Agam Kuan is known to be the oldest and the most important archaeological sites in Patna. Agam Kuan, which means"unfathomable well", is said to date back to the period of Maurya Emperor, Ashoka. The well is located east of Patna, Bihar State, South-West of Gulzarbagh Station.
The architecture
Agam Kuan is 105' deep, circular in plan, with a diameter extending over 20'2". The well is brick-encased in the upper half of its depth (down to 44') and thereafter, secured by a series of wooden rings. The surface structure, which now covers the well and forms its most distinctive feature, has eight arched windows.
History and legends
During the 1890s, the British explorer, Laurence Waddell, while exploring the ruins of Patliputra, identified Agam Kuan as the legendary well built by Ashoka for torturing people, a practice reported by Chinese travellers (most probably Fa Hien) of the 5th and 7th centuries A.D.
Agam Kuan Patna, Bihar |
The architecture
Agam Kuan is 105' deep, circular in plan, with a diameter extending over 20'2". The well is brick-encased in the upper half of its depth (down to 44') and thereafter, secured by a series of wooden rings. The surface structure, which now covers the well and forms its most distinctive feature, has eight arched windows.
History and legends
During the 1890s, the British explorer, Laurence Waddell, while exploring the ruins of Patliputra, identified Agam Kuan as the legendary well built by Ashoka for torturing people, a practice reported by Chinese travellers (most probably Fa Hien) of the 5th and 7th centuries A.D.