Archaeological Museum, Vijayapura

The Archaeological Museum of Vijayapura occupies the Naqqar Khana, or drum house, of the Gol Gumbaz complex. Founded in 1892 as a small collection, it is one of the oldest site museums in India, and its home is itself a fine Adil Shahi building with a raised plinth, tall arches and heavy piers.

The galleries cover Brahmanical and Jain sculpture, inscriptions in Sanskrit, Kannada, Persian and Arabic in a range of scripts, and Adil Shahi weapons and metalwork. Other rooms show miniature paintings, carpets and small metal objects from court life, along with Chinese porcelain and Arabic and Persian manuscripts that reflect the city's links with distant lands. Gol Gumbaz itself, Bara Kaman and Gagan Mahal are close by.