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Alexander Cunningham, The Stupa of Bharhut: A Buddhist Monument ornamented with Numerous Sculptures illustrative of Buddhist Legend and History in the Third Century BC, London: W H Allen and Co.; Trübner and Co.; Edward Stanford; W.S. Wittingham and Co.; Thacker and Co., 1879, first edition

vii, 143, [1] pages, 57 lithographic plates on 29 sheets, with 115 mounted Woodburytypes of architectural details; publisher's pictorial cloth gilt, red edges
34 x 26.5 x 2.5 cm

An influential investigation, lavishly illustrated with photographic plates, was undertaken by Alexander Cunningham (1814–1893), an archaeologist and army officer with the East India Company who made the significant discovery of the Stupa of Bharhut in Madhya Pradesh in 1873.

Bharhut, situated 200 miles northwest of Sanchi, at the apex of the narrow Mahiyar valley in central India, was once the intersection of a trade route that connected the eastern metropolis of Pataliputra with the northern Sravasti region. During the reign of Mauryan Emperor Asoka (circa 272234 BC), a brick stupa with a diameter of approximately 68 feet was built in Bharhut. Throughout the Sungas' reign, which spanned from the second century BC to 72 BC, an ornate stone barrier with a diameter of 88 feet was constructed to enclose the monument. At this Buddhist site, the renowned stupa is presently obscured by a shallow depression in the ground. Fragments of sandstone and bricks are dispersed about. The sandstone barrier pillar and gateways that once encircled the stupa have been entirely demolished. The majority of them are on display in the Bharhut gallery of the Calcutta Indian Museum. The book provides a detailed account of the stupa at the time of its initial discovery by Alexander Cunningham. It also provides an account of the sculpted scenes and Jatakas that adorned the stupa's railings and gateways.

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