Balirajgarh

Balirajgarh is an archaeological site within Madhubani district of Bihar, India. The site is 1 square km and houses an ancient fortification dating back to c. 200 BCE during the period of the Shunga Empire. It is possible the site is pre-Mauryan in origin and the Cambridge University archaeologist, Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, believes Balirajgarh to be the site of Mithila, the capital of the Iron Age Videha tribe.

Excavations

Following excavations of the site in 1962/63, the defensive walls were described as:
In 1938, the Archeological Survey of India declared the ancient site of Balirajgarh as a site of national importance under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904. In the excavations done here in five phases, three thousand years old material was found. The first excavation of the site was conducted in 1962-1963 by the Archeological Survey of India. The second and third excavations was conducted by the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Bihar, in 1972-73 and 1974-75. In 2013-2014, Archeological Survey of India, Bihar circle again started the excavation of the site but due to the negligence of the government no proper results were there. In 2015 Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of Bihar Government criticized ASI for slow and neglected attitude towards the Balirajgarh fort excavation.