Patna Museum

Patna Museum is a two-story building with multiple galleries in the capital of Bihar, displaying archaeological finds and artworks from various centuries of the region. The rooms spread around a central courtyard and house collections of sculptures, coins, terracottas, and manuscripts from local excavations.

The museum was founded in 1917 during British colonial rule to collect finds from excavations across Bihar. The institution received objects over the years from Buddhist sites such as Nalanda and Vaishali, as well as from Hindu temples in the region.

The museum exhibits numerous Buddhist relics, including sculptures from the Mauryan and Gupta periods, along with traditional handicrafts from Bihar region.

The museum opens daily except Mondays and public holidays, with afternoon closing times. Visitors should plan enough time to view all galleries at a comfortable pace.

A fossilized tree trunk measuring 16 meters (52 feet) in length lies in one of the galleries and dates back around 200 million years. This find from the Satpura Range belongs to the oldest organic exhibits in the collection.