1. The Indian sub-continent has been the cradle for some of the oldest civilizations of the world.
Art, culture, architecture and engineering took birth in this land during the Indus valley civilization.
Ancient Indians seem to have been the forerunners in the world to excel in various domains of
engineering and construction - be it townships, roads, metallurgy, ports, material handling and
harnessing sustainable energy.
In ancient India, ‘Sthapatya Kala’, meaning ‘art of constructing’ found manifestation in construction
of temples, palaces, forts, educational institutions and even townships around the temples. The recent
excavation off the Gulf of Cambay in Gujarat shows that ports and harbours were developed by
Indians as early as 7500 BC.
L&T’s year 2012 calendar is a reflection of these awe inspiring marvels. L&T Construction - formerly
known as L&T ECC Division, reflects on some of these remarkable facts of various engineering and
construction marvels of ancient India with inspiration. Keeping in line with this very deep rooted Indian
heritage and legacy, L&T has been constantly creating landmarks in this very field of engineering and
construction. To us, “It is all about Imagineering!”
The twelve works of art has been rendered by artist and research scholar in Pallava art,
Mr S.A.V Elanchezian of Chennai [sav.elanchezhian6@gmail.com, www.savelanchezian.com].
The artist has relied a lot of his works on available researched inputs of that era and ably filled in with
his artistic imagination and passion on the subject.
Engineering & Construction
marvels of ancient India
Buildings & Factories | Infrastructure | Metallurgical & Material Handling | Power Transmission & Distribution
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2. Poompuhar Lighthouse
It is believed that the earliest lighthouses of India
were built in the 3rd century BC by Emperor Asoka.
The first known lighthouse in south India was at
Poompuhar Port in Kaveripatnam. Illango Adigal,
a celebrated Tamil writer of 7th century AD had
explained in detail about the beautiful lighthouse
in the Bay of Bengal coast and the numerous
ships anchored at the Puhar port in his book
Silappadhikaram. The oldest lighthouse tower
still standing erect is at Mahabalipuram, 65 km
south of Chennai in south India. The Pallavas built
this beautiful rock sculptured bonfire lighthouse
standing on the tip of Olakkaneeswar temple in
the 8th century AD.
Lothal Port
Lothal is one of the oldest ports in the world with
a lock-gated dockyard built in 2400 BC at Gujarat
on river Sabarmathi, just before it drains into the
Gulf of Cambay. It was located away from the main
current of the river to avoid silting, but provided
access to ships in high tide as well. Facilitating
the movement of cargo was a mud-brick wharf,
220 metres long, built on the western arm of the
dock, with a ramp leading to the warehouse. The
warehouse was divided into 64 rooms of 3.5 sq.m
each connected by 1.2 meter wide passages.
Twelve such cubical blocks are visible even today.
Sun Temple
The sun temple at Konark, built in the 13th Century
AD, was built using oxidized and weathered
ferruginous sandstones combining Orissan and
Dravidian styles of architecture. Conceived as a
gigantic chariot consisting of 24 ornately crafted
wheels, drawn by seven horses, the majesty of
the temple drew large number of sun worshippers
in the ancient period. The precise time of the
day could be ascertained by just observing
the shadows of the spokes on the huge stone
wheels measuring 10 feet in diameter. The original
architecture of the temple is said to have a lot of
connection with the characteristics of the Sun,
such as the seven horses depicting the seven
colours in sunlight.
Takshila and Nalanda Universities
In 700 BC, the world’s first university was
established in India, in Takshila. The University
of Nalanda was another milestone that was
achieved in the field of education in 5th century
AD. Nalanda, a Buddhist centre of learning built by
king Harshwardhan, was one of the first residential
universities with dorms housing 10,000 students
and 1500 teachers. The university was marked off
by a lofty wall with a single gate for entry and the
library was said to have been located in a nine-
storied building.
Ajanta and Ellora caves
The caves at Ajanta and Ellora were cut out of
rock, by hand, and rank among some of the most
outstanding specimens of ancient architectural
heritage. In all, there are 34 caves at Ellora and
29 caves at Ajanta. The caves at Ajanta served
as secluded retreats to the Buddhist monks and
depict the story of Buddhism, spanning the period
from 200 BC to 650 AD. Beautiful wall frescos and
sculptures speak volumes of the advancement of
Indian art in the ancient period. Paintings found on
walls of Ajanta and Ellora which look fresh even
after 1000 years, testify the high level of chemical
science achieved in ancient India.
Gharats, Water Wheel
From the dim ages of pre-historic times water has
been used as a source of eechanical energy in
India. Ancient Indian texts dating back to the 4th
century BC refer to the term cakkavattaka (turning
wheel), which commentaries explain as machine
with wheel-pots attached. This terminology
indicates a water-powered device that was
probably used for irrigation and for milling flour.
Ancient water mills called ‘Gharats’ were widely in
use to produce wheat flour.
Thanjavur Big Temple
Everything about the ‘Periakovil’, or as the
name suggests, Big Temple, is massive. Built
by Rajaraja Chola 1 in the 11th century AD, this
temple is exemplary to the material handling skills
of the early Indians. The entire temple used about
1,30,000 tons of hard granite stone and the 63 m
tall temple tower is the tallest such structure in
South India till date. This tower is topped by an 80
ton cupola and it is believed that an inclined plane
of earth was made so that elephants could haul
the cupola to the top.
Adam’s Bridge
Space images taken by NASA revealed an
ancient bridge in the Palk Strait between India and
Sri Lanka. The bridge currently named as Adam´s
Bridge is made of a chain of shoals, measuring
30 kms. The bridge´s unique curvature and
composition by age reveals that it is man-made.
Legends as well as archaeological studies
reveal that the first signs of human inhabitants in
Sri Lanka date back to 1,750,000 years and the
bridge´s age is also almost equivalent, making it
the oldest bridge in the world.
Harappan Township
India’s urban civilization is traceable to
Mohenjodaro and Harappa, (now in Pakistan)
where planned urban townships were believed
to exist 5000 years back. A sophisticated and
technologically advanced urban culture is evident
here with focus on hygiene, and sanitation. The
streets were well-laid with brick paved roads and
all the houses had access to water along with
covered drainage facilities. This is the world’s first
known township with a proper sanitation system.
The cities also had common bathing facilities
known as the great bath and other structures such
as granaries, citadels and huge wall structures
that were perhaps meant to divert floods.
Silver punched Karshapana coins
India developed some of the world’s earliest coins
sometime around 600 BC. The coins were made
by taking a flat, though often irregularly shaped,
piece of silver, cutting it to the proper weight, then
applying a series of punches indicating where
and when it was made. As the coin circulated,
additional punches were put on the back, verifying
the weight of the coin. The coin, known as the
Punchmarked Karshapana, continued to be
issued until about the second century BC.
Irrigation at Girnar
Drier climates and water scarcity led Indians
to carry out numerous innovations in water
management techniques since the Indus valley
civilisation. Irrigation was known to ancient
Indians since the third century BC. The Mauryan
dynasty was the first to have started the practice of
building weir over rivers. They had even cut canals
to convey water to drier areas for agricultural
purposes. Chandragupta Maurya had built one
such excellent weir at Girnar and even formed an
artificial lake called Sudarsana.
Kallanai, The Grand Anicut
The Grand Anicut, or Kallanai, located about 15
miles from Trichirapalli, Tamil Nadu is the oldest
dam in the world that is still in use. Built by the
Chola King Karikaalan, in 150 A.D using only
unhewn stones, the dam helps irrigate 1,000,000
acres of land in the Kaveri delta. Kallanai is also
considered the oldest water-diversion or water-
regulator structures in the world.
Concept - Corporate Communicatin Department, L&T Construction Design Unique Designs, Chennai. Printed at MWN Press, Chennai

3. The 30 kilometer long ancient bridge that connected the island of Sri Lanka to India
1.77 km northern breakwater - part of L&T Kattupalli
shipyard cum port project in Tamil Nadu
January 2012
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Tanjavur ‘Periakovil’ built in the 11th
AD using 1,30,000 tons of granite stones
ILFS & ICICI buildings at Bandra-Kurla complex, Mumbai. L&T constructed
an array of temples of modern India in this commercial hub
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5. First known lighthouse at Poompuhar built during the 3rd
century BC
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March 2012The 75m high Air Traffic Control tower at Rajiv Gandhi International
Airport, Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh
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Kallanai or The Grand Anicut built in 150 AD is considered the oldest dam in the world
Earthern dam cum spillway for Jindal Power Limited at Chattisgarh
Buildings & Factories | Infrastructure | Metallurgical & Material Handling | Power Transmission & Distribution

7. Planned urban townships of Harrapan civilisation that existed during 3000 BC
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May 2012Victory Heights - a golf course villa community at Dubai Sports City
Buildings & Factories | Infrastructure | Metallurgical & Material Handling | Power Transmission & Distribution

8. Indians developed one of the world’s earliest coins sometime around 600 BC
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June 2012India’s largest Blast Furnace ‘H’ for Tata Steel at Jamshedpur
Buildings & Factories | Infrastructure | Metallurgical & Material Handling | Power Transmission & Distribution

9. Lothal, considered the world’s oldest port, built around 2400 BC
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July 2012India’s deepest all-weather private sea port at Dhamra in Odisha
Buildings & Factories | Infrastructure | Metallurgical & Material Handling | Power Transmission & Distribution

10. Weir and irrigation canal built at Girnar by the Mauryan dynasty in the 3rd
century BC
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August 2012Sai Ganga Approach Canal for water supply to Chennai
Buildings & Factories | Infrastructure | Metallurgical & Material Handling | Power Transmission & Distribution

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Ancient water mills called ‘Gharats’ dating back to 4th
Century BC used to grind wheat flour
Work in progress at the surface power house of 2000 MW Subansiri
Hydro Electric Project, Arunachal Pradesh
Buildings & Factories | Infrastructure | Metallurgical & Material Handling | Power Transmission & Distribution

12. Ajantha caves cut out of rock by hand during the 2nd
century BC
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October 2012Ajantha Tourist Complex, Fardapur, Jalgaon in Maharashtra
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Nalanda university with dorms housing 10,000 students and 1500 teachers built during the 5th
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Indian School of Business, Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh
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Sun temple at Konark, built in the 13th
century AD using ferruginous sandstones
Solar photovoltaic power system installed on the roof-tops of buildings
at L&T Campus, Chennai
Buildings & Factories | Infrastructure | Metallurgical & Material Handling | Power Transmission & Distribution