The Union Minister for Culture and Tourism, G Kishan Reddy, visited the Purana Kila area in Delhi on Tuesday. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) carried out excavations in the area and discovered artefacts from various periods, dating back 2,500 years. The excavation site is named Indraprastha and yielded nine layers from different periods, including Mauryan, Sunga, Kushan, Gupta, Rajput, Delhi Sultanate, and Mughal rules. This is the only place in the NCR region where excavated remains yielded results from the Mauryan to Mughal periods.
During the excavations, the ASI found a Vikunta Vishnu stone idol, a Gaja Lakshmi terracotta idol, a stone idol of Vinajayaka, seals, coins, toys of humans and animals replicas made out of terracotta material, stone beds, needles made out of bones and more. The excavation yields show that people have been living in the area for centuries during different periods over the past 2,500 years.
The artefacts found at the site will be preserved in a museum at the location. Visitors, students, and researchers will be allowed to see and study them. The ASI has been conducting excavations in the area since 1955, and further excavations will commence at the hillock on the site in an area going down to a depth of 5.5 km from January 2023.
Kishan Reddy said that a request would be made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for planning a visit by the heads of the States meeting of G20 scheduled in September 2023.
