NEW DELHI: Fresh round of excavation will soon begin at the 16th-century fort--Purana Quila--in the national capital after about four years.
The director (conservation) of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Vasant Swarnkar will lead the season. This would be the third season of excavation under him at Purana Qila. Earlier, he held archaeological digging at the site in 2013-14 and 2017-18.
ASI officials said the objective behind the latest excavation is the exposure and preservation of the trenches that were excavated on previous occasions.
"During the closure of the previous season’s excavation, evidence of layers predating the Mauryan period was found. During this season’s excavation, the focus would also be to accomplish the traces of Painted Grey Ware (PGW) finding in stratigraphical context," said officials. Identified as the ancient settlement of Indraprastha, a continuous habitation of 2,500 years at Purana Qila was established in earlier excavations.
The findings and artefacts unearthed in earlier excavations comprise painted grey ware (PGW), belonging to 900BC, an earthen pottery sequence from Maurya to Shunga, Kushana, Gupta, Rajput, Sultanates and Mughal periods.
Artefacts found during previous diggings such as sickles, parers, terracotta toys, kiln-burnt bricks, beads, terracotta figurines, seals and dealings are now displayed at the Archaeological Museum inside the fort complex.
Purana Quila, the 16th-century fort, was built by Sher Shah Suri and the second Mughal emperor Humayun.
Padmavibhushan Prof BB Lal also carried out excavation inside the fort and its premises twice in the years 1954 and 1969 -73.