After the first explorations of the site by Colin Mackenzie, Sir Walter Elliot of the Madras Civil Service undertook excavations at the Amaravati stūpa in 1845 and transported the excavated pieces to Madras, where they were placed on the greens in front of the College.
After enquiries from the Court of Directors of the East India Company, the stones were moved to a slightly less exposed site in front of the Museum.
In 1853, the Curator of the Museum, Dr. Edward Balfour of the Madras Medical Service, informed London that the condition of the sculptures was deteriorating due to their situation and in order for the Company to make a decision as to whether the stones were of sufficient artistic importance to merit transportation to London, Balfour arranged for a series of drawings to be made of the pieces by the Indian artist P. Murugasa Moodaliar in 1855.
The drawings are preserved in the British Library.
Although in general these drawings gave a good idea of the sculptures, Balfour was not entirely satisfied with their accuracy and therefore persuaded Dr A. J. Scott to take a series of photographs, which were also forwarded to London.

In 1858, Linnaeus Tripe made a further series of photographs of the sculptures in Chennai.
A set is preserved in the British Library as Photographs of the Elliot Marbles; and other subjects; in the Central Museum Madras (Madras, 1858–59) under shelfmark Photo 958.
In the following year, namely 1858, some of the Amaravati sculptures were shipped to London on the orders of the Court of Directors of the East India Company.
After the first explorations of the site by Colin Mackenzie, Sir Walter Elliot of the Madras Civil Service undertook excavations at the Amaravati stūpa in 1845 and transported the excavated pieces to Madras, where they were placed on the greens in front of the College. After enquiries from the Court of Directors of the East India Company, the stones were moved to a slightly less exposed site in front of the Museum. In 1853, the Curator of the Museum, Dr. Edward Balfour of the Madras Medical Service, informed London that the condition of the sculptures was deteriorating due to their situation and in order for the Company to make a decision as to whether the stones were of sufficient artistic importance to merit transportation to London, Balfour arranged for a series of drawings to be made of the pieces by the Indian artist P. Murugasa Moodaliar in 1855. The drawings are preserved in the British Library. Although in general these drawings gave a good idea of the sculptures, Balfour was not entirely satisfied with their accuracy and therefore persuaded Dr A. J. Scott to take a series of photographs, which were also forwarded to London.
In 1858, Linnaeus Tripe made a further series of photographs of the sculptures in Chennai. A set is preserved in the British Library as Photographs of the Elliot Marbles; and other subjects; in the Central Museum Madras (Madras, 1858–59) under shelfmark Photo 958. In the following year, namely 1858, some of the Amaravati sculptures were shipped to London on the orders of the Court of Directors of the East India Company.
Amaravati Marbles