Lucknow circle was created on May 13th, 1985 by bifurcating the parts of Agra Circle, Bhopal circle & Patna Circle. As on today, there are 328 monuments/sites under the jurisdiction of Lucknow Circle which are being looked after by the Superintending Archaeologist of Lucknow Circle including parts of Awadh, Bundelkhand and Terai regions of Uttar Pradesh.
The Bundelkhand region, lying within the folds of the Vindhyan range of mountains is a unique geographical unit with a distinct cultural personality of its own. The monuments of the Bundelkhand region mostly comprise temples and forts dating from 6th & 19th century A.D. Dasavatar stone temple at
Deogarh is one of the first examples of Gupta period. In the Terai region, Buddhism became the main inspring factor in creation of Stupas and monastries
and the excavations revealed a number of ancient Buddhist sites including Sravasti & Piprahwa i.e. Kapilvastu. In the Awadh region, Lucknow reflects the best example of Awadh School of architecture.
Besides, a number of monuments flourished on Mughal route between Allahabad and Agra. The Circle also comprises a large number of brick temples the most famous of which is Brick temple at Bhitargaon dating back to Gupta period which is a landmark of Indian temple architecture.
Functions of Lucknow Circle
The Circles carry out archaeological fieldwork, research activities and implement various provisions of the AMASR Act, 1958 and amended by AM & ASR(Amendment & Validation ACT 2010 )and Antiquities and Art Treasures Act 1972. This may include the following:
* Carrying out village-to-village survey of antiquarian remains; exploration of archaeological sites, documentation of loose sculptures;
* Excavation of archaeological sites;
* Conservation and day-to-day maintenance of protected monuments;
* Providing basic amenities at the monuments for tourists;
* Issuing permission for filming, photography and cultural programmes at the protected monuments;
* Organizing public awareness programmes on various occasions like Word Heritage Day (April 18), World Heritage Week (November 17-25), Museum Day (May 18) and other important occasions;
* Registration of antiquities and issuing non-antiquity certificates;
* Interaction with various universities and research institutions;
* Implementation of Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 and Rules 1959, Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act 2010, Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 and Rules 1973.
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