Chitalwala keeps date with history

RAJKOT, Nov 23: Every major excavation in Saurashtra in the last 25 years has been carried out under the leadership of Y M Chitalwala who...

RAJKOT, Nov 23: Every major excavation in Saurashtra in the last 25 years has been carried out under the leadership of Y M Chitalwala who heads the Rajkot section of Department of Archaeology, Government of Gujarat. One of the few renowned field archaeologists in the country today, Chitalwala has worked on more than 15 excavation projects in Saurashtra and different parts of India.

8220;The common notion is that archaeologists just spend their time digging around. But, in reality, archaeology is a scientific study of a particular period running through the entire gamut of ecology, climate pattern, people, culture, economy etc,8221; he said.

Chitalwala was born and brought up in Calcutta and did his masters degree in archaeology from there. He pursued further research at Deccan College, Pune under the guidance of world renowned archaeologist Dr H D Sakalia from 1972 to 1975. Chitalwala, whose research is based on the Harappan civilization, says he was the first archaeologist in the country who specialised in settlement archaeology8217;.

He then joined as superintending archaeologist in Kutch and was later transferred and promoted to Rajkot. Saurashtra is a major area as far as cultural heritage is concerned. Chitalwala informs they have found Stone Age tools in Saurashtra which date back to 30,000 years. At present there are 225 archaeological monuments in Saurashtra and around 500 mounds8217; of different periods, he added.

Chitalwala says the major excavations carried out in Saruashtra during the last 25 years have been at Somnath, Rozdi, in collaboration with Pennsylvania University, US, Kuntasi on the Saurashtra coast which proved to be the most ancient dockyard8217; in the world was a major breakthrough, Oriya in Bhavnagar district, Babu Math in Rangpur and Vallabhipur, an other ancient port of Saurashtra.

Apart from civilizations, Chitalwala has conducted an indepth study of the climate, ecology and rainfall patterns of Saurashtra in the Harappan period. 8220;The ecology and rainfall patterns in Saurashtra were very different from what they are now. The entire region had an extensive forest cover of the Gir and Bardo forests. Rainfall was quite high. Bones of animals like the rhinos have also been found in Saurashtra, proving that a wide range of wild animals, besides lions inhabited the region. However, expansion of human inhabitation resulted in ecological changes and irregular rainfall pattern,8221; he said.

Chitalwala believes archaeology today lacks trained people, but he is optimistic that things will change for the better soon as people are gradually taking an interest in their culture.