Bhawanipatna: Archaeologists unearthed some cultural treasures from the Mauryan to Kushan period during the ongoing excavation at Asurgarh Fort in Kalahandi district.
The excavation work that began in November last year to discover more about the cultural significance and settlement pattern of the nearby areas is still on and will continue till April, reports said.
“From the findings, it is being inferred that civilization in the area flourished between the 3rd and 4th century BC, during the same period as Sisupalgarh. There are plans to develop it into a tourist site,” said Superintending Archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India (Excavation Branch-IV- Bhubaneswar), Dibishada B Gadnayak.
Silver punch-marked coins, silver and copper toe rings and earrings, a large number of pottery hop scotches, beads of carnelian, jasper, beryl, garnet, agate and coral; glass bangle pieces of different designs and colours, sling balls, pestle, iron equipment like small wheel, ring, harpoon and arrow head were found during the excavations.
The coral beads and imperial variety of silver punch-marked coins strongly indicate long-distance trade and association of hinterland people with sea-faring people.
The remains of the ancient fort are rectangular and cover an extensive area. The extant ramparts are made of rubble and mud with brick-facing. The fort is surrounded by moat on its northern, eastern and southern sides.
Close to the western rampart, river Sandul flows to the north, thereby forming a natural moat on the western side of the fort. There is a big lake on the eastern side of the fort. The fort had four wide gates in four cardinal directions with one guardian deity installed at each gate. The guardian deities are, Ganga at the eastern gate, Kalapat at the western, Vaishnavi at the northern and Dokri at the southern gate.
“The excavation is going on in full swing and hopefully, more clear settlement patterns and important evidence regarding the historical importance of the site and its relation with other important centres of ancient India will emerge,” Gadnayak said.
PNN