Sirpur became a major archaeological site after it was visited in 1882 by Alexander Cunningham, a colonial British India official. His report on a Laxman (Lakshmana) temple at Sirpur brought it to international attention. The site remained neglected in early 20th-century during the decades of the World Wars, and excavations resumed in 1953. There were further excavations in 1990s and then particularly after 2003 when 184 mounds were identified and some selectively excavated. Those excavations have so far yielded 22 Shiva temples, 5 Vishnu temples, 10 Buddha Viharas, 3 Jain Viharas, a 6th/7th century market and snana-kund (bath house). The site shows extensive syncretism, where Buddhist and Jain statues or motifs intermingle with Shiva, Vishnu and Devi temples.