CUTTACK : The ongoing excavation at Barabati fort complex in Cuttack has unravelled several architectural remains of a temple (Kalingan style of architecture), a palace, shreds of Chinese pottery and many more antiquities, uncovering evidence of continuous evolution of the site through different historical periods.
The excavation, started by the Archaeological Survey of India (Puri circle), three months back, aims at tracing the maritime trade link between Odisha and South East Asian countries and material culture prior to 12th-13th century. The findings so far include several shreds of painted Chinese porcelain pottery dating back to the 14th century Ming dynasty, known for its trade expansion to the outside world. The pottery shreds have paintings of Chinese pagodas, flowers and trees in rich blue colour.
The findings are from trenches dug up in three directions of the ancient fort which was built by the Ganga dynasty on the banks of Mahanadi river. While several temple and palace fragments have been excavated from the trench that has been created on the north east direction of the remains of the pillared hall of the fort, the Chinese pottery pieces have been dug out from the trench on the eastern part of the fort. The temple fragments included a large sculpted piece with multiple figurines, a large sandstone sculpture of a lion and an elephant panel. The third trench is located behind the Museum of Justice.
The fragments apart, excavation in all the three trenches revealed a structure with four courses made of laterite blocks (220 metre below the surface), a collapsed structure made of laterite boulders and lime blocks. Remains of a floor and pathway have also been unearthed, all spanning across three structural phases - 12th, 13th and 14th century, informed ASI (Puri circle head) DB Garnayak.
“A mound is being cleared in the north east direction currently which would help us determine the link between the collapsed structures, the pathway and the floor,” he informed.
The other antiquity findings from the complex are greyware pottery, lamp fragments, sling balls, animal figurines of terracotta, miniature pots and portions of ‘hukkah’, among other things.
“The pottery findings point to trade relations with China particularly during the 14th century. These pottery fragments were found just 1 metre below the surface. As we dig further, we are hoping to get material remains to establish Odisha’s maritime connections with other South East Asian countries soon,” he added.
In the previous digs of the fort in 2007, a smaller quantity of Chinese porcelain were found along with other antiquities. Prior to that in 1989, excavation of the central mound area of the fort complex revealed the remains of a palace, a pavilion and foundation blocks made of khondalite. The previous excavations of the site were carried out to establish the cultural chronology of the fortified fort.