Indian Archeology News And Discussion Thread

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Excavations show Harappan site died as Saraswati river dried

The Indus Valley civilisation, popularly known as Harappan civilisation, has been a puzzle for several decades now. But with the ongoing excavation in Rakhigarhi, Haryana, jointly conducted by archaeologists of Deccan College, Pune, and Haryana Department of Archaeology, along with forensic scientists from Seoul National University, South Korea, history is on the verge of being rewritten. "After Rakhigarhi, we can say that the Harappan civilisation was at least 1,000 years older than earlier thought. And contrary to our longheld, conventional understanding, it first emerged in the east and then moved west, originating as it did in the heart of the Ghaggar-Hakra basin, regarded by many as the place where the Saraswati once flowed," says Vasant Shinde, vice-chancellor of Deccan College who heads the team of archeologists - the largest Harappan site overtaking Mohenjodaro in Pakistan's Sind province. What's going to ruffle quite a few feathers, is Harappa's supposed Saraswati connection, especially the way the drying up of one probably led to the decline of the other.

Rewriting history

Shinde says that prior to his excavation it was believed that Rakhigarhi had all the three phases of the Harappan culture - 'Early', 'Mature' and 'Late'. "Our work proves that this place doesn't have the Late Harappan phase. It collapsed around 2000 BC," says he, adding: "I believe Rakhigarhi's sudden demise can be explained with the drying up of the Saraswati in 2000 BC."


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Excavations show Harappan site died as Saraswati river dried

 

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Archaeologists dig up evidence of dynasties settlements in 45 villages

PUNE: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has stumbled upon thousands of archaeological specimens in around 45 villages falling within the 80-km stretch of the Girija valley in Aurangabad. Archaeologists said that the antiquities indicate the existence of rural settlements of the Satvahana dynasty, Vakataka dynasty, Yadava dynasty, Bahmani and Mughal, Maratha dynasties. They said that this stretch and the 51 villages in it have hitherto remained unexplored and were earlier thought to contain no archaeological remains of historically important dynasties. The find is therefore the first of its kind in Marathwada, indicating the existence of the rural settlements of these dynasties here. An ASI archaeologist said that the recent explorations were undertaken along the Girija river valley. The Girija river originates from the hill station Mhaismal in Aurangabad and flows towards the east, meeting the Purna river. "The valley stretch is about 80km and has close to 51 villages, out of which 45 villages were found to have archaeological remains. The earliest sites whose evidence was found from here date back to the Satavahana period, from 2nd century BC to 2nd century AD. The remains we found also indicated that these sites continued to flourish as Vakataka dynasty sites as well. The Vakataka dynasty originated from the Deccan in the mid-third century of the current era and is responsible for the excavation of the Ajanta caves," he said.

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Archaeologists dig up evidence of dynasties settlements in 45 villages

 

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Buddha foot prints found during excavation in Chhattisgarh

BILASPUR: In a major discovery the archaeological department has found Buddha foot prints, used for worship, during an excavation at village Damroo in Baloda Bazaar-Bhatapara district, about 60 km from here. The find assumes importance as such Buddha foot prints had not been found anywhere in central India up to now. Damrooo is situated on the banks of river Shivnath and provides uninterrupted cultural sequences to the early historical chapter of Chhattisgarh. Archaeological excavation at the village has opened some new aspects in the history and archaeology of the state. There are three big mounds here that contain potteries of black ware, red slipped ware and fine fabrics. The site is surrounded by a circular rampart, or mud fort, popularly known as garh. Speaking exclusively to TOI with regard to the recent findings at Damroo, director, archaeology Rakesh Chaturvedi informed that the mud fortification at Damroo measures about 370 south-west and 460 m east-west, with a maximum height of about nine m from the present surface. The western part of the site is vandalised by local residents. This is the first mud fort site that was excavated by the state archaeology department under direction of Dr SShivkant Bajpai and Rahul Singh. The excavation is being carried out here since 2013 and has yielded several antiquities ranging from early historical period to later Gupta period. Last year early Brahmi inscriptions on terracotta tablets were found here in bulk quantity.


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Buddha foot prints found during excavation in Chhattisgarh

 

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Skeleton discovered in Odisha’s Talagada 4000-year old

 

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New light on stupa ancestry - Aragada structure older than initially thought

 

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Remains of 2,000-year-old city discovered in Chhattisgarh

 

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Rare sculptures discovered at Hampi

 

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Tomb of ancient man who 'attained mukthi' found in Tamil Nadu

One of the dolmens found in Tamil Nadu

MADURAI: A group of archaeologists from Palani have discovered five dolmenoid cists, probably belonging to the megalithic period, in a tribal village in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu. According to archaeologist V Narayanamoorthy, who stumbled upon these ancient structures at Kummalamarthupatti in the Western Ghats on Saturday, only two of the five dolmens found in the area are intact. Only the remains of the other three can be seen. One of them is four feet in heights while the other one is six and a half feet in heights. The capstone of the taller dolmen measures about 10-meter in diameter. According to Narayanamoorthy, the capstone might weigh around two tonne. It has an 8-cm diameter circle in the middle, which drawn in red ink. The centre of the circle is marked with a red point. T L Subash Chandira Bose, an archeo-symbolist, said the sign on the dolmen signified that the person buried under it had lived a full life and attained the 'mukthi' state according to Hinduism. "This larger circle with a centre dot signifies what we call, 'parathuvam' that is attaining eternity without rebirth and to my knowledge this is the first time that this sign has been found in this part of Tamil Nadu. Usually, there would be two or more circles, under the capstones'' he said.

Tomb of ancient man who 'attained mukthi' found in Tamil Nadu

 

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Archaeologists unearth Pandya period temple foundation in TN

Tirunelveli: The foundation of a temple, built during the Pandyas reign between the seventh and eighth centuries, has been unearthed during an excavation exercise at a fort here. The archaeologists carried the excavation at 'Ukkiran Kottai', the fort named after Pandya king Ukkira who ruled between 768-815 BC. Deputy Superintendent of Archaeology, Vasanthi and Director of Excavation, Ranjit said on Friday that an inscription found at the site revealed that the name of the locality was originally. Karavanthapuram and came to be known as 'Ukkiran Kottai' after the fort was constructed. The fort was one among many garrisons built by Pandya kings to protect the extensive kingdom, surrounded by the sea and hills, they said. "It was the practise of the Pandya kings to build a temple dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar wherever their fort was located. The temple which we have excavated is one such," they said. The defensive structure of the fort, including a moat, revealed that it could have played a significant role in the security of the kingdom being in a strategic locality, they said, adding that a structure of the dome of the sanctum sanctorum was found in a damaged condition. The fort had also doubled as an ordnance factory where arms were manufactured. The archaeologists opined that arms, steel chains and equipment needed for palace security might have been made there and said more details would be known after additional excavation. The excavated articles would soon be displayed to the public, they said.

Archaeologists unearth Pandya period temple foundation in TN

 

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1,500-year-old ruins of temples discovered in Madhya Pradesh

 

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Unearthed, remains of a 3,000 years old civilization

 

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Rare ceramic of second century BC found in Chhattisgarh mud fort

 

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Jain treasure for museum - Tribals dig up idols at Rayagada

 

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Remnants of India's one of the oldest port found in Goa

 

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What was cooking in Harappa?
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NIO, ASI underwater bid to look for Dwarka, Ram Setu

 

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Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is excavating sites in Papaur in Siwan district, which is believed to have been the spot where The Buddha consumed his last meal before his Parinirvana.

 

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IIT-Gn finds rich Harappan remains in Bhagatrav

AHMEDABAD: IIT-Gandhinagar has discovered some rich remains of the Harappan civilization and medieval period in Bhagatrav, an archaeological site in Hansot taluka of Bharuch district in Gujarat. The team has found a respectable number of lead pieces, many geological samples having rich iron contents, stone beads, evidences of production of glazed ware (pottery) in Bhagatrav. The discoverer of the site, late S R Rao, had hypothesized the site to be a port site, contemporary to Lothal. The excavation, carried out from April 7 to May 24, was in association with Gujarat state archaeology and partially funded by Archaeological Survey of India. "We have excavated numbers of leads which were probably used to make surma during the Indus Valley Civilization and as alloy in metal production," said Dr Alok Kumar Kanungo, excavation director of the site and assistant research professor (archaeology), IIT-Gn. He said, "The team also discovered stone beads and glazed ware crafts that were probably traded to parts of coastal regions." Dr Kanungo said it will be interesting to work on the relationship of present day Khambat and this site of Bhagatrav on the basis of the finds, cultural sequence and contacts of Harappan people with the rest of the world and economy of the site.

IIT-Gn finds rich Harappan remains in Bhagatrav

 

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'Summer Palace' at Qutub Shahi has a chinese connect

 

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Second largest maze of ancient stones found