Archaeology Survey of India (ASI) team led by Superintendent Archaeologist(excavation branch V) Jitendra Nath will start excavation work in Kutch’s Khirasara village based Harappan site today. Khirasara falls in Nakhatrana taluka, 85 km from Bhuj.

“The excavation will start on 10 December with four trenches and will be expanded when needed,” Jitendra Nath told DeshGujarat.

“We have found 300 sq meter stone wall in a private agricultural land at Khirasara where excavation is scheduled. Our excavation will start with this wall in focus. There is 3 meter deposit at the site. The excavation will continue for about three years. We want to study Khirasara Harappan settlement’s relation with other contemporary Harappan settlements. We also want to study town planning, settlement pattern, trade etc,” added Jitendra Nath.

Khirasara is believed a rich site even before excavation due to its past upper surface record. In 1970 some Harappan antiquities were discovered from this site. An ASI official while re-exploring the site had encountered a cubical weight of substantive size, chanks and pottery of the Harappan period, besides sprinklers and spouts of red polished ware of early historical times in 1976-77. Some seals found from this site are exhibited in Bhuj museum.

“Most excavations in Kutch including prominent Harappan archaeological sites such as Dholavira, Surkotda, Kanmer or Juni Koran, have been carried out in eastern parts. It’s for the first time that there will be an excavation at Khirasara, which is a Harappan site in western Kutch.

While a team from MS University’s archaeology department had taken up excavation at Kutch’s Shikarpur, a Sindhi Harappan site almost a year ago, ASI itself since past three years had been carrying out excavation work at Juni Kuran.