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Ita Fort in Itanagar town is an important historical site in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India. The name literally means “Fort of Bricks” (brick being called “Ita” in the Assamese language). It also lends its name to the city Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh. The Ita Fort, dated to the 14th-15th century, is generally believed to have been built by the Chutia kings, who ruled the region during that period.^[1] The total brickwork is of 16,200 cubic metre lengths. Archaeological finds from the site are on displayed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Museum, Itanagar.^[2]

The bricks used in the fort hint at its construction in the 14th-15th centuries. The ruins of a hill fort on the banks of the Buroi river bear the same builder’s marks as the ones found in the ruins of the Tamreswari Temple near Sadiya, which indicates that the Chutia fortifications were spread till Biswanath.^[3] The location of Ita Fort, well to the east of Buroi, shows that this was also one of such hill forts of the Chutia kingdom.^[4]

Although no inscription at Ita Fort has yet been discovered naming its builders, the fort has often been associated with the Chutia-period architectural tradition of the Assam–Arunachal foothills. The monument is generally dated to the 14th–15th centuries CE, a period corresponding with the later phase of the Chutia kingdom, and is widely believed to have been constructed by the Chutia kings who ruled the region during this time.^[5]

Architecturally, Ita Fort shows several features comparable to medieval sites traditionally associated with the Chutia kingdom. The fort is built with a stone masonry base and brick superstructure,^[6] a construction technique also observed in the enclosure walls of the Tamreswari Temple complex, Rukmininagar, and a brick tank found within a large medieval fortification in the Sadiya region.^[7] Similar to the sites of Sadiya region,^[8] the brick ramparts of Ita fort were also laid with mud mortar, without any lime mortar or similar binding material with iron clamps and nails in certain places.^[9] The use of brickwork on such a scale also links Ita Fort with the wider Chutia-period architectural complex. This emphasis on brick construction is comparable to the fortified and religious sites of the Sadiya region, where brick walls, gateways, plinths, tanks and structural remains form a prominent part of the archaeological record.^[10] The gateway plan of Ita Fort^[11] also appears comparable to Bhismaknagar, Rukmininagar^[12] and Chapakhowa Rajgarh^[13], as all these sites seem to use projecting and returning brick wall-segments to create a staggered or offset entrance passage rather than a simple straight opening through the rampart.

Additional parallels are found in sculptural motifs. A stone door-jamb fragment from Ita Fort depicts a lion and an elephant, while Chutia bricks discovered at Rukmininagar bear paired lion and elephant motifs. Lion imagery seen on a base relief closely matches that found in Chutia-period remains at Bhismaknagar, Tamreswari Temple and Rukmininagar, suggesting a shared symbolic and artistic vocabulary across these sites.

The location of Ita Fort is also significant. Earlier scholars noted that the ruins of a hill fort on the Buroi river contained masons’ marks similar to those found in the ruins near Sadiya, which were associated with Bhismak and the Chutia rulers.^[14] Later historians have argued that if architectural continuity is admitted between the fortifications of the Sadiya region and sites further west such as the Buroi ruins, it may indicate a broader Chutia cultural or political sphere extending across the northern bank of the Brahmaputra.^[15] Since Ita Fort lies to the east of the Buroi site and within the same foothill zone, it has been interpreted as part of this broader chain of Chutia-associated hill forts.

Taken together, the fort’s chronology, brick-and-stone construction, sculptural motifs and geographical position in the Assam–Arunachal foothill zone suggest that Ita Fort belonged to the same architectural tradition as the Chutia-period monuments of Sadiya, Rukmininagar, Bhismaknagar, Tamreswari and related sites.

In 1941, D. N. Das, Political Officer of the former Balipara Frontier Tract, claimed in an article published in the Journal of the Assam Research Society that Ita Fort may have been the capital of a legendary ruler identified as Ramachandra or Mayamatta, referred to as Mayapur.^[16]

However, this claim is questionable. The Assamese chronicle Adi Charita, dated to 1586 Saka (1664 CE), which is the source of the Ramachandra-Arimatta legend^[17]—though itself considered dubious^[18]—states that Ramachandra’s capital was located at Pratappura, from which he derived the epithet Pratappuriya. Pratappura has been identified by some scholars as being situated near Biswanath.^[19] Additional evidence, such as the Uma-tumani rock inscription near Biswanath referring to a ruler as Pratapapuradhikari, has been interpreted to support the identification of Pratappura in that region^[20]. Furthermore, traditions associated with Ramachandra’s son, Arimatta (also identified as Sansanka), place his domain in present-day Kamrup, Darrang and Sonitpur districts with capital at Baidargarh (Betna) and attribute to him the conquest of the Kamata kingdom.^[21]

In light of these accounts, some scholars argue that the location of Ita Fort, far away from Biswanath or Pratappura, makes its association with the so-called Arimatta line unlikely. Moreover, the historicity of Ramachandra and Arimatta remains uncertain, as their existence and chronology are not supported by contemporary evidence.

Ita Fort represents a defensive complex adapted to the hilly terrain of present-day Itanagar. Its architecture combines artificial brick ramparts with natural ridges, cliffs and slopes, creating a fortified enclosure that used both built and natural defences. The surviving remains include ramparts, three gateways, brick and stone masonry, scattered structural debris and pottery fragments, indicating a fortified settlement rather than an isolated military outpost.

Ita Fort is a large brick-built fortified complex of irregular plan, partly formed by artificial ramparts and partly by the natural topography of the hill. The ramparts were constructed using brick and mud mortar. The builders erected parallel brick walls on both sides of the rampart and filled the intervening space with mud and brick fragments. In some surviving portions, the original foundation layers remain intact, measuring about 2.06–2.08 m wide and about 1.40 m high. The fortification encloses an area of more than 1 sq km and slopes from south to north. The western and eastern flanks are closed by brick ramparts, while steep natural ridges and cliffs on the northern and southern sides provide natural defence. The western rampart extends for nearly 1.5 km and contains two gates, while the eastern rampart has one gate. The northern and southern sides are protected by irregular steep ridges, each extending for more than a kilometre. The average width of the rampart is about 11.5 m, and its original height has been estimated at about 5 m.^[22] The fort has therefore been described as a forest or hill fort, with an elongated semi-circular plan.^[23]

The fort has three principal gateways, situated on the eastern, southern and western sides. The eastern gate, located at the highest point of the fort, is heavily damaged and was built on stone masonry overlooking Doimukh in the Dikrong valley. The southern gate, facing the Gohpur and Ramghat area, was built largely of brick with limited use of stone and stone slabs. It appears to have served as the main entrance to the fort and was more heavily defended than the other gates. Two cells on either side of the inner face of the southern gate may have been used for sentries, and the passage contained a corridor running parallel to the wall of the gate. High wooden doors were probably fitted to the gateways, though these have not survived.^[24]

The eastern gate may have remained closed except when required, since it lacks the sentry arrangements noticed near the southern gate. The western gate faces the Senkhi river and appears to have had comparatively fewer defensive arrangements. The eastern and western gates were strategically placed to command views of the Assam plains below, while the southern gate commanded a view towards Gohpur, Ramghat and Pisoka, helping to detect possible attacks from those directions.^[25] The southern gate is situated at an elevation of about 480 m above mean sea level. It is associated with an adjoining rampart measuring about 340 m and covers an area of about 15,105 sq m, or approximately 3.7 acres. The western gate is located in the central part of the present Itanagar Capital Complex and stands at an altitude of about 379.17 m above mean sea level. The protected area around the western gate measures about 2,643 sq m. The eastern gate is located near the Raj Bhavan, Itanagar, and its protected area measures about 2,283 sq m, or approximately 0.564 acre.

The fort was constructed mainly of bricks and stones. The stones used were chiefly sandstone, while the bricks occur in a variety of sizes, including ornamental bricks. The eastern gate, which stands at the highest point of the fort, was built on a stone masonry base and overlooked the Doimukh area in the Dikrong valley. This combination of stone masonry below and brickwork above has been compared with the construction style of other medieval fortified sites of the Assam–Arunachal foothill zone. Stones are also observed in the western and eastern gates. Animated and floral designs were used on the doorways. The brick ramparts were laid with mud mortar, and no lime mortar or similar binding material has been reported. Iron clamps and nails were also used in the construction of the fort.^[26]

No standing structure has been identified inside the fort area. However, scattered brickbats found in different parts of the Ita Fort area suggest the remains of a medieval settlement within the fortified enclosure. Pottery recovered from the site includes coarse and heavily damaged fragments identifiable as bowls, pots and spouted vessels. One spouted pottery fragment contained a large amount of kaolin, which has been described as a characteristic feature of medieval pottery in the Brahmaputra valley. The site was reportedly covered with jungle in the early twentieth century, as noted in the Darrang District Gazetteer of 1905, and was also described as forested during later archaeological observations in the 1970s.^[27]

• Bhismaknagar
• Chutia kingdom
• Gomsi
• Naksaparvat
• Rukmininagar Fort
• Sadiya
• Tamreswari Temple

• Shin, Jae-Eun (2020). “Descending from demons, ascending to kshatriyas: Genealogical claims and political process in pre-modern Northeast India, The Chutiyas and the Dimasas”. The Indian Economic and Social History Review. 57 (1): 49–75. doi:10.1177/0019464619894134. S2CID 213213265.
• Neog, Maheswar (2008). Pavitra Assam Ed. 4th.
• Momin, Mignonette; Mawlong, Cecile A.; Qādrī, Fuz̤ail Aḥmad (2006). Society and Economy in North-East India. Regency Publications. ISBN 9788189233402.
• Tada, Tage (2011). Archaeological remains of Arunachal Pradesh up to 16th century (Ph.D.). Rajiv Gandhi University. hdl:10603/288770.
• Neog, Maheswar (1980). Early History of the Vaiṣṇava Faith and Movement in Assam: Śaṅkaradeva and His Times. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

• Barua, Kanak Lal (1933). Early History of Kamarupa. Gauhati: The Author.
• Hannay, S. F. (1848). “Notes on Ancient Temples and other remains in the vicinity of Sudiya, Upper Assam”. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 17 (198). Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal.
• Baruah, Swarnalata (2007). Chutia Jatir Buranji.