Purana Qila’s history might have a lot more to it than what is written in the history books; an excavation at the popular heritage site in New Delhi has unearthed traces of painted grey ware that belong to the Iron Age, as experts believe.
Experts involved in this excavation process carried out at the popular tourist attraction in the national capital believe that this painted grey ware showcases the Iron Age culture, which existed in the western Gangetic plain and Ghaggar-Hakkar valley between 600 BC and 1200 BC.
Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI’s) Vasant Swarnkar, who is also the Project Director of this excavation confirmed these findings as he told a national daily, “We have found traces of painted grey ware or PGW but not yet in the stratified layer, which technically establishes the presence of a culture. We shall be able to ascertain with surety once the digging is complete, probably by the end of this financial year”.
Although the current round of digging at the site has already reached a depth of 11 metres, the ASI team experts working on the project believe that more findings are expected from the final layer earth, which is expected to be reached by the next month when a couple of metres more would have been dug.
Revealing more about the findings from the excavation, Swarnkar said that due to Purana Qila’s proximity to the Yamuna River, the place acted as an important site of trade and industrialactivities for a long time, covering many periods including the likes of Mauryan, Shunga, Kushana, Rajput and Mughal eras. Things that bear proof of this fact include the current findings of terracota, beads, figurines and coins belonging to these dynasties.
Although Purana Qila is already one of the most popular tourist attractions in Delhi, authorities are planning to turn it into a world-class tourist destination to showcase the “cultural continuity” of Delhi once the project wraps up.
Talking about how things will turn out after the excavation work is complete, the Project Director sad that the dug-out site would be showcased to the tourists by covering it with transparent roof and then exposing it to the public with proper signages and maps. Aiding the deeper understanding of tourists will be the interpretation centre that will tell visitors about the site’s history.