Union Culture Minister Reddy visits Purana Quila excavation site

New Delhi, May 30 (PTI) Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy visited the Purana Quila excavation site on Tuesday and said the government considers it as an “important archaeological site”.

The fresh round of excavation which began in January is being led by Vasant Swarnkar and it is the third season of excavation at Purana Qila, after excavations in the year 2013-14 and 2017-18.

Reddy visited the excavation site and saw the trenches and artefacts on display.

A range of artefacts have been unearthed as a result of multiple rounds of excavations, which date from Pre-Mauryan era to Mughal period, a senior ASI official said.

Pre-Mauryan artefacts include beads and other ancient objects, he said.

Officials in January this year had said that archaeologists were all set to carry out a fresh round of excavation at Delhi’s 16th century Purana Qila with an aim to expose and preserve the trenches that were excavated in previous such exercises.

Another ASI official said a fresh trench has also been dug at the excavation site.

Reddy said, “We consider this as an important archaeological site”, and the excavation is being done by a select team of specialists.

The Ministry of Culture in a statement earlier had said that during the closure of the previous season’s excavation, “evidence of layers predating the Mauryan period was found”.

Identified as ancient settlement of Indraprastha, a continuous habitation of 2,500 years at Purana Qila was established in earlier excavations, it said.

“The findings and artefacts unearthed in earlier excavations comprises painted grey ware, belonging to 900 BC, an earthen pottery sequence from Maurya to Shunga, Kushana, Gupta, Rajput, Sultanates and Mughal periods,” the ministry had said.

Purana Qila was built by Sher Shah Suri and Mughal emperor Humayun. The fort stands on a site nestling thousands of years of history.

Padma Vibhushana Prof B B Lal also carried out excavation works inside the fort and its premises in the year 1954 and 1969-73, the ministry had said.