The Amravati Stupa was brought to light by:

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 3:
The Amravati Stupa was first brought to light for the Western world by **Colonel Colin Mackenzie** (referred to here as Colonel Mekenji). Mackenzie, a British Army officer and surveyor, visited the site on the bank of the Krishna River in 1797 and was the first to record the existence of the huge Buddhist stupa, known locally as Dipaladinne, with its limestone slabs. His initial survey provided the crucial, formal documentation that established the site's historical importance, even though the stupa was subsequently damaged by local quarrying before later archaeologists could properly excavate it.

The incorrect option is 1:
Ananda Coomarswamy was a world-renowned philosopher and historian of Indian art, active primarily in the early 20th century. His major contributions focused on the aesthetic interpretation, classification, and philosophical understanding of Indian art, such as establishing the school of Rajput painting. He was an interpreter of Indian culture to the West and curated collections but was not involved in the initial archaeological discovery or field excavation of the Amaravati Stupa, which occurred more than a century before his work.

The incorrect option is 2:
General Taylor is not credited with the primary discovery of the Amaravati Stupa. While many British officials were involved in the subsequent phases of collecting and transporting the stupa's sculptures to Madras and London in the 19th century, Mackenzie's 1797 visit marks the formal "bringing to light" of the ruins. The individual credited with the first major organized excavation and removal of sculptures was Sir Walter Elliot in 1845.

The incorrect option is 4:
General Alexander Cunningham is famously known as the "Father of Indian Archaeology" and was instrumental in establishing the Archaeological Survey of India. His most significant work involved the systematic identification and excavation of major Buddhist sites, particularly in North India like Sanchi and Sarnath. However, the initial discovery and recording of the Amaravati Stupa in 1797 pre-dates Cunningham's archaeological career by several decades, and his main focus was elsewhere.