4-Feb-2018: Copper Stone Age artefacts unearthed in Odisha
A team of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is camping at Bharatihuda under Niali block, Cuttack district, Odisha. Excavation has been expedited after recovery of ceramic relics of Prachi river valley civilisation believed to be from the Copper Stone Age.
A comprehensive excavation will be taken up since the Prachi valley civilisation is believed to have flourished at Bharatihuda which is a gigantic mound in Jalalpur village. The five Metre high mound is spread over 12 acres.
On the basis of the findings, archaeologists claimed that Prachi river valley civilisation flourished 3000 to 4000 years ago at the site. A few items including weapons made of clay and stones, earthen pots, animal and bird bones belonging to Copper Stone Age were found.
Discoveries of ancient artefacts indicated that a rural settlement might have thrived in that period. These settlements could have had cultural and trade ties with other settlements in the Prachi Valley that had come up around the Prachi river, which gradually disappeared.
Prachi Valley civilisation is believed to be earlier than that of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro flourished on the banks of Prachi river. Prachi Valley civilisation has contributed a lot towards amalgamation, assimilation and proliferation of different religious faiths and cults.
The Prachi river, a tributary of Mahanadi, originates about 10 km away from Bhubaneswar. The river flows through Puri, Khurda, Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur districts and it is this region that is called the Prachi Valley.
25-Oct-2017: Ichthyosaur fossil discovered for first time in India
Scientists in India have discovered a 152 million-year-old fossil of an ichthyosaur - an extinct marine reptile - in the western state of Gujarat.
This is the first time an ichthyosaur fossil has been discovered in India. The fossil was found inside rocks from the Mesozoic Era, which ran between 252 and 66 million years ago, in the Kutch desert.
Prof Guntupalli VR Prasad, who led the study, said the 5.5m (18ft) specimen was almost complete. Only parts of the skull and tail bones were found to be missing.
This is a remarkable discovery not only because it is the first Jurassic ichthyosaur record from India, but also it throws light on the evolution and diversity of ichthyosaurs in the Indo-Madagascan region and India's biological connectivity with other continents in the Jurassic.
The team, which comprised scientists from India and Germany, believes the newly discovered specimen can be identified with Ophthalmosauridae, a family of ichthyosaurs that lived in the oceans between 165 and 90 million years ago.
The identification of the new specimen may further throw light on whether there was any marine connection between India and South America about 150 million years ago. An examination of the teeth of the fossil suggests that it was a top-tier predator in its ecosystem.
21-Aug-2017: 70-ft Buddha statue to adorn tourist project in Ghantasala
To develop Ghantasala village in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh as one of the prime Buddhist tourist spots in the State, decks have been cleared for the construction of a Rs. 1.5-crore project, which envisages construction of 70- ft statue of Buddha.
A two-storied structure in Buddhist architecture resembling a pedestal with a 100-ft wide and 70-ft high Buddha in the Mahaparinirvana posture will be a major highlight. The new facility will be themed on the Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha. In Buddhism, Mahaparinirvana means the ultimate state — everlasting, highest peace and happiness — entered by an Awakened Being (Buddha).
On top of the two-storey structure will be an imposing statue of the reclining Buddha. This is a major iconographic and statuary pattern of Buddhism. It represents the historical Buddha during his last illness, about to enter the Mahaparinirvana. It shows Buddha lying on the right flank, his head resting on a cushion or on his right elbow, supporting his head with his hand. This pattern seems to have emerged at the same time as other representations of the Buddha in the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara.
Ghantasala, known as Katakasila in the ancient times, was a renowned Buddhist centre located near the coast. Ptolemy, the Greek geographer, had made a specific mention of an emporium of Kontakossyla in the region of Misolia (present Machilipatnam). Initially, the archaeological significance of Ghantasala was reported by Boswel in 1870-71 and the site was subsequently subjected to excavations by Alexander Rea which brought out the stupa architecture in detail.