Purana Qila

Purana Qila, the Old Fort, stands on a site traditionally associated with Indraprastha, said to be the capital of the Pandavas, making it one of the most historically layered locations in Delhi. Excavations carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India, first in 1955 and again from 1969 to 1973, revealed evidence of settlement dating back to around 1000 BC, represented by Painted Grey Ware, with a continuous cultural sequence running from the Mauryan period through the Sunga, Kushana, Gupta, Rajput and Sultanate periods into the Mughal era.

The present citadel was largely built by the Mughal emperor Humayun, who intended it as the foundation of his new capital, Dinpanah, meaning 'refuge of the faithful', and by Sher Shah Suri, who razed Humayun's city and raised the citadel of Purana Qila on the same site along with an extensive surrounding city. It was seemingly incomplete at Sher Shah's death in 1545 and may have been finished by Humayun; it is counted among the seven historic cities of Delhi. The fort's high rubble-masonry walls, up to 21 metres tall in places, are pierced with arrow-slits and topped by a battlemented parapet, enclosing a circuit of roughly two kilometres.

Inside the fort stands the Qila-i-Kuhna Masjid, built by Sher Shah Suri as the citadel's chapel royal, an important step in the evolution of mosque design leading into the early Mughal period. The Archaeological Museum of Purana Qila, located inside the fort to the right of the main entrance, displays pottery and antiquities recovered during the excavations, tracing the site's occupation from the earliest settlement to the Mughal period.