BERHAMPUR: An excavation jointly by the Odisha Institute of Maritime and South East Asian Studies and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at Palur in Ganjam district has got underway from Friday.
Project director, of Odia Language, Literature and Culture department, Odisha, Sunil Kumar Patnaik said Chilika lagoon explorations have brought to light many protohistoric sites in and around the early historic port of Palur area which also continued up to the prehistoric period.
The early historic port of Palur, identified with 2nd century AD Paloura of Ptolemy, is located near the modern Palur village in between the south of Rambha harbour and north of Rushikulya estuary in the Chhatrapur sub-division of Ganjam district.
The harbour is protected by the arms of Dumanagiri hills which run from east to west, Jhinkarradi hills in the northwest and the estuary of Rushikulya River in the south. Presently, littoral drift and a few coastal islands separate the ancient harbour from the Bay of Bengal.
During a recent survey, many important facts came to light based on which excavation of Palur has begun and it will continue till December 2023, Patnaik added. The joint excavation work has been taken up with assistance from archaeologists of Utkal, Fakir Mohan and Benaras Hindu universities and the ASI.