Question

Which material used to build fort by shivaji?

Answer 1

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of Maratha empire in western India in 1664, was well known for his forts; he was in possession of around 370 at the time of his death. Many, like Panhala Fort and Rajgad existed before him but others, like Sindhudurg and Pratapgad, were built by him from scratch. Shivaji attached great importance to his forts. As has been observed, "Not a pass was left undefended, not a peak was left unfortified and every sub-division of a district was provided with one or more strongholds, and the whole country was secured by a net-work of forts". The territory old and new under Shivaji contained 240 forts, both land and naval forts, out of which 111 were built by him and 79 were situated in eastern Karnatak and Tamilnadu.

The sites of the forts were carefully selected. Often a narrow and steep path that zigzagged along an inaccessible precipice would be the only way leading to the fort. The fortifications were simple but effective – a massive wall defended by a few resolute men, even with primitive arms and crude missiles, could defy for months the utmost efforts of the strongest besieging force. "All that was needed therefore was a good site, a strong rampart, sufficient provisions and plenty of military stores".

The value of these forts was amply demonstrated during Aurangzeb's invasion of Maharashtra in 1682 and continued warfare there lasting for almost quarter of a century. Each fort cost the Mughal Emperor enormous expenditure and loss of men and time.

Construction
Stone was the most important material for building fortifications in medieval India. Walls were erected by one of the following three construction methods. A wall could be an earthen rampart faced with stone on both sides. The rampart was built using the earth excavated while digging the ditch, with three-quarters of it used for building a rampart and one-quarter for levelling out the surface inside the fortress and in front of the ditch. Facing the rampart with stone allowed for the erection of higher and steeper walls than those possible with a purely earthen rampart. The structure had a substantial shortcoming, however: an earthen core accumulated water, which could destroy the stone shell. Drainage channels were therefore installed along the length of the wall from top to bottom.
The second method consisted of filling the space between the outer layers with earth mixed with rubble. This core was considerably harder than simply using rammed earth. The third and most advanced method involved the use of mortar. A rubble-built wall fastened with mortar was strong and long lasting. Construction methods depended, however, on the materials available

The gates of medieval Indian forts were highly decorated. Two distinct styles are seen. The Hindu style with a lintel and the Mughal style with an arch. Gates in Indian forts were often high and wide to allow elephants to pass. Often they had rows of sharp, stout iron spikes to dissuade an attacking army from using elephants to break down the gates. Such a gate with spikes can be seen on the Shaniwarwada fort, Pune. The walls of the forts were often looked higher from the outside than the inside as the forts made use of the natural rock formations on hills. This not only gave an illustion of greater height but also lead to the lower walls of the fort to be entirely made up of natural rock providing almost a perfect defense against the use of a battering ram or elephants to tear down the walls.