Archaeological excavation begins at Harappan site Dhaneti in Kutch, skeleton discovered

Bhuj: One-month long archaeological excavation work has started at prospective Harappan site near village Dhaneti in Bhuj taluka of Kutch district in Gujarat.

About six years ago Archaeological and Ancient History department of Maharaja Sayajirao(MS) University in Vadodara had conducted survey of Harappan sites across Gujarat in which more than 700 Harappan sites were identified. Recently when some locals at Dhaneti dig the soil little dipper they found pieces of bones. When MS University came to know about this fact, a team led by professor Ajithprasad decided to excavate the site.

Site incharge Prof Ajithprasad said the current excavation which started on 26 January will complete on February 26. The excavation work is taking place through Rs 4 lakh grant by central government.

He said it looks like the site which is located at around 3 km distance from Dhaneti villge represents a cremation ground where dead bodies were buried deep inside the ground along with concealed pots filled with soil accompanied by stone mark nearby.

The excavation team which also include prof Pratpchandran and Prof Rutvik joined by 11 students and over two dozen local laborers has so far found two skeletons.

As this was a cremation ground, there must be a human settlement nearby somewhere buried below the ground. The challenge is to discover its location, said Prof Ajitprasad.

DeshGujarat