Vijayanagara project:

Methods and Results

Archaeos season mapping the North Ridge at Vijayanagara was

conceived of as a test project. One of its aims was to see what
differences new technologies of mapping could bring to augment the
methods being used by the Vijayanagara Research Project. Another
was to see if the study of previously unmapped areas would bring
information that would significantly alter the previous views of the
settlement patterns or spatial layout of the city.

Prior to the field season, John Fritz of the Vijayanagara Research

Project (VRP) suggested the North Ridge as the focus of the joint
project. Because the ridge is more than two kilometers in length, the
first step upon arriving at the site was to spend several days walking
along the entire ridge in order to select a manageable area of
approximately 25,000 to 50,000 square meters, given the length of
the season and the size of the surveying team.
 Map generated with CAD (computer assisted design program)
showing area surveyed by Archaeos and the VRP during the last
season. Click on map inset for an enlarged view of that area with a
panorama, photographs of the site, and examples of the types of
archaeological features being recorded.

David Gimbel, John Fritz, and Andy

Above: Women clearing an area
near a small temple
Leung selected an area along the south-
western end of the North Ridge.
Subsequently, teams of workers were
hired to clear any dense vegetation from
the area that might hinder the surveying
process. Gimbel and Leung set up the
main traverse while John Fritz and
several of his assistants marked as
many surface features as possible. The
features were marked with a white paint
made of white lime that will wash away
after one or two rainy seasons, thus

Above and below: Selecting and
marking cultural features to be
surveyed
Below: Surveying in the
Nobleman's Quarter
Below: Map of a palace in the
Nobleman's Quarter.
avoiding any permanent damage to
building features or other cultural
artifacts.
After the features to be surveyed were
marked, points describing walls, anchor
ties, door pivots, lamps, and numerous
other cultural features were "shot", or
recorded, with a total station. Data from
each individual point was automatically
recorded in a hand-held computer, a
Psion with Prosurv software. For each
point, the operator of the total station
also entered additional information
about each point called a control code.
This information would be used to
automatically plot each point in three
dimensions relative to other surveyed
points in Vector Works, a CAD
(Computer Assisted Design) program.
Depending on the control code chosen,
the point would be marked as an
individual point, drawn as part of a line,
or as part of a closed polygon.
The information about each point was
stored in the form of a database. Aside
from coordinates in three dimensional
space and the way the point should be
handled relative to others, recorded
information for each point included the
category of object being surveyed, the
objects composition and its state of
preservation. This was handled through
feature codes also entered by the total
stations operator. The feature codes
are individual codes describing
designations devised by John Fritz and
David Gimbel and then programmed into
the data collector as choices in its menu
system. For example, an individual point
might contain feature code information
describing it as a "bedrock mortar" with
a "diameter 15cm" and a "circular
surround"; or an "anchor hole" whose
"contents" are a "stone peg". Upon
returning to the camp each day data
was downloaded from the Psion onto
notebook computers, inspected for
errors, then imported into VectorWorks
and plotted onto Archaeos maps.

Although at first the area which was

chosen looked like an abandoned ridge,
the mapping process has already begun
to yield a very different picture of the
North Ridge. Once the new maps are
analyzed it becomes immediately clear
that this now desolate looking area was
in no way marginal, it was, in fact, once
an active and thriving part of
Vijayanagaras urban core. The numbers
and massings of the architectural and
other cultural remains along the surface
of the North Ridge indicate dense urban
development. The numerous mortars
carved into the bedrock and used for
processing foods, for instance, would
have once been inside domestic
structures and are evidence of
household activity. Column seatings,
anchor holes, and other features are
carved into the rock surfaces of the
North Ridge these allow us
understand and to map the density of
structures in the area. Some of these
features, such as the many sockets for
door hinges indicate where the
entrances of utterly obliterated buildings
must have been. Many wall remains are
still present; while in many instances
the buildings are now gone, where they
were originally constructed directly on
bedrock the wall seatings are visible. It
is even possible in some places to feel
the difference in surface texture of the
stone where high traffic areas have been
worn. Once these many disparate
features are mapped, they are more
easily understood as the remains of
coherent structures and indicators of
economic and social activities.

Of particular interest within the

surveyed area were several large
buildings that were included in the VRPs
earlier 1:400 survey maps. One of these
had also been measured and drawn
previously using hand held tapes; it is
an elite compound whose function is not
completely understood. The second
major building within the survey area
has never been drawn previously and
should be classified as a palace as it its
ground plan now shows it to be
comparable in layout to similar buildings
within the area known as the
Noblemans Quarter an elite
residential district. These, along with the
other various remains in the surveyed
area suggest that far from being an
isolated area, this was a highly
populated one with elite inhabitants.
With the permission and support of H. T.
Talwar, the Deputy Director of Museums
and Antiquities of the State of
Karnataka, Archaeos team was also
able to three-dimensionally map an area
of the Noblemans Quarter for
comparison to the palace on the North
Ridge.

Over the last 20 years, standing

structures and major parts of
Vijayanagara have been mapped and
drawn, however, areas not previously
acknowledged to have archaeological

Below: Map of a palace in the
Nobleman's Quarter.
remains still need to be mapped to fill in
the incomplete picture we have of the
city. As projects like the collaboration
between Archaeos and the VRP continue
to research and survey at Vijayanagara
in future seasons, it becomes possible to
reach a better understanding of the
layout of the city and its functions.
David Gimbel, John Fritz, and Andy Leung
selected an area along the south-western
end of the North Ridge. Subsequently,
teams of workers were hired to clear any
dense vegetation from the area that might
hinder the surveying process. Gimbel and
Leung set up the main traverse while John
Fritz and several of his assistants marked
as many surface features as possible. The
features were marked with a white paint
made of white lime that will wash away
after one or two rainy seasons, thus
avoiding any permanent damage to
building features or other cultural artifacts.
After the features to be surveyed were
marked, points describing walls, anchor
ties, door pivots, lamps, and numerous
other cultural features were "shot", or
recorded, with a total station. Data from
each individual point was automatically
recorded in a hand-held computer, a Psion
with Prosurv software. For each point, the
operator of the total station also entered
additional information about each point
called a control code. This information
would be used to automatically plot each
point in three dimensions relative to other
surveyed points in Vector Works, a CAD
(Computer Assisted Design) program.
Depending on the control code chosen,
the point would be marked as an individual
point, drawn as part of a line, or as part of
a closed polygon.

The information about each point was

stored in the form of a database. Aside
from coordinates in three dimensional
space and the way the point should be
handled relative to others, recorded
information for each point included the
category of object being surveyed, the
objects composition and its state of
preservation. This was handled through
feature codes also entered by the total
stations operator. The feature codes are
individual codes describing designations
devised by John Fritz and David Gimbel
and then programmed into the data
collector as choices in its menu system. For
example, an individual point might contain
feature code information describing it as a
"bedrock mortar" with a "diameter 15cm"
and a "circular surround"; or an "anchor
hole" whose "contents" are a "stone peg".
Upon returning to the camp each day data
was downloaded from the Psion onto
notebook computers, inspected for errors,
then imported into VectorWorks and plotted
onto Archaeos maps.

Although at first the area which was chosen

looked like an abandoned ridge, the
mapping process has already begun to
yield a very different picture of the North
Ridge. Once the new maps are analyzed it
becomes immediately clear that this now
desolate looking area was in no way
marginal, it was, in fact, once an active and
thriving part of Vijayanagaras urban core.
The numbers and massings of the
architectural and other cultural remains
along the surface of the North Ridge
indicate dense urban development. The
numerous mortars carved into the bedrock
and used for processing foods, for instance,
would have once been inside domestic
structures and are evidence of household
activity. Column seatings, anchor holes,
and other features are carved into the rock
surfaces of the North Ridge these allow
us understand and to map the density of
structures in the area. Some of these
features, such as the many sockets for
door hinges indicate where the entrances
of utterly obliterated buildings must have
been. Many wall remains are still present;
while in many instances the buildings are
now gone, where they were originally
constructed directly on bedrock the wall
seatings are visible. It is even possible in
some places to feel the difference in
surface texture of the stone where high
traffic areas have been worn. Once these
many disparate features are mapped, they
are more easily understood as the remains
of coherent structures and indicators of
economic and social activities.

Of particular interest within the surveyed

area were several large buildings that were
included in the VRPs earlier 1:400 survey
maps. One of these had also been
measured and drawn previously using hand
held tapes; it is an elite compound whose
function is not completely understood. The
second major building within the survey
area has never been drawn previously and
should be classified as a palace as it its
ground plan now shows it to be comparable
in layout to similar buildings within the
area known as the Noblemans Quarter
an elite residential district. These, along
with the other various remains in the
surveyed area suggest that far from being
an isolated area, this was a highly
populated one with elite inhabitants. With
the permission and support of H. T. Talwar,
the Deputy Director of Museums and
Antiquities of the State of Karnataka,
Archaeos team was also able to three-
dimensionally map an area of the
Noblemans Quarter for comparison to the
palace on the North Ridge.

Over the last 20 years, standing structures

and major parts of Vijayanagara have been
mapped and drawn, however, areas not
previously acknowledged to have
archaeological remains still need to be
mapped to fill in the incomplete picture we
have of the city. As projects like the
collaboration between Archaeos and the
VRP continue to research and survey at
Vijayanagara in future seasons, it becomes
possible to reach a better understanding of
the layout of the city and its functions.