Gottiprolu Declared Site of National Importance

Gottiprolu

TIRUPATI: The Union government has declared the ancient mound and excavated remains at Gottiprolu in Andhra Pradesh an archaeological site of national importance, giving permanent central protection to a settlement where excavations uncovered massive brick fortifications, ancient buildings, coins, pottery and evidence pointing to long-distance trade about 2,000 years ago.

The Ministry of Culture, through the Archaeological Survey of India, issued the final notification on July 2, 2026, bringing 24.22 acres at Kotadibba in Gottiprolu village, Tirupati district, under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.

Gottiprolu attracted national archaeological attention after ASI excavations during 2018-19 and 2019-20 exposed extensive remains of an early historic settlement. Topographical surveys and drone imagery indicated a fortified settlement with a possible moat.

Excavation exposed elliptical, circular and rectangular brick structures as well as a substantial enclosure wall.

Gottiprolu lies on the right bank of a distributary of the Swarnamukhi River, approximately 17 kilometres east of Naidupet and relatively close to the Bay of Bengal and Pulicat Lake. The presence of pottery resembling amphorae suggested that the settlement could have participated in trade.

The settlement also produced evidence of substantial construction. ASI found large bricks comparable in dimensions with material known from Satavahana and Ikshvaku-period structures. A series of terracotta pipes fitted into one another was interpreted as evidence of civic amenities and drainage arrangements.

One of the most visually striking discoveries associated with the excavation was a nearly life-size sculpture of Vishnu, approximately two metres high, associated stylistically with the Pallava period.

The declaration gives Gottiprolu permanent protection within India's central archaeological framework. For Telugu people living in the United States, the discovery provides evidence that communities along the southern Andhra coast participated in organised settlement and potentially significant commercial networks roughly two millennia ago.