Excavation of historical, mythological sites on agenda, ASI gets 3rd of ministry’s budget outlay

Several sites mentioned in the ancient texts of Ramayana and Mahabharata will be explored in the coming years, for which a detailed site-by-site plan is being worked out, said sources, adding that maritime archaeology will also be revived for underwater explorations.

As for maritime exploration, projects will be readied for excavations in Dwarka (Gujarat), several mythological sites in the Cauvery delta (Tamil Nadu), and sites along the coast in Maharashtra and Odisha, even as there is no plan for the Ram Setu site, officials say.

“Around Rs 5 crore will be spent towards excavation projects this year, which goes up to Rs 20 crore next year,” said an official, adding that at least Rs 100 crore will be earmarked for excavations over the next five years.

Besides the sites pertaining to Ramayana and Mahabharata, a number of excavations will also be undertaken in the southern part of India, officials said, adding that the Deccan heritage will be the focus. “Excavation will be done in all the areas where history has been erased,” said an official source.

The ASI has already started excavations at the Purana Qila mounds in Delhi, which finds mention in the Mahabharata as the Pandava kingdom of Indraprastha. “The extensive work is being carried out at the behest of the Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy, to explore Indian culture as mentioned in ancient literary texts,” said ASI’s Conservation Director Vasant Swarnkar, who is overseeing the current season of excavations.

At the verge of closure of the previous excavations in 2017, evidence of the pre-Mauryan period (2,500 years ago) was found, but the effort this time is to conclusively reach the oldest possible layer of civilisational trace at the site, officials say.

Between 1950s and 1970s, the then ASI director, BB Lal had also embarked on a mission to excavate various sites mentioned in the Mahabharata. On the basis of painted grey ware found at Purana Qila mounds, which archaeologically belongs to the 6th-12th century BC, Lal had claimed that Purana Qila is the Pandava kingdom of Indraprastha, estimating 900 BC as the period of the war recounted in the epic. Lal had also led the excavation at the Ramjanmabhoomi site.