________________ 460 Homage to Vatsali fragment of a chhatravali along with pieces of relic casket definitely put the Kolhua stupa including the pillar to the Mauryan period. No datable object of the site belonging to the Sunga-Kushana period bas been found. A terracotta archaic human head found from the midlevel may be assigned to the Kushana period. It might have lost its importance during the early centuries of the Christian era. The site regained its importance during the post-Gupta period. The stupa was enlarged and the facade of the drum portion was embellished with carved bricks. A number of votive stupas around the pradakshinapatha are found to have been constructed in this period. A niche of one of the votive stupas yielded a beautiful stucco head of the Buddha assignable to the sixth-seventh century. A few broken inscribed terracotta plaques, impressed from the same mould, are important discoveries from the same level. These plaques depict the figure of the Buddha in standing posture in mandicant's garb with a parasol held over his hallowed head by a small standing figure to his right, down below. His left hand seems to indicate varada-mudra bestowing karuna to the kneeling human figure, probably representing Amrapali, the famous courtesan of Vaisali.1 The site seems to have been deserted due to heavy floods in the river Gandaka as evident from the deposit of a fine silt (average thickness 1.20 m) which acted as a sealing layer to all the votive stupas described above. However, due to its religious sanctity the site was revived during the Pala period as a number of late structures including a few Pala sculptures were found in and around the site. Conclusion From the account of the different excavations given above it may be concluded that Vaisali was the seat of early Buddbist stupa architecture, early terracotta art and early ceramic industry. It also yielded carly Indian coins and early specimens of terracotta seals and sealings. The actiquities of Vaisali are preserved at the museums situated at Calcutta (Indian Museum), Patna and Vaigali. The last is a site museum. Besides its own acquisitions, this Museum got all the antiquities possessed by the Vaisali Sangha Museum, its predecessor institution. The Vaisali 1. Though defaced it recalls similar representation in stone from Cave 19 at Ajanta. K. P. Gupta (p. 147). 2. The account of the latest excavations (1976-1978) ends here, Ed.
