in number (2.15%). In case of building
style, a number of buildings are constructed in ‘modern style’, a style which deviates from the
local traditional architecture in both appearance and use of materials with the use of materials
such as reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and bricks have in the construction. Overall, majority
of the buildings (58%) along the street have a modern style, also in considerable number (32.29%)
are built in traditional style and the rest (9.68%) are customized traditional.
59
2.12 Building materials
50 46
45
40
NUMBER OF BUILDINGS
35
30
25
20 18
15
10
10
4 4 5
5 1 1 2 2
0
Brick, Brick, Brick, Bamboo, Brick, Bamboo, Brick, Bamboo Brick, Brick
Bamboo, Bamboo, Bamboo, Others Wood Wood Bamboo Others
Others Wood, Wood
Others
BUILDING MATERIALS
In the overall observation (n=93), the most common used material is brick (57.04%), the locally
found material bamboo is also used widely (18.5%) and a number of buildings also show the use
of wood (8.15%) mainly for doors and windows. The other materials used for construction in the
area are materials such as khapada or khar for roofing in the traditional buildings. Mud is also
extensively used for mortar, plaster and building wall along with bamboo. Other materials also
include reinforced concrete and metal (steel or aluminum) frame in modern styled buildings.
Brick is the most prominent building material and is used along with a number of other materials
90
80 77
70
NUMBER OF BUILDIMGS
60
50
40
30 25
22
20
11
10
0
Wood Others Bamboo Brick
BUILDING MATERIALS
such as bamboo, wood, reinforced concrete etc. Other than brick, bamboo is also used in
combination with mud and sometimes wood for construction.
60
2.13 Building age and technology
Load Bearing Structure Frame Structure Others

0 to 10 years old 11 to 20 years old 21 to 30 years old
31 to 40 years old 41 to 50 years old Above 50 to 100 years old
Unknown
50 47
45 40
NUMBER OF BUILDINGS
40
35
28 28
30
25
20 15
15
10 6 6 7 6
3
5
0
Age of Building Building Technology
BUILDING CHARACTER
It is found that majority of buildings (50.5%) are framed structures while a number of buildings
are load bearing structures and the rest are other structures such as bamboo and mud structures.
Most of the framed buildings are found near the market area near both Kankali and Ranibas
temples while majority of buildings are load bearing farther along the road form the markets.
Majority of the buildings are recently built (60.22%) being up to 20 years old and remaining
majority (29.03%) are older than 20 but less than 50 years old. A few buildings (7.52%) are older
than 50 but up to 100 years old.
2.14 Building use
Among the total number of buildings (n=93) observed, It is seen in both the original and current
use of the buildings, majority of buildings along the road are used as shops. The number of
buildings used as shops have increased from 51.6% to 55.9%. The number of buildings used as
residence with inclusion of shop has also increased from 11.8% to 13.9%. Buildings with sole
purpose as residence have decreased in number from 24.7% to 20.43%. The number health post
61
buildings have increased from 1.08% to 2.15%. Interestingly, 2 buildings being used as residence
as well as health post in them are found.
Residence Shop
Residence with Shop Health Post
Others Unknown
Residence with health post
60
52
50 48
NUMBER OF BUILDINGS
40
30
23
19
20
13
11
10 7
5
3 2 2
1
0
Original Use Current Use
BUILDING USE
2.15 Water supply conditions

In the overall samples observed (n=93), about 79.57% have water supply at home or nearby while
the rest 20.43% do not have water supply available. Among the ones with water supply 66.21%
have water supply at home and 33.78% get the water from community taps. Maximum number
of households (34.4%) have private tube wells as their water source. 32.26% households have
water supply from the Kankali community water tank while 4.3% have private tube wells as water
supply from the Kankali community water tank. Many households with no water supply get water
from their neighbors with 21.5% of households sharing other’s tube wells or taps.
62
Yes, at home
Yes, at community tap
No
Unknown
Private Tube well
Kankali Community Water Tank
Shared with Neighbors/ Community Tap
60 49
NUMBER OF BUILDINGS
50
40 32 30
30 25
19 20
20
4 6
10 0 1
0
Yes No Supply
Water Well Managed
Availability Rarely Managed Unmanaged Unavailable
Water Source
WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS
60
51 52
50
41
NUMBER OF BUILDINGS
40
30
20
20
14
10 8
0
Condition of Drainage Drainage Availability
DRAINAGE CONDITIONS
Majority of the buildings (55.9%) do not have drainage facilities. Among the ones with access to
drainage, majority (47.62%) find the drainage unmanaged, a few buildings’ respondents
(19.05%) find it as rarely managed and the rest (33.33%) report it as well managed.
2.16 Electricity availability and Alternative energy source

The field survey demonstrates that out of the total respondents, (n=93), about 96.8% are
facilitated by electricity from national grid whereas 2.6% respondents are deprived of this facility.
63
Solar Biomass Others Not Available
70
60 58
50
NUMBER OF BUILDINGS
40
30 28
20
10 5
4
0
ENERGY SOURCES
From National Grid No Electricity
100
90
90
80
70
NUMBER OF BUILDINGS
60
50
40
30
20
10
2.4
0
ELECTRICITY AVAILABILITY
Most of the buildings (62.37) do not have any form of alternative energy source. Very few of the
buildings (5.37%) have biomass energy and some buildings (4.3%) have solar panels as a source
of alternative energy.
2.17 Communication media
Television Radio Telephone Internet Others
90
81
80
70
BER OF BUILDINGS
60
64
50
40
Majority of buildings have telephone or mobile phones as a means of communication. The second
popular communication media is television. Fair number of buildings have internet and radio as
well. Other medium such as the postal service is also used in a few buildings.
Telephone or moblie phone only Radio only

Television with radio, telephone or internet Others
60 57
50
NUMBER OF BUILDINGS
40
30
20 15
10
3 4
0
COMMUNICATION MEDIA
Of the buildings that responded affirmative to have communication media, most of the buildings
(72.15%) use telephone or mobile phones as communication media. A few buildings (3.79%)
have only radio as a means of communication. A number of buildings (18.99%) have television
with radio and/or telephone and/or internet for communication. Very few buildings (5.06%) use
other services such as post for communication.
65
2.18 Shop’s source of goods and storage
Birgunj Birgunj and Kalaiya Birgunj, Kalaiya and India

Birgunj and India Birgunj and Others Local Market
Unknown Yes and within the building No
40 38
35
NUMBER OF BUILDINGS
30
25 23
19
20
15
11 10
9 9
10
5 6 5
5
0
Source of goods Storage space
SHOP CHARACTERS
Simroungarh is a centre for goods whose sources are neighbouring cities and county India. Most
of the shops have their goods imported from Birgunj. The majority (33.82%) mention their goods
mostly imported from Birgunj and Kalaiya only. 13.23% import their goods from Birgunj only
and the same number of shops source their goods form Birgunj, Kalaiya and India. Few shops
such that sell products as the sweets, vegetables buy their goods from the local market. Other
sources such as Kathmandu are also mentioned by some shops that sell medicines, stationery etc.
Of the total number of buildings (n=67) with any sort of shop in them, majority (56.72%) do not
have a designated storage space for the shop. About 28.36% shops have a storage space within
the shop building.
2.19 Shop’s Service time and Type of Customer
66
Morning to evening Daytime only All age group Except children Mostly male Mostly Female
45
41
40
35
30
NUMBER OF BUILDINGS
30
25 23
20
16
15
10
4
5
1
0
Service Time Type of Customer
SHOP'S SERVICE TIME AND CUSTOMERS
Majority of the shops (71.9%) open from morning to evening through the day and the rest
(28.07%) open during the daytime only. Most of the shops (51.72%) receive customers from all
age group and 39.66% of shops have customers of all age group except children.
3 Major issues of heritage deterioration of Simroungarh

We observed from our visit that Simroungarh is one of among religious and cultural heritage of
Nepal. Not only tangible monuments but also intangible heritages can be seen in Simroungarh
area. At today's time that monuments and heritages of the area are in condition of deterioration.
The reason behind the deterioration of heritage are explained below in different headings:
3.1 Temple complex:

Most of the traditionally built and historical temple buildings and structure are in condition of
deterioration. There are various factors that deteriorates the historical temple buildings like
Natural threat
i.: Reaction of the structure, external fabric, finishes and claddings to the atmospheric
elements such as: Wind, Rain, Sun, Frost and snow for cold weather, Pollution in the
atmosphere etc.
ii. Weather-related natural disasters such as heavy thunder, storms, mud/rock slides, severe
winter weather, avalanches, extreme high heat, droughts, and wildfires have taken a great
toll on humanity. Similarly, destructive have been the non-weather-related natural
disasters, such as earthquakes also play role in deterioration of historical buildings.
3.2 Human threat
i. Increase in population:
ii. Demand of people needs:
67
3.3 Socio-culture values:
Due to modernity in living and education in any heritage settlement, there is declination of their
socio-cultural beliefs, so happening to Simroungarh settlement. For example, there is culture of
worshipping 'Barhambaba and Satomai' in every morning and also at the initiation of any occasion
and festival of family or a society, but at present this tradition is not completely followed by
today's generation people. This may be due to lacking of knowledge of social and cultural value
of that tradition that need to be followed by generation to generation.
Also, there were use of Tam-tam (traditional vehicle driven by help of horse) which also
resembles socio-cultural values of Simroungarh settlement but at present that vehicle is replaced
by E-rickshaw the reason behind it can ease of using and also thought of people not to harm
animals.
3.4 Traditional Settlement & Building:

Being Simroungarh as a cultural and historical site, we observed from our visit that there are not
much more traditional settlements over there. In our conclusion, the main reason behind it is at
present people are more comfortable with today's technology of settlement. Also the lacking of
information about its importance is also key for its deterioration.
4 Descriptive Analysis and Discussions

4.1 Introduction to Tangible and Intangible Heritage of Simroungarh
4.2 Settlement of Simroungarh
In the ancient time it is believed that all the big settlement is used to be called as Fortress in terms
of security. Such fortresses were made even in the midst of the forest and were called as
‘Vanagadha’ or ‘Vanadurga’. The ancient name of Simroungarh is believed to be Simara-
vanagadha. Simara-Vangadha got it’s named from the forest of Simara. In the course of time the
term Simara-Vangadha is now pronounced as Simroungarh (Mountain, n.d.). Simroungarh area
68
is very important from the perspective of archeology. Even today, the local people believe that
there is a divine power in the reminiscent stones and statues of the area. Simroungarh is a place
that holds historic stories, religious myth and cultural belief. It can also be considered as city of
lakes. Including Ishara and Jharokhar pokhari there are many more other lakes that will make one
think how many lakes are there. The lakes have added beauty to Simroungarh.
People in Simroungarh lives in houses built from mud, bamboo and brick mostly. The house sees
little sunlight but enough fresh air that is fed through courtyard made at the center of houses,
which help to ventilate the home and send cooking smoke outside. For this reason, the rooms are
planned along the courtyard. In some family’s brothers share the house. Each brothers’ family
has a room. Similarly, each house has mud and bamboo built Bhakari which is used as the storage
for the family’s grains grown for the year. People there are involved in agriculture, market,
foreign employment for their livelihood. The streets of Simraungarh is another important aspect.
More than running vehicles and riding vehicles quite a lot of activities happens there. This
includes selling “paan” in small shops, vendor selling street food including eggs, sekwa, and tea,
selling vegetable and sweets. The street is busy mostly. The huge trees is another beautiful aspect
that people would find there. Apart from this the Kankali temple complex, the Ranibas heritage
complex and Hariharpur which is rich from the point of history, art and culture.
4.3 The Kankali Temple Complex

The Kankali Temple Complex bounds Kankali Mai temple, Mansaram Baba temple, Shiva
temple, Parvati temple, Vishowkarma temple, Old Vishnu temple, new Vishnu temple
construction, ruins of Pujari ghar and bhandar ghar, old and new store room, Mahanta room,
toilets. The Ishara pokhari is flowing in the east of the complex. The Kankali Mai temple is the
major monument of Simroungarh having square shaped plan built in Shikhara Style. The temple
is located in northwest of the complex. Originally the temple is believed to be constructed by
Mansa Ram Baba. The structure as we see today is believed to be reconstructed in 1967(James
Prinsep, 1835). To the northeast of the temple there is Old Vishnu temple and to the north there
is new Vishnu temple construction. The Vishowkarma temple is located in the northwest corner
of the complex that is to the north of Kankali Mai temple. The Mansa Ram Baba temple is located
in southeast of the complex which is domical in shape. It is believed that Mansa Ram Baba temple
is constructed before the Kankali Mai temple. Inside the temple, the crematory of Mansa Ram
Baba is placed at the center. The pair of the kharau is in front of the crematory, the kharau is
worshipped as Mansa Ram Baba. The kharau is replaced every year on Ram Nawami. And to the
west of Mansa Ram Baba temple there is Shiva temple. The Shiva temple is rectangular in shape
with tiered roof inside of which there are three Shiva linga. The Parbati temple is located in east
69
of the complex which is to the north of Mansa Ram Baba temple. The ruins of Pujari ghar and
Bhandar ghar are located at the northeast corner of the complex. The artifacts found are stored in
the new and old store room which are located in the southwest of the complex along the complex
boundary.
4.4 The Ranibas Heritage Complex

Historically it is believed that Prime Minister Junga Bahadur Rana built Ranibas temple for his
wife hence the heritage is named as Ranibas. Also, there is another belief that Ranas built the
place for their living hence it is known as Ranibas. But there is another myth which advocates
that the Prime Minister built the temple in an honor of a priest (sadhu baba) who saved his life
from snake bite while he was sleeping under the Bar tree. The Ranibas heritage complex consists
of Ramjanaki temple, Hanuman temple, Chardhoi pokhari, Krishna temple, Shiva temple, horse
stable, Sattal, Thunuwa ghar, well and archaeological site. The Ramjanaki temple, Hanuman
temple and Shiva temple is enclosed in Sattal.
Ranibas temple also known as Ramjanaki temple is believed to be built on the site where there
was already a Shiv linga. Originally the temple is believed to be constructed from wood but later
on Junga Bahadur Rana’s son Jeet Jung Rana renovated the temple and introduced brick in the
structure. The height of the temple is believed to be 9 haath taller than it is at present. Also, he
constructed the Chardhoi pokhari such that his mother would get luxurious life at an old age. The
literal meaning of Chardhoi pokhari in Nepali is Char means skin and dhoi means wash. The
pokhari is located in north of the Sattal.
The Hanuman temple is situated in front of the Ram Janaki Temple which is just after the entrance
through the Sattal. Inside the Hanuman temple, there is the shrines of Junga Bahadur Rana’s
family is worshipping the shrine of Ram Janaki. Also, the Shiva temple is situated in east part of
the complex just after the entrance through the Sattal. The Krishna Mandir is in ruin state where
niches and paintings can be found on its wall. Also, the shrine of Krishna Mandir is preserved in
Ram Janaki temple. The horse stable is located outside the Sattal in south direction. Similarlly
the well and Thunuwa ghar is located outside the Sattal in east direction.
The archaeological site is located at the southwest corner of the complex. The Italians excavated
the site and found archaeological objects but they acknowledged that the excavation was out of
their capacity. So, they reburied the site. After that Nepal Government marked the site as
archaeological site and restricted to human reach. Now mango trees are planted in the area and is
painted white.
70
4.5 Analysis of Tangible Heritage value
4.5.1 Material and technology used

4.5.1.1 Typical Housing Elements of Simroungarh
Settlement of Simroungarh has unique characteristics. Most of the house today are also preserving
vernacular identity of that place. Their house narrates their socio-cultural activities along with
traditional technology of building. We study typical house of that place which includes most of
the element, material and construction technology they use to built their homes. They are
describing as below.
4.5.1.1.1 Materials Used

4.5.1.1.1.1 Bamboo
As bamboo is easily available in that area, they use bamboo strips to build their wall. They have
local skill to build wall with bamboo. Bamboo wall creates a comfortable environment inside the
building during hot season as it is nature friendly. Bamboo are also used for rafters.
4.5.1.1.1.2 Mud
Mud is one of the indigenous materials of Simroungarh. They use it for making wall structure
and to smear in their floors. It provides smooth surface when floor is smeared using gobar.
Thermal comfort is maintaining well from the thickness of mud.
4.5.1.1.1.3 Brick
Brick is also used in the houses of Simroungarh. The burnt brick is being used in modern
buildings of that area. But brick has been in used from ancient period at Simroungarh. It is
believed that the ponds developed in Simroungarh during the process of brick manufacturing.
4.5.1.1.1.4 Planks
Planks are used in roofs before installing jhingati or khapada. It provides support for the roofing
elements and it also works as false ceiling. Some of the seating space outside are also built using
plans.
4.5.1.1.1.5 Timber
Timber is also used in the houses of Simroungarh. Mainly in making roof structure, timber are
used to make post. Timber is also used in lintel level and making doors and windows.
4.5.1.1.1.6 Khar
khar is used as roofing material. It avoids the penetration of rain water inside the room when
attached with bundle in roof. Its disadvantage is it have high risk of fire and it must be replaced
every four to five years.
71
4.5.1.1.1.7 Khapada
khapada is made up of clay and it is half cylindrical in shape. It is used as roofing element. And
it has more efficiency than thatch roof that is used before khapada.
4.5.1.1.2 Evolution in architecture of Simroungarh
4.5.1.1.2.1 Thatch roof with bamboo wall
The origin of Simroungarh architecture lies here with the use of
indigenous materials. The material used in this building are
bamboo, mud and thatch.
4.5.1.1.2.2 Thatch roof with brick wall Figure 22: Thatch Roof with Bamboo Wall
As time passed, the manufacture of brick started and people
started using bricks in their building to make more comfortable
living. Brick wall has to be less maintained comparatively with
bamboo wall.
4.5.1.1.2.3 Khapada roof with bamboo wall
Khapad roof is more durable than thatch roof. So, people started
using khapada with bamboo wall for more economic efficiency.
4.5.1.1.2.4 Khapada roof with brick wall Figure 23: Thatch Roof with Brick Wall
People found less security in bamboo wall. So, they started using
brick wall for thick wall because it provides thermal comfort as
well as security for the building.
4.5.1.1.2.5 Concrete roof with brick loadbearing wall
People started using concrete roof with loadbearing wall for
Figure 24: Khapad Roof With Bamboo Wall
more durable roof structure.
Figure 25: Kapada Roof With Brick Wall
4.5.1.1.2.6 Frame structure

Due to the maximum benefits of concrete, nowadays
most of the people use concrete frame structure building
if they are building new buildings. Figure 26: Frame Structure Building
4.5.2 Architecture of Ordinary/Local Vernacular Architecture

There is belief that human being inspired to built house after looking the way how bird built their
homes. As bird use local material which is easy to find and easy to use to build. likely, human
being also do the similar way the bird do. They use local material with local technology to built
their house. For them it is easy to use local material because they are grown with them and
familiar to their nature. They have natural sentiment with the materials available to their locality.
72
In our visit to Simroungarh, we found that their vernacular architecture which relates them with
their society, culture and heritage. Their architecture of building house is directly link with local
material and technology they use. Bamboo, mud, thatch/ khar, timber, brick, straw, are the
materials they used to build their house
4.5.2.1 Physical structure
Most of the building in Simroungarh are built using vernacular technology. Still we can see
maximum number of building standing in their traditional architectural style. They are single
story load bearing structure with slope roof, less opening in walls and internal courtyard. The
thickness of wall provides them thermal comfort. Even the projection of roof works shading
device. The bamboo wall/ brick wall built by husband and wife with children draw different kind
with verities of painting on wall. The wall provide space for painting with their family fingerprint
which so that they are rich in culture. The house itself reflects the social planning, expression of
traditional way of life of Simroungarh typical house makes it rather more significant.
Figure 27: sketches showing building form with element

4.5.2.2 Interior function
Most of the houses in Simroungarh are loadbearing in structure. Wall are 14-inch-thick with mud
mortar and mud plaster. And every house contains an internal courtyard with tube well pump.
They perform all the household activities in that courtyard. Kitchen is also adjusted with that
courtyard. The wall contains decorative cornices and some niches for storing small elements.
They use special type of projection to install lights during festivals. They call it "takha" in their
local language. Takha is used to store things in the walls. It can be both recessed or protruded. It
is also used for placing diyos during festivals
73
Figure 29: Wall cornices
Takha
Figure 30: Wall
Figure 28: Wall Niches
Figure 31: Typical house plan
We saw this house toward the South of culvert area. We got introduced to a little girl who led us
inside the house. The house aged 40 with a room as an entry that led to an open courtyard with
natural lighting from the roof. Also provided water bodies (hand pump) in the courtyard space.
Triangle shaped vent on wall used as a barrier for kitchen Used single bamboo on the both sides
as supporting element for the free-standing wall. Elements like 3-layered brick cornices on the
exterior, small triangular vents, organized planning of spaces was visually appealing also.
74
4.5.2.3 Typical Khapada House Of Simroungarh
Figure 32: Showing element of Khapad roof
The roofs are traditional sloped roof with khapada tiles. Khapada are burnt mud-tiles usually of
8"x 31/2". The khapadas were placed in an interlocking manner. One faced the ground and the
other faced the sky. The half facing the ground was holding 2 halves facing the sky. Bamboos
were used for roof purlins, rafters, and struts. A central upright member was called King post.
Inclined rafters were called principal rafters. A horizontal connecting member called tie beam.
Two struts which give support to the rafters. Purlins running over the principal rafters from truss
to truss. Ridge piece and common rafters for supporting the roof coverings.The weight carried by
the purlin is placed in the centre of the principal rafter and is carried through the struts to the foot
of the king post.
Figure 34: Khapada Roof Corner Detail
Figure 33: Khapada Roof Ridge Details

75
4.5.2.4 Thatch roof
After the completion of wall structure, tie beam is placed in the supporting wall that is usually
made up of timber. And if timber they cannot afford timber tie beam, they may also use bamboo
tie beam in small scale. After that vertical structure or king post is placed in the center of tie beam
to create slope. And again, ridge board (manara) is placed above the king post (dhuri). Then,
rafters are place along the ridge board and the supporting wall vertically. They call it "corai". And
above corai, they place horizontal bamboo for support called, bitan. Then they attached khapada
on the bitan. The shape of Khapada is approximately half of cylinder. So it is placed such that it
protects the water from entering inside the room. Mud is used in the lowermost part of the roof
structure to prevent the falling of khapada. And also they use, par and dagadna for the support in
the lower part of the roof.
Figure 35: Section of thatch roof house

4.5.2.5 Bamboo Wall
Bamboo wall is also called as “tati” in their local language. They use bamboo strip (Bati) to build
wall. Firstly, bamboo of matured age is cut down. And further they
cut in pieces longitudinally. Firstly, they cut strips which are thicker
in size, provide supports to the wall as they are placed vertically up
down position buried to some depth in row Secondly, they cut thinner
strips of bamboo and thinner strips are waved along the perpendicular
and parallel to row. The huge no of thinner strips waved along thicker
strips gives form of wall. They use bamboo/ wood for hitting waved
bamboo to make tight combination of thinner strips. The required
opening is created by cutting on the wall. The bamboo wall is fixed
along the post. And finally mud mortar and plaster are used from both
sides.
Figure 36: Bamboo wall Called

as Tati
76
4.5.2.6 Element supporting house in daily life
4.5.2.6.1 Bheri
In Simroungarh, people store their crops
such as rice, wheat, maze and soon on
storage called Bheri. Bheri (Yakari) is a
such type of storage which is made up of
bamboo. The construction of this type is
just as bamboo wall. The different is that
bamboo wall is constructed in straight line
it is constructed in circle. The roof is
constructed using Khar which is compiled
in shape of cone as show in sketch. The
roof protects the storage from rain and
other climatic condition. The grains are
stored by taking out the roof. And after
filling it the roof is kept. But now a days the
storage type has been modified such that
hey don not have to take out roof filling
grains. There is small whole at base which
is use for storing and taking out stored
Figure 37: Sketches OF Bheri with Section grains.
4.5.2.6.2 Chulo
The people of Simroungarh mostly depends on wood as fuel for cooking. Most of them have
chulo in their house for cooking. Chulo is such type of element which is made up using mud
mortar and bricks. The size of chulo depends up on size of family. But we studied typical house
which of size: 2’-6” x 1’/6” x 0’-7”. firstly, by bricks the shape of chulo is made and then mud
mortar is plastered on it. And finally, when the chulo dries and they use mixture of Gober and
mud for plastering from outside. The chulo has two main parts. One part which is below, used
for putting wood for burning. And second part which is up, used for utensils to rest on it such that
heat is transmitted. In our study we found that mostly chulo contains two holes on it. The chulo
also reflect their culture and emotion to what they are connected. On future we have to preserved
it from being deteriorated.
77
Figure 38: Showing Details of Chulo
4.6 Intangible heritage of Simroungarh
4.6.1 Natural, Historical and Archaeological Values

4.6.1.1 Kankali Heritage Complex
4.6.1.1.1 Kankali Mai Temple

In 18th century, the earlier visitors wrote about the ruining condition of Janakpur and
Simroungadh in the Nepalese lowlands in their travelling diary. The structure of Kankali temple,
which can be seen now was built in 1967AD Invalid source specified.. The statues are adorned
by numerous motifs of the late period (12th century): moreover, the lotus-shaped pedestals with
their many rootstalks, which decorates the base of the statues, are typical of the areas of Bihar
and north Bengal.
78
Temple of Kankali Mai is one of the
major monuments of Simroungadh
having square shaped plan built in
Shikhara Style. The size of which is 38
ft. long and 38 ft. wide. The Kankali
Mai temple, whose approx. height is 51
ft., is accessible through the arch shaped
entrance gates in the east and south
direction. The main entrance to the
circumambulatory portion and main
sanctum of temple, both are in east
direction. In the interior portion of the
Kankali Mai temple, approx. 4ft. 6 inch.
high statue of Kankali Mai is placed
facing eastward on the 120cm high
platform at the sanctum. The wall and
ceiling of the temple is richly painted
with story of different gods and
Figure 39 Kankali Mai Temple goddesses.
Huntgoog described about the left temple, which is standing, disclose some finely carved
basement, with a superstructure of the brick in imperial gazette article. (Imperial gazette vol 13
huntgoog 0514) So, we can say that, the brick is the original building material and it is from the
ancient period. Bricks are used in the wall, lime plaster used as plaster and marble is used in the
flooring with load bearing structure.
The Kankali Mai temple is one of the unique Shakti peetha of Nepal where Bali Pratha (animal
sacrifice) is restricted. So that there is untold story behind this. Every year on Ram Nawami, Mela
is celebrated at this temple.
4.6.1.1.1.1 Existing Condition
It one of the major cultural heritage of Simroungarh having unique history of establishment and
subsequent history as well. The Shikhara style of Kankali Mai Temple is intact with its form but
the paints over the wall of temple has aesthetically shed away the natural rendering of original
materials. Marvel has been added as the flooring material. This has led to the state where the
79
temple might lose its original value. Therefore, the major objective after observation would be to
retain the originality of the temple. And, the lime plaster which has been damaged at the walls &
foundations must be repaired and also unnecessary addition of different materials without proper
supervision & awareness must be avoided.
4.6.1.1.2 Ishara Pokhari
Figure 40 Ishara Pokhari

There is no such evidence which is related to the date of the origin but it is the oldest pokhari of
this area as said by many ancient visitors. The rectangular shape of the pokhari is located at the
east side of the Kankali Mai temple. The ancient visitors measured the size of Ishara pokhari as
a 333 paces along each greater, and 210 along each shorter. (Page-123 the journal of the asiatic
society of blengall.vol. iv.) The Kankali Mai temple is located at the centre of the settlement and
it lies at the right side of the temple. So it is believed that the pokhari might have been constructed
for the purpose of doing snan for the priest as well as to be a water source for the community.
Containing walls or sides consist of the finest burnt bricks, each of which is a cubic square, and
nearly a pound in weight.
80
It has natural, cultural as well as archaeological value; but it seems that there has been no proper
conservation of available artifacts as they are seen to be abandoned carelessly around the Ishara
Pokhari. There is also lack of proper documentation of the Pokhari, its surrounding and
subsequent history. The quality of water and surrounding environment are degrading and are in
a vulnerable condition.
4.6.1.1.3 Mansaram Baba Temple
It is believed that Mansa ram baba temple is

constructed before the Kankali Mai temple. But,
there is no any subsequent history of this temple.
The building is square shaped of 5.47 sq. m. area

and the floor height of 3m. The architectural form
of the building is domical in shape. Inside the
temple, the crematory of Mansa Ram Baba is
placed at the center position with a radius of 136cm
and is 35cm tall. A pair of the Kharau is in front of
the crematory and it is believed that the Kharau is
worshipped as mansa ram baba. The Kharau is
Figure 41 Mansaram Baba Temple
replaced every year during Ram Nawami.
The construction material of the temple is brick wall joints with lime mortar.

Temple of Mansaram Baba is one of the major structures of Kankali Temple complex, as it is
directly associated with the subsequent history of Kankali Mai Temple. Uniquely constructed
Gumbaj style roof, arch door detailing and the temple are in intact form, however at few areas
the lime plaster has been damaged.
There is also lack of proper documentation of structure and history of Mansa Ram Baba Temple.
Therefore, the major objective for conservation must be to retain the originality of the temple.
Also, the lime plaster which has been damaged must be repaired, unnecessary addition of
materials must be avoided and regular maintenance must be ensured.
81
4.6.1.1.4 Shiva Temple
The shape of the temple is rectangle and architectural form of the temple is tiered. In the interior
portion three shiva lingas are placed at the center. And domical part of the small temple is attached
Figure 42 Shiva Temple

with the interior. The material consists of brick wall with cement mortar while bamboo joints are
used for roofing.
4.6.1.2 Ranibas Heritage Complex

The site lies fifteen miles to the south of the sub-Himalaya hill system. It is this lower range of
the Himalaya that forms the southern boundary of the valley of Nepal, i. e. the Kathmandu valley.
The geographical milieu of the Simroungarh area is a combination of dense growth and clearing
with some cultivation adjacent to several small villages in the vicinity. A large courtyard
surrounding a Hindu temple dedicated to Ram Janaki named as Ranibas temple complex is
located on the crest of the highest hill, the southwest corner of the area. Within the temple
complex, we found about ten types of trees: Rudraksh, Bar, Peepal, Tulsi, Mango, Simal, Banyan,
Banana, etc.
4.6.1.2.1 Ram Janaki Temple

The temple stood on several number of stone plinth fragments with relief carving at two sides of
the temple. One of the peculiar characters is the presence of such huge blocks of stone in Terai,
that have been used to build the temple’s plinth. The ruins show early Indian Sikhara temple form,
Karanatak origin, carved on black stone and in the center of each form is a garuda, vehicle of
Vishnu. From our observation, the Ram Janaki temple constructed by Jung Bahadur Rana also
follows the same architectural style as shown in the carvings.
82
Figure 43: Ruins from ancient city Simraungadh(Karnatak origin) showing similarity in temple
construction
It is likely that this material, as well as the few other examples of stone carving that subsequently
found their way into the Kathmandu and Patna Museums, are the "idols"
mentioned by Hodgson in his earlier account:
"Some twenty idols, excavated from the ruins by pious labour of a Gosain, are made of stone, and
are superior in sculpture to modern specimens of the art. Many of them are much mutilated and
of those which are perfect, I had only time to observe that they bore the ordinary attributes of
Puranic Brahmanism." (Ballinger, 1970)
1. Stone fragments found on the surface showed animal and flower motifs.
2. An eight-petal flower form serves as a design beneath a deep relief profile carving on a lion
figure. Behind the lion figure is the head of a makara, a mythological creature associated with
water and watering places.
3. An idol of a god carved beautifully with flower motifs and necklace of skulls. Beside the main
idol two idols of female figures are also carved.
83
4. An idol of Ganesh broken at the base.
Figure 44: Artefacts found in temple premises

The detailed inventory are provided in the annex about the artefacts found in the temple premises
and shrines dedicated to Shiva and Hanuman. There are many artefacts to be excavated and found
in the grounds of the once lost city of Simroungarh that has to be given emphasis on by the
government of Nepal.
The inner shrine houses idols of Ram and Janaki facing East and idols of Jung Bahadur and his
queen, their son Jeet Jung and two daughters facing the Ram Janaki. The ceiling of the shrine is
made with wooden joist giving a clear picture of octagonal mandala with flower motifs painted.
It was told that the idols of Lord Krishna was stolen long ago by thieves but they somehow
managed to find the idol so currently idols of Krishna are also kept in the main shrine.
Figure 45: The inner shrine: Ranibas Temple

From our observations, the two bells at the eastern side of the temple have been retrofitted with
bolts and knots, so conservation works have been started in Raniwas by the department of
archaeology. The temple and its surrounding sattal is a very good example of Mithila culture as
the walls have been painted with images of Ram and Sita’s biography in the temple and Lord
Krishna’s biopic in the southern part of Sattal. With time, the value of these arts have faded and
only traces of wall paints can be seen with no maintenance.
84
4.6.1.2.2 Ranibas Sattal
A fine creation of the Ranas, Ranibas Sattal constituets of two levels of floors and each of the
four corners having tower like structure with lime surkhi finish and rich with neo classical
elements from capitals, embrasures, a pediment, heavy lines of cornices. One of the peculiar
character of the sattal was that it was lined with wooden posts on the northern and eastern side of
inner courtyard. Each posts with a joint having a tiger’s head and the wooden blocks on which
the rafters rested upon idolized as two horses. There’s a beauty in every symbolical meaning
inside Ranibas. The southern wing though has been destructed has a different typology of
staircase with arches and several number of square blocks of capitals made up of bricks dated
from 1935 BS.
Figure 48: Arch technology, towers and brick
Figure 47: Post details Figure 47: Front View of Ranibas Sattal with central pediment

The eastern and southern wings of the sattal have been deteriorated by the earthquake of 2072
B.S. The wooden joist flooring has been distorted at the entry portion and vegetation have grown
with no maintenance. However, the western and northern wings and a portion of the southern
wing had been reconstructed by the department of archaeology, Guthi Sansthan and Sahari Bikas
Karyalaya but major mistake have been done in the construction. The previous form and elements
have not been included along with the construction material technology. The locals stopped the
reconstruction as the mortar made during the conservation were weak and kept falling off into
pieces.
85
Figure 49: Northern and Western wing of Sattal
Currently, the Sattal has been used as a living quarter by almost 15 number of Pujari and stable
for cows. Apart from this the upper and lower floors have not been used and merely functions as
a store house for dust and debris.
4.6.1.2.3 Chardhoi Pokhari
From our observation and site measurement, Chardhoi pokhari is almost rectangular in shape, the
inner and base walls of the pokhari appeared to be of a fine, high-fired brick with zig zag patterns
and at the northern and eastern side are finished with cemment punning as a renovation project
before two years. The inner lining of the brick is of simple bond and the zig zagg pattern forms
the façade of the lining of walls at three levels. There are small niches formed by arches made
from brick itself dating from 1935 AD, informed by locals.
Figure 50: The wall

masonry of different
plinths of Chardhoi
There are staircases at the eastern and western parts that lead to
the pokhari. Apart from this, there are evidences of entrance
from the south eastern corner having two posts and a level of
parapet ruins. From our observation, it can be guessed that the
particular entrance might lead to the palace complex beneath
the archaeological site that was excavated by the Italians that
has now been forgotten.
Figure 6: South eastern entrance with Figure 51: Architectural elements: Posts and arches
posts
86
The tank seems to have suffered major deterioration on the western, southern and eastern parts
and few damage on the northern side. This is particularly noticeable on the finishing edges above
the current water level where loose bricks and part of well finished parapets have fallen down
into the pokhari.
Due to lack of maintenance from the local community and the municipality, roots of trees have
spread across the parapets and is in a vulnerable condition as the walls and tree can fall off from
the plinth if any disaster strikes. Water plants have grown all over the water of the pond that has
deteriorated the beauty of the pond.
Figure 52: Lack of maintenance of the pond
4.6.1.2.4 Horse Stable

Amongst all the structures, this building had architecturally valuable
elements with different forms of arch technology.The interior and
exterior portion of the building is mostly decorated with arches,
cornices and decorated pilasters. From the inspection, clear evidences
of cast iron and I-beams were seen on the interiors that have made that
particular portion safe from destruction. The use of courtyard type space
was seen on the site where a corner was used for serving water to
horses/cows informed by the locals. At present context we saw the
building to have exposed brick construction, the plaster has been peeled
off naturally with time. Apart from this, due to lack of attention to this
building, major deteriorations were seen due to vegetation growth and
powdering of walls.
Fi 54 I B th
Figure 53: Present Condition of the Stable
87
4.6.1.2.5 Thunuwa Ghar
From the local folklores, this is the only
structure of the palace complex built by the Dev
kings that stands till date. It is hard to believe
whether it is true or not but certain evidences
like the burnt facades and distorted walls and
windows of the building does contribute to the
story. Also, there are traces of structure that
have been buried within the ground and debris
that contributes to the fact that the structure is
much deeper than observed on the ground. The
excavation of this structure is to be encouraged
to find out more about the structure. As told by
the local Pujari, Anirudra Mishra, the building
is called Thunuwa Ghar and it was used to keep
Figure 57: Burnt facades, distorted walls and debris
accumulation
Figure 56: Level difference of the Figure 56: Traces of wooden flooring
structure
prisoners and acted as a guard post. It does look like a defensive structure as circular holes are
provided in the four sides of the building that may have been used as a gunpoint. The further
inspection is encouraged to record it under the heritage monument list.
88
There is lack of proper documentation of structure as well as the history. Now a days the temple
roof has been shifted and it seems unsymmetrical, so the repair should be done on the temple as
soon as possible. The repair and stabilization process with regular maintenance must be carried
out.
It is one of the major temples inside Kankali Temple Complex. There seems to have been made
alternation to the original structure by adding new structures. To remove alteration to the structure
and retaining originality must be the major objective. Proper conservation measures must be taken
in order to preserve it from its degrading state.
4.6.2 Social, Cultural and Traditional practice of the people

Apart from the tangible richness of Simroungarh, it is equally rich in its intangible aspect. People
of Simroungarh are a kind of artists. They know how to make the best use of the materials they
have. During our stay there, while we were exploring their life, we got to encounter the skills they
have. We all have carpet in our homes and of course they are machine manufactured made from
plastic or other fabrics. But people in Simroungarh still make their own carpets, they make their
seating using hay for their own purpose.
And then there was another lady who was wearing a plastic sack. We found that work really
beautiful. Till then we had no idea what she was doing. To our amusement she replied that was
their dining seating. They are finding their luxury in what they have.
Figure 58: Women making seating tools called

Chatai
Figure 59: women crafting clothes for dining area
89
Figure 60: women showing jhadu
Not only this, we encountered many
more artists along the journey. We found a woman weaving decoration
piece for her home. We also found people making nanglo which we still
use in our homes for separating rice husk and other purposes. Another
interesting thing we found there was their hay broom. They had crafted their
hay broom so beautifully that we were reluctant to take its’ pictures.
Throughout the journey we explored that people in Simroungarh have got
serious craft skills. They make the best use of the materials they have and
find their own luxury. Their way of crafting things is indeed a sustainable
approach. Their crafts have got a space in this urban world. People today are competing to invite
new things in their life and in this urban world their creations are of real joy and interest.
4.6.2.1 Jhijhiya dance:

Jhijhiya is a traditionally played dance that can be seen during Dashain
and Tihar. Generally, small holes are made in mud utensils (matki) and
lights (diyo) are placed inside it. Small girls used to play this inside their
society by singing Jhijhiya song with cultural dances. During this, the
matki is continously rotated so that no-one could count the holes over
there if someone does than it is assumed to be bad for the society.
Figure 61:Women
carrying matki
4.6.2.2 Satomai and Barhambaba:
There is tradition in Terai of Nepal to worship these two temples daily by
women over there. Also, these temples are worshiped in the beginning of
every function and occasion that occurs in a family or society.
Figure 62:Satomai and

4.6.3 Cuisine Barhambaba
Figure 63: Kodo roti
 Mato ko roti
 Daal vaat tarkari
 Roti tarkari
 Gilo roti
 Maduwa roti
 Kodo
90
Figure 64: Gilo roti Figure 65: Maduwa roti
4.6.4 Performing Art and Craft:

Various kind of art and craft can be seen in this settlement. People are involved in various
traditionally used technologies to make different utensils and materials that are used in their day
to day life. Khapda, matki murti, daura, dagara, and so on.
Figure 67: Making Dagara Figure 66: Murti
4.6.5 Family & village Relationship

In Simroungarh area, there are mutual friendly behavior with all the people in the society and
community. Here, we can see people are not differentiated according to their religion and caste.
Hindu, Muslim all religion people are gathered to celebrate all functions that are occurred in the
community. Differentiation of people with caste also can't be seen in the society.
4.6.6 Jatras
4.6.6.1 Hanuman jatra:
Hanuman jatra is Celebrated in the month of Shrawan by each and every house of Simroungarh,
where each house prepares their own flag which they place in the Pond of Ranibas Temple after
taking round of the village.
4.6.6.2 Ramnawami jatra:
Ramnawami jatra is celebrated by people living near Kankali and Ramibas Temple individually
where Saints make rounds of their whole village for many days till they complete their five
rounds. This Jatra is done on the occasion of Ram Nawami, so it is called Ram Nawami Jatra.
This Jatra is done once in 5 Years.
91
4.6.7 Supporting pictures:
Figure 68: Goraha
Figure 69: Bheri
Figure 70: Kothi
Figure 71: Shikha
Figure 72: Takha
92
5 Heritage Value Assessment of Simroungarh
As defined by Queensland Heritage Act 1992, heritage significance, of a place or feature of a
place, includes its natural, aesthetic, architectural, historical, scientific, social, archaeological or
other significance, to the present generation or past or future generations. Acknowledging and
conserving aspects of our past is a measure of a strong society, one in which the past is valued
for its contribution to the present and its potential to contribute to future societies. This criterion
provides a methodology for identifying and assessing places eligible for record in the heritage
list for further conservation under which fall the following aspects:
a. Place: a defined or readily identifiable area of land with specific titles, any feature on land
with significant historical importance
b. Feature, in relation to a place, includes: building or structure, or part of a building or
structure, an artefact, including an archaeological artefact, a precinct, a natural or landscape
feature
c. Building includes furniture, fittings and other artefacts: associated with the building that
contribute to the building’s cultural heritage significance.
d. An artefact unattached to land or to place cannot be recorded in its own right, however, a
moveable or fixed artefact which contributes to the cultural heritage significance of a place
or feature of a place, can be recorded in the heritage assessment. (Protection, 2017)
The heritage value assessment criteria were made by the student themselves for following
reasons:
• provide clarity when places are under appeal regarding entry in or removal from the record
and analysis, on how assessments of cultural heritage significance are made.
• detailed information on the nature and application of significance, if needed for future
interventions.
• avoid misinterpretation of the criteria during the process of assessing cultural heritage
significance.
The following are the criteria for value assessment of Simroungarh under various sub headings
that contribute to its heritage significance:
5.1 Natural values of cultural landscapes
i. Conservation of natural and semi-natural systems, and of wild species of fauna and
flora
ii. Conservation of biodiversity within farming systems
iii. Sustainable land use
iv. Enhancement of scenic beauty
v. Ex-situ collections
vi. Outstanding examples of humanity's inter-relationship with nature
vii. Historically significant discoveries (Conservation, 2002)
93
5.2 Historic Values
i. The heritage material’s age
Association with people or events

iii. Rarity and/or uniqueness
iv. Technological value
v. Archival/documentary potential
vi. Academic/educational value from past to present and future
vii. Artistic value with aesthetic detailing
5.3 Archaeological Values
i. Fragility/Vulnerability of Artifacts
ii. Survival/Condition of archaeological ruins and abandoned of structure
iii. Rarity and Uniqueness
iv. Period
v. Potential for documentation (Walton, 1999)
5.4 Social Values
i. Site for social gathering

ii. Place attachment (Memory of Place and People)
iii. Aesthetic and Art
iv. Connection between interior and exterior environment
v. Social Stratification (Ethnicity)
5.5 Cultural Values

i. Demonstrate rare, uncommon, or endangered aspect of local cultural heritage
ii. Potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the area’s
history
iii. Aesthetic significance to the local community
iv. Association/attachment with a particular community or cultural group
v. Association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organization of
importance in the area’s history (Protection, 2017)
5.6 Religious Values
I. Migration of holy practice

II. Ethical principle
III. Symbol of local community and identity
IV. Directing the individual's lifestyle
94
V. Faith and moral value
(Note: Each of the headings carry 5 marks each and the assessment is done accordingly with
more than two fair marking. The obtained marks determine the ranking of the heritage and the
type of intervention that is required for conservation.)
95
N
NORTH SIDE ENTRY
10
M7
11
7'
9 M3
PARKING
AREA
M1
S'
WEST SIDE M6
ENTRY
INDEX
M1 KANKALI MAI TEMPLE 8
M2 MANSARAM BABA TEMPLE
M3 OLD VISHNU TEMPLE
M4 SHIVA MANDIR M4
M5 PARVATI MANDIR M2
M6 VISHWOKARMA TEMPLE
B BHAIRAV WORSHIP AREA 7
7 OLD STORE ROOM B
8 NEW STORE ROOM
ISHARA POKHARI
7' NEW VISHNU TEMPLE CONSTRUCTION
T PUBLIC TOILET
T'
T' TOILET
S STEPS TOWARDS POND-1 T
S' STEPS TOWARDS POND-2
9 MAHANTA ROOM
10 RUINS OF BHANDAR GHAR
11 RUINS OF PUJARI GHAR SOUTH SIDE ENTRY
0m 5m
1m 10m
SITE PLAN OF KANKALI HERITAGE COMPLEX

N
RTA-PN
RTA-M6
RTA-M3
RTA-M4
RTA-M2 RTA-TR1
RTA-M1
ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE RTA-M5
SITE PLAN OF RANIWAS HERITAGE COMPLEX

Heritage Value Assessment of Kankali Temple Area, Simroungadh
HERITAGE VALUES
CODE DESCRIPTION RANKING REMARKS
NATURAL HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIAL CULTURAL RELIGIOUS SCORE
KTA – M1 Kankali Mai Temple 2.142 4.998 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 23.140 2 Cultural Heritage
Mansaram Baba
KTA – M2 1.428 4.998 3.000 3.000 4.000 2.000 18.426 3 Cultural Heritage
Temple
KTA – M3 Bishnu Temple 0.000 1.428 2.000 2.000 1.000 2.000 8.428 5 Cultural Heritage
KTA – M4 Shiva Temple 0.000 1.428 2.000 1.000 0.000 2.000 6.428 7 Cultural Heritage
KTA – M5 Parvati Temple 0.000 0.714 0.000 2.000 1.000 3.000 6.714 6 Cultural Heritage
KTA – M6 Bishwokarma Temple 0.000 0.714 0.000 2.000 0.000 3.000 5.714 8 Cultural Heritage
KTA – TR1 Peepal Tree 1 3.570 2.856 1.000 1.000 2.000 2.000 12.426 4 Natural Heritage
KTA – PN1 Ishara Pokhari 4.998 4.284 5.000 3.000 2.000 4.000 23.282 1 Natural Heritage
HERITAGE VALUE ASSESSMENT OF SIMROUNGARH (RANIBAS TEMPLE AREA)
HERITAGE VALUES
RTA - M1 Ramjanaki Temple 1.428 4.998 4.000 4.000 4.000 5.000 23.426 1 Cultural heritage
RTA - M2 Hanuman Temple 0.000 1.584 2.000 3.000 2.000 4.000 12.584 9 Cultural heritage
RTA - M3 Shiva Temple 0.000 4.998 2.000 3.000 3.000 4.000 16.998 4 Cultural heritage
RTA - M4 Sattal 0.000 4.284 5.000 4.000 3.000 0.000 16.284 5 Cultural heritage
RTA - M5 Stable 1.428 3.570 4.000 2.000 3.000 0.000 13.998 7 Cultural heritage
RTA - M6 Thunuwaghar 0.000 5.000 4.000 1.000 2.000 0.000 12.000 10 Cultural heritage
RTA - M7 Settelment Monument 1 0.000 3.570 2.000 4.000 4.000 5.000 18.570 3 Cultural heritage
RTA - A Artifacts and Ruins 0.000 4.998 4.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 14.998 6 Cultural heritage
RTA - PN Chardhoi Pokhari 2.142 4.998 5.000 2.000 3.000 2.000 19.140 2 Natural Heritage
RTA - W1 Well (internal) 0.714 3.570 4.000 2.000 0.000 0.000 10.284 12 Natural Heritage
RTA - W2 Well (external) 0.714 3.570 4.000 1.000 0.000 0.000 9.284 14 Natural Heritage
RTA - TR1 Peepal Tree 2.856 3.570 2.000 1.000 2.000 2.000 13.426 8 Natural Heritage
RTA - TR2 Bar Tree 2.856 2.856 2.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 7.712 15 Natural Heritage
RTA - TM Tulsi Moth 2.142 0.714 2.000 1.000 1.000 4.000 10.856 11 Natural Heritage
RTA - B Bell 0.000 3.570 3.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 9.570 13 Natural Heritage
Heritage Value Assessment of Artifacts available at Hariharpur, Simroungadh
HERITAGE VALUES
HAR - A1 Sanduk 0.714 4.998 5.000 3.000 3.000 1.000 17.712 1 Cultural Heritage
HAR - A2 Pillar 0.714 4.998 5.000 3.000 3.000 0.000 16.712 2 Cultural Heritage
Heritage Value Assessment of Simroungadh
HERITAGE VALUES
CODE DESCRIPTION RANKING PRIORITY REMARKS
RTA - M1 Ramjanaki Temple 1.428 4.998 4.000 4.000 4.000 5.000 23.426 1 Cultural Heritage
KTA – PN1 Ishara Pokhari 4.998 4.284 5.000 3.000 2.000 4.000 23.282 2 Natural Heritage
I
KTA – M1 Kankali Mai Temple 2.142 4.998 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 23.140 3 Cultural Heritage
RTA - PN Chardhoi Pokhari 2.142 4.998 5.000 2.000 3.000 2.000 19.140 4 Natural Heritage
RTA - M7 Settelment Monument 1 0.000 3.570 2.000 4.000 4.000 5.000 18.570 5 Cultural Heritage
KTA – M2 Mansaram Baba Temple 1.428 4.998 3.000 3.000 4.000 2.000 18.426 6 Cultural Heritage
HAR - A1 Sanduk 0.714 4.998 5.000 3.000 3.000 1.000 17.712 7 Cultural Heritage
RTA - M3 Shiva Temple 0.000 4.998 2.000 3.000 3.000 4.000 16.998 8 Cultural Heritage
HAR - A2 Pillar 0.714 4.998 5.000 3.000 3.000 0.000 16.712 9 Cultural Heritage
RTA - M4 Sattal 0.000 4.284 5.000 4.000 3.000 0.000 16.284 10 Cultural Heritage
RTA - A Artifacts and Ruins 0.000 4.998 4.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 14.998 11 Cultural Heritage
II
RTA - M5 Stable 1.428 3.570 4.000 2.000 3.000 0.000 13.998 12 Cultural Heritage
RTA - TR1 Peepal Tree 2.856 3.570 2.000 1.000 2.000 2.000 13.426 13 Natural Heritage
RTA - M2 Hanuman Temple 0.000 4.998 2.000 3.000 2.000 4.000 12.584 14 Cultural Heritage
RTA - M6 Thunuwaghar 0.000 5.000 4.000 1.000 2.000 0.000 12.000 17 Cultural Heritage
RTA - TM Tulsi Moth 2.142 0.714 2.000 1.000 1.000 4.000 10.856 18 Cultural Heritage
RTA - W1 Well (internal) 0.714 3.570 4.000 2.000 0.000 0.000 10.284 19 Cultural Heritage
RTA - B Bell 0.000 3.570 3.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 9.570 20 Cultural Heritage
RTA - W2 Well (external) 0.714 3.570 4.000 1.000 0.000 0.000 9.284 21 Cultural Heritage
KTA – M3 Bishnu Temple 0.000 1.428 2.000 2.000 1.000 2.000 8.428 22 Cultural Heritage
RTA - TR2 Bar Tree 2.856 2.856 2.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 7.712 23 III Natural Heritage
KTA – M5 Parvati Temple 0.000 0.714 0.000 2.000 1.000 3.000 6.714 24 Cultural Heritage
KTA – M4 Shiva Temple 0.000 1.428 2.000 1.000 0.000 2.000 6.428 25 Cultural Heritage
KTA – M6 Bishwokarma Temple 0.000 0.714 0.000 2.000 0.000 3.000 5.714 26 Cultural Heritage
6 Conclusion
We get information about fort and fortified city along with their evolution history,
transformation timeline, architectural values related to socio- culture and their conservation
approach. This study was beneficial to learn about conservation approach theories on the
reference with different charter and by law from ancient monument acts. Good knowledge of
preparing inventory and value assessment table and analyzing them for further development.
We get best time to learn people, their activity, how they connected with culture, heritage,
society and nature in Simroungarh. We got chance to view from near distance about their needs
and wants and how they are dependent with nature for livelihood. There is great importance
of vernacular architecture on conservation of heritage settlement.
We saw problem through our own eye and we try our best for solution, in Simroungarh heritage
conservation which is the biggest lesson from this study.
95
7 References
Ballinger, T. O. (1970). SIMRAONGARH REVISITED.
Cimino, R. M. (1986, August). Simraongarh, The Forgotten City and its art. Contributions to
Nepalese Studies, Tribhuvan University, 13(3), 277-288.
lapoubelle1969. (2018, May 29). Fort Bourtange, a journey back to the 16th century.
Retrieved from NOTESFROMCAMELIDCOUNTRY:
https://notesfromcamelidcountry.net/2018/05/29/fort bourtange-a-journey-back-to-
the-16th-century/
Lundén, S. (1994). Nepalese Labyrinth. 13-21.
Rotti, J. (2016, March 26). Weather and Climate of Karnataka. Retrieved from
Karnataka.com: https://www.karnataka.com/profile/karnataka-climate/
Shah, B. (2019). General Information. Retrieved from Simroungarh:

https://simroungarh.wixsite.com
Simraungadh. (n.d.). Retrieved December 30, 2018, from The Info List:
http://www.theinfolist.com/php/SummaryGet.php?FindGo=Simraungadh
Vidale & Lugli, M. (1991). Architectural Investigations At Simroungarh. Ancient Nepal, 5-9.
Vidale, Balista & Torrieri, M. (1993). A Test Trench Through The Fortifications of
Simroungarh. Ancient Nepal.
96

2019.04.06 Final Report Volume IB Conservation Studio 2071 Batch

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2019.04.06 Final Report Volume IB Conservation Studio 2071 Batch

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

2019.04.06 Final Report Volume IB Conservation Studio 2071 Batch

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Report on Documentation and Conservation of Simroungarh

Site Study and Analysis

We would appreciate any feedback and suggestion on the topic.

1.1 Location ....................................................................................................................... 13

1.2 Geographical Settings .................................................................................................. 14

1.1.1 Topography of Site .................................................................................................. 15

1.2.1.1 Soil Condition ................................................................................................ 16

1.2.1.1.1 Soil Texture................................................................................................ 16

1.2.1.1.2 Soil pH ....................................................................................................... 17

1.2.2 Climatic Data of Simroungarh ................................................................................. 18

1.2.2.1 Mean Precipitation ......................................................................................... 18

1.2.2.2 Mean Monthly Temperature........................................................................... 19

1.2.2.3 Mean Maximum Air Temperature ................................................................. 20

1.2.2.4 Precipitation ................................................................................................... 24

1.2.3 Water sources .......................................................................................................... 24

1.2 Historic Medieval Kingdom of Simroungarh .............................................................. 25

1.2.1 Establishment of the Kingdom ................................................................................ 25

1.2.2 Fort structure and Labyrinth wall of Simroungarh .................................................. 25

1.2.3 Fall of the Tirhoot kingdom..................................................................................... 26

1.2.4 Important monuments and archaeological sites in Simroungarh............................. 27

1.2.4.1 History narration by Father Cassiano da Macerata ........................................ 27

1.2.4.2 Archaeological Investigations at Simroungarh, February-March 1991 ......... 29

1.2.4.2.1 Preliminary Remarks ................................................................................. 30

1.2.4.2.2 The Site: General Remarks ........................................................................ 31

1.2.4.2.3 The impact of agriculture and village growth ............................................ 31

1.2.5 A Test Trench through the Fortifications of Simroungarh ...................................... 32

1.2.5.2 Simroungarh ................................................................................................... 32

1.2.5.3 A trench through the main defense rampart ................................................... 33

1.2.5.3.2 Natural substratum and possible traces of a pre-defense settlement.......... 35

1.2.5.3.3 The rampart: first phase of construction .................................................... 35

1.2.5.3.4 The main ditch ........................................................................................... 35

1.2.5.3.6 The outer ditch ........................................................................................... 36

1.2.5.3.8 A period of abandonment........................................................................... 36

1.2.5.3.9 The recent agricultural phase ..................................................................... 36

1.2.6 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................. 36

1.4 Study Area: Simroungarh ............................................................................................ 38

1.4.1 Monumental Area – A: ............................................................................................ 39

1.4.2 Monumental Area – B: ............................................................................................ 39

1.4.3 Transitional Area – C: ............................................................................................. 39

1.2.4 Vehicular & Pedestrian Movement of Site .............................................................. 39

1.2.5 Landuse .................................................................................................................... 43

1.2.5.1 Heritage Zone: ................................................................................................ 43

1.2.5.2 Residential Area: ............................................................................................ 44

1.2.5.3 Commercial Area: .......................................................................................... 44

1.2.5.4 Institutional Area: ........................................................................................... 44

1.2.5.5 Public Space: .................................................................................................. 44

1.2.5.6 Agricultural Area: .......................................................................................... 45

1.2.5.7 Forest Area: .................................................................................................... 45

1.2.6 Infrastructures & Services ....................................................................................... 48

2.1 General information ..................................................................................................... 49

2.2 Ethnicity & Religion .................................................................................................... 50

2.3 Languages spoken........................................................................................................ 51

2.4 Gender ......................................................................................................................... 52

2.5 Family type & size ....................................................................................................... 53

2.6 Location ....................................................................................................................... 54

2.7 No. of Children & elderly (>60 yrs.) ........................................................................... 55

2.8 Occupation ................................................................................................................... 56

2.9 Monthly Income and Expenditure ............................................................................... 57

2.10 Land area & Ownership ............................................................................................... 58