The Architecture of the Ahoms,
Sivasagar, Assam

This book records the lesser known architecture of the Ahoms who ruled in the Eastern parts of India for more than 600 years. The study was undertaken in the town of Sivasagar in Assam. The architecture that was recorded ranges from temples and tanks to palaces, ammunition houses, pleasure houses and burial mounds. Many of these are unique types. The palaces for example are of a modest scale and more like pavilions with concentric spaces. Built with robust load bearing walls, they show signs of being completed with ephemeral material. The houses were built with more ephemeral materials like bamboo and mud. While these did not survive some of these types and material practices can be seen in the current housing practices. The burial spaces are also a unique type, in the form of mounds in the landscape, under which bodies were buried along with the paraphernalia belonging to the deceased.