Excavation will be done again to find ‘Indraprastha’, the capital of Pandava

Purana Qila

New Delhi – Delhi, the capital of India, is said to be the original capital of the Pandava’s ‘Indraprastha’. Excavations have been carried out at various times over the last 60 to 70 years to gather evidence of this. Now the excavation drive will be undertaken for the sixth time. This is said to be the last attempt to find Indraprastha. The excavations at Purana Qila in the capital are likely to start from next month. It is considered as the fort of Pandava.

In the previous 5 excavations, remains from various periods of the Maurya period were found including Idols of Shri Vishnu, Shri Ganesh, and Shri Lakshmi. These remains are estimated to be 2,500 years old. Following the instructions of the Government of India, this time the latest technology will be used in the excavation. The Survey of Archeology (ASI) is planning a ‘LIDER’ survey under the state-of-the-art system. By this means buried remains are discovered under the soil. The responsibility for this has been given to senior officer Vasant Swarnakar. He himself has excavated the Purana Fort thrice.

Credits : Zee News

When the surveys were conducted ?

In 1954-55, the first excavation was done under the supervision of the former Director General of the ASI Prof. B.B. Lal. After the second excavation in 1969-1973, the excavation took place in 2013-14 after a gap of 41 years. This was followed by excavations in the year 2017-2018 and finally in the year 2022-23.

What are the findings of the excavation ?

Excavations so far have yielded terracotta toys and fragments of brown pottery. These vessels date back to 1000 BC. Pots bearing such evidence have been found in many places associated with the Mahabharat. Their time was fixed at 1000 BC. However, no urban structures have been found in the excavations so far. In the excavations carried out in the year 2023 revealed remains from the Mauryan period, Shunga period, Kushan period, Gupta period, Rajput period, Sultan period, and later Mughal period.

In the year 1955, during the excavations in the southeastern part of the old fort, fragments of clay matching the objects of the Mahabharat period were found. However, the ASI is still looking for strong evidence.