Sarnath Circle, the 27th Circle of Archaeological Survey of India was established on 2 September 2013 by joining together some parts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh of Patna Circle and some of Lucknow Circle. Before the establishment of this circle it was a sub-circle under the jurisdiction of the Patna Circle. This newly created circle has started working from 22.02.2014. Four Sub-Circles namely Sarnath, Prayagraj, Jaunpur and Kushinagar are under the jurisdiction of Sarnath Circle. There are total 136 monuments/sites under the control of this circle which are fall in 21 districts of the Eastern Uttar Pradesh. These districts are Prayagraj, Amethi, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Ballia, Basti, Chandauli, Deoria, Ghazipur, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur, Kaushambi, Kushinagar, Mau, Mirzapur, Pratapgarh, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Sonbhadra, Sant Kabir Nagar, Sultanpur and Varanasi.

The monuments of this circle can be classified in many groups such as Pillar Sites, Temple Sites, Mounds, Sculptural Site, Cave – Cum- Inscriptional Site, Colonial Sites/buildings, Muslim/Islamic Monuments, Forts and Sites with Buddhist remains, Megalithic Burial Site and Observatory.