Fresh excavation to begin soon at Purana Qila in Delhi to preserve old trenches

Archaeologists are all set to carry out a fresh round of excavation at Delhis 16th century Purana Qila with an aim to expose and preserve the trenches that were excavated in previous such exercises, officials said on Tuesday.During this seasons excavation, the focus would also be on accomplishing the traces of painted grey ware finding in stratigraphical context, they said.The Archaeological Survey of India ASI is all set to begin excavation at Delhis Purana Qila again.

Archaeologists are all set to carry out a fresh round of excavation at Delhi's 16th century Purana Qila with an aim to expose and preserve the trenches that were excavated in previous such exercises, officials said on Tuesday.

During this season's excavation, the focus would also be on accomplishing the ''traces of painted grey ware finding in stratigraphical context'', they said.

''The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is all set to begin excavation at Delhi's Purana Qila again. The excavation will be led by Vasant Swarnkar and would be the third season of excavation at Purana Qila after excavations in the year 2013-14 and 2017-18,'' the Culture Ministry said in a statement.

The objective of the latest excavation is the exposure and preservation of the trenches that were excavated in the previous years, it said.

''Preliminary work like removal of grass, etc has begun, and excavation work will begin shortly,'' a senior official of the ASI said.

During the closure of the previous season's excavation, ''evidence of layers predating the Mauryan period was found,'' the statement said.

Identified as ancient settlement of Indraprastha, a continuous habitation of 2,500 years at Purana Qila was established in earlier excavations, it said.

''The findings and artefacts unearthed in earlier excavations comprises painted grey ware, belonging to 900 BC, an earthen pottery sequence from Maurya to Shunga, Kushana, Gupta, Rajput, Sultanates and Mughal periods,'' the ministry said.

''Excavated artefacts such as sickles, parers, terracotta toys, kiln-burnt bricks, beads, terracotta figurines, seal and dealings, excavated earlier are now displayed at the Archaeological Museum inside the fort complex,'' it said.

Purana Qila was built by Sher Shah Suri and Mughal emperor Humayun. The fort stands on a site nestling thousands of years of history.

Padma Vibhushana Prof B B Lal also carried out excavation works inside the fort and its premises in the year 1954 and 1969-73, it said.

Archaeologist Lal, a stalwart in the field of Indian archaeology, had died in September 2022 aged 101.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)