India - Maharashtra - Serial Nomination of Maratha Military Architecture in Maharashtra

Serial Nomination of Maratha Military Architecture in Maharashtra

1 Raigad fort Lat. 18° 14’, Long. 73° 26’ 2 Rajgad Fort Lat. 18° 14’, Long. 73° 40’ 3 Shivneri Fort Lat. 19° 12’, Long. 73° 52’ 4 Torna Fort Lat. 18° 16’, Long. 73° 37’ 5 Lohagad Lat. 18° 42’, Long. 73° 28’ 6 Salher Fort Lat. 20° 72’, Long. 73° 94’ 7 Mulher Fort Lat. 20° 46’, Long. 74° 03' 8 Rangana Fort Lat. 16° 04’, Long. 73° 51’ 9 Ankai-Tankai Fort Lat. 20° 11’, Long. 74° 26’ 10 Kasa Fort Lat. 18° 20’, Long. 72° 58’ 11 Sindhudurg Lat. 16° 02’, Long. 73° 27’ 12 Alibag Fort Lat. 18° 35’, Long. 72° 50’ 13 Suvarnadurg Lat. 17° 49', Long. 73° 06' 14 Khanderi Fort Lat. 18° 70’ , Long. 72° 81'

The fortifications in the Indian Subcontinent first appeared probably around 4th millennia B.C.E. in the form of the Harappan settlements. Architecturally and typologically, these were essentially perimeter walls defining and defending the human habitations. The construction material was mud or burnt bricks, stone masonry set with mud mortar and protected with mud plaster. Generally, these Bronze Age settlements were located close to the river banks on flat terraces and more or less were perfect rectangle, square or parallelogram on plan. Inside, these settlements were further structurally divided into the hierarchical components like the citadel, the middle town and the lower town. The outer shape of the fortifications was basically dependent on the terrain and organic growth of the settlement. In the Historical period, the building material of fortifications was mud, burnt bricks and stone and it functioned as the defence perimeter of the habitation areas. In the Mediaeval India, a separate category of military garrison evolved apart from the earlier existing category of fortified habitations. A general overview of the evolution of the military architecture in the Indian Subcontinent indicates that though many settlements continued as the fortified habitats, some emerged as the special military bases devoid of civilian population. This period also provides evidences of the fortified ports and sea forts.