Archaeological Museum, Nalanda

The Archaeological Museum at Nalanda was established in 1917 by the Archaeological Survey of India to house the antiquities recovered from the systematic excavation of the great Nalanda Mahavihara, one of the world's earliest and most renowned residential universities, which flourished from around the fifth century CE. As archaeologists uncovered the vast monastic complex, its sculpture and everyday objects were gathered into the site museum, which stands beside the ruins, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The museum occupies a building at the Nalanda excavation site in Bihar, adjacent to the extensive brick ruins of the monastic university. Its galleries display the Pala-period Buddhist art and antiquities recovered from the site, presented in the setting of the great vihara itself, so that the museum and the ruins together tell the story of the ancient centre of learning.