Kankali Tila

An excavated mound that yielded a Jain stupa and hundreds of inscribed sculptures — the richest archaeological record of early Jainism.

Excavated in the 1880s and 1890s, Kankali Tila produced the remains of a stupa the inscriptions themselves describe as already ancient, together with sculpture spanning several centuries either side of the common era.

It matters because it is evidence rather than tradition: dated, inscribed, and independent of any later account. Most of what was found is now in the Mathura and Lucknow museums rather than on the site.

Written for Jain Times. Corrections are welcome — see sources and licences.