The ruins of Hampi were brought to light by which of the following British officers of the East India Company ?

The ruins of Hampi, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, were brought to light in 1800 by Colonel Colin Mackenzie [5]. Mackenzie was an engineer, surveyor, and antiquarian who served as an employee of the English East India Company [5]. He is credited with preparing the first survey map of the site and collecting extensive oral traditions and local histories to reconstruct the region's past [5]. In 1815, he was appointed as the first Surveyor General of India [5]. While other figures like James Prinsep and William Jones were significant in Indian archaeology and linguistics, it was Mackenzie's initial surveys and documentation that initiated the modern rediscovery of Hampi [6]. His work laid the foundation for later photographic documentation by Alexander Greenlaw and conservation efforts by the Archaeological Survey of India [2].

Sources

1. [1] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > Landmarks in the Discovery and Conservation of Vijayanagara > p. 193
2. [5] https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/Col.-Colin-Mackenzie-Eagle-eye-of-a-manuscript-man/article16925797.ece
3. [6] https://www.nitiforstates.gov.in/public-assets/Policy/policy_files/PNC1568R000292.pdf
4. [2] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > 6. Plotting Palaces, Temples and Bazaars > p. 188