BAILEY'S DUNGEON, Seringapatam
12.413900,76.704200
Description
An underground 18th century brick structure with many vaults and pillars encloses a space (30.5 m wide, 12.5 m deep, up to 3.5 m high) sunken into alluvium. The dungeon called after one Colonel Bailey or Baillie (note 1) who is said to have died here. The former dungeon once was flooded to a fitting level with water but nowadays the tourist attraction is kept dry, well-swept and improved with a hygienic concrete floor to suite what the Archaeological Survey of India treats as a "protected monument". SITUATION: North of Ranganathaswamy temple and at the north-eastern margin of Tipu Sultan's fort on the island Shrirangapatnam (N12°24'49”: E76°42'15”) in the valley of the river Kaveri (Cauvery, Cavery, Kaubari), some 15 km north-east of Mysore (12°18'26”N: 76°38'59”E) on the road to Bangalore (N12°59': E77°35'). CAVE LIFE: SARKAR et al. (1980: 993) had selected an »abandoned subterranean magazine in Srirangapatna [sic!] itself« as a banding site for bats (Chiroptera) but at the present state of "conservation" absolutely no cave fauna is able to survive.
NOTE 1: The ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) signboard at the site itself spells »Bailey« (seen 14.02.2004) but LONELY PLANET, South India (2001: 342) reports »… the grim dungeon where Colonel Baillie [sic!], defeated by Tipu at the Battle of Pollipore in 1780, died along with many other British prisoners.« LONELY PLANET, India (1997, 2003, 2005, 2007) bypasses this pitfall by referring in some cases to several »dungeons where Tipu held British officers captive« (2003: 858; 2005: 824) and on other occasions to one »dungeon where Tipu held a number of British officers« (LONELY PLANET, India 1997: 938, 2007: 938).
Documents
Bibliography 31/05/2016- Lonely Planet, India 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007; Lonely Planet, South India 2001.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.2 | GAUTAMA RISHI CAVE, Seringapatam | ||
| 10.3 | PANDAVA CAVE, Pandavapura - Kuntibetta | ||
| 57.3 | HULIYURDURGA TUNNEL | ||
| 61.4 | PURUSHOTTAMA GUHA | ||
| 65.4 | KABBALDURGA DUNGEONS | ||
| 77.8 | Mile 26 Cave | ||
| 85.3 | SAVANADURGA BAT CAVE | ||
| 100.0 | SHIVAGANGA HILL (Caves on the) | ||
| 100.0 | PATALE GANGA, Shivaganga |