The 102-acre Barabati Fort, which is encircled by a moat paved with stones, was given to the ASI in 1915 after being designated as a protected monument. But until 1989, ASI was unable to explore or save the monument that was the centre of Odisha’s history for more than seven centuries. For five centuries of Odisha’s history, sovereign powers governed from the Barabati Fort. It served as the capital of the Ganga dynasty’s Kalinga Empire (1112-1435) and was the residence of Mukundadev, the last major Hindu king of Odisha, as well as the Suryavamsi Gajapatis (1436–1540), Bhois (1542–1560), and Bhois (1560-68). The capital of the Turko-Afghans (1568–90), Mughals (1591–1707), Nazims of Bengal (1707–51), Marathas (1752–1803), and the British from 1803 till they occupied Barabati Fort was Cuttack.
By the time the possibility of excavating the Barabati Fort region was investigated in 1989, the state government had built staff housing and a workshop in the northern portion, and a stadium and an indoor stadium had been built throughout the entire southern part.
Prasanta Patnaik