Sanchi Museum Sanchi

Sanchi Museum

Introduction
The Rashtriya Sanchi Museum stands witness to Indian's rich religious and architectural heritage. This is an important tourist attraction in Sanchi and is certainly worth visiting because it displays several rare and antique items. The Sanchi Museum has a very verdant setting.

In the year 1919 Sir John Marshall developed an archaeological museum. Later this was converted to the Sanchi Museum . The Sanchi Museum is presently owned by the Archaeological Survey of India. It is kept open for public viewing from 9am in the morning to 5pm in the evening. The entry fee is also very nominal.

The Sanchi Museum in Sanchi is the proud owner of a number of earliest known stone sculptures in India that date back to the 3rd, 2nd and 1st century B.C. All of them have been collected from Sanchi itself. Caskets and Pottery several centuries old can be seen housed in the museum. Certain metal objects that were used by the monks have also been kept in the museum. Parts of the Toranas or ornamental gateways are preserved in the museum. The famous Ashok Lion Capital which was later adopted as the National Emblem of India is also kept in the museum. Statues of a Yakshi and the Buddha carved in red sandstone are also quite noteworthy.

Sanchi is fairly well connected to the major towns and cities of Madhya Pradesh by road. Buses ply at regular intervals. Those who are interested in traveling by air, the nearest airport is Bhopal. From here you can take a bus or hire a taxi. If you are availing the rail route, it is best to get down at Vidisha. Even though there is a railway station at Jhansi, Vidisha is far better connected to different areas of the country. Many trains halt here. The distance between Jhansi and Vidisha is just 10 kms. Moreover plenty of buses and autos keep the two places well connected.